Confessions of a Horseshoer
Confessions of a Horseshoer

Author: Ron Tatum

Publisher: University of North Texas Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 1574414534

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Confessions of a Horseshoer offers a close and personal look at the mind-set of a professional horseshoer (farrier) who also happens to be a college professor. The book, an ironic and playful view of the many unusual animals (and people) Ron Tatum has encountered over thirty-seven years, is nicely balanced between straightforward presentation, self-effacing humor, and lightly seasoned wisdom. It captures the day-to-day life of a somewhat cantankerous old guy, who has attitude and strong opinions. Throughout the book, Tatum ponders the causes that led him into the apparently opposing worlds of horseshoeing, with its mud, pain, and danger, and the bookish life of a college professor. He tells the reader that it is his hope that writing the book will help him understand this apparent paradox between the physical and the mental. Tatum provides a detailed description of the horseshoeing process, its history, and why horses need shoes in the first place. The reader will learn about the dangers of shoeing horses in “Injuries I Have Known,” in which Tatum describes one particular self-inflicted injury that he claims no other horseshoer has ever, or will ever, experience. “Eight Week Syndrome” demonstrates the close, often therapeutic, relationship between the horseshoer and his or her customers. Tatum relates the story of an old Wyoming cowboy who could talk with horses, and consistently cure their injuries, lameness, and other physical problems after the veterinarians had given up. The humor in the chapters on chickens and rabbits will entertain any reader, as well as the sections on various dogs, ducks, llamas, goats, flies, and a sexually disoriented pig. Readers of western life and lovers of horses will find Confessions of a Horseshoer an informative, quirky, and delightful work full of humor, attitude, and off-beat insight.

Confessions of an Eco-Warrior
Confessions of an Eco-Warrior

Author: Dave Foreman

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2016-07-20

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 045149945X

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A book that will set the course for the environmental movement for years to come, Confessions of an Eco-Warrior is an inspiring ecological call to arms by America's foremost and most controversial environmental activist. "Rude and brilliant. Read it and you will see the future".--William Kittredge.

Catch Rope
Catch Rope

Author: John R. Erickson

Publisher:

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

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For more than a hundred years, American cowboys have made their living through the skilled use of horse and rope. Whole libraries have been devoted to the horse, but no one, until now, has written a thorough study of the origins and evolution of ranch roping--which differs from arena roping as practiced by rodeo cowboys. Author/cowboy John Erickson studies ranch roping from every angle: its origins in the Old World; old-time loops and throws; the influence of modern team roping; and the endless debate between those cowboys who rope "hard and fast" and those who "dally." Mixing scholarship with his working--cowboy's knowledge of the subject, Erickson tells stories of cowboys who could not resist fitting their loops on "things that ort not to be roped," such as elk, deer, badgers, bears, and bobcats. He tells of jackrabbit roping contests, and of cowboys who roped mice, geese, hogs, wives, or a runaway milk wagon. Anyone who has ever "built a loop" or even thought about it will find this book hard to put down.

Brush Management
Brush Management

Author: Wayne T. Hamilton

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2004-10-14

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 9781585443574

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The presence of brush in rangeland environments continually tops the list of priority issues among landowners, and not just in Texas. Whether they manage their land for livestock, hunting, or wildlife watching, what to do about unwanted woody plants remains a serious and pervasive question for landowners everywhere. In the pages of this book, leading range management professionals introduce and explain not only the mechanisms of managing brush but also the changes in management philosophy and technology that have taken place over time. From the futile attempts at eradication to the successes of integrated brush management, expert practitioners examine mechanical, biological, chemical, and fire-related methods from three perspectives—the past, the present or “state-of-the-art,” and the future. In a final discussion, three specialists address the timely and important subject of brush management as it relates to water yield, economics, and wildlife. Brush Management: Past, Present, Future gives readers a straightforward and comprehensive view of a topic that remains a consistent concern for livestock, wildlife, and land management—one that will serve as a useful and interesting summary of the subject for teachers, students, landowners, and management professionals.

LZ Cowboy
LZ Cowboy

Author: John R. Erickson

Publisher: University of North Texas Press

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 9781574410242

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This contemporary cowboy journal reveals the rituals and labors of daily cowboy life in the Texas Panhandle, from 1979-1981. The author, nationally known for his Hank the Cowdog series, continues to recount stories about the well known characters and places of his previous works. The hard times of struggling through a depressed cattle market, drought, sickness, injuries, and inclement weather are balanced with humorous tales of steer and human antics. Contains a short glossary of cowboy terms. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Leadership in Agriculture
Leadership in Agriculture

Author: John Patrick Jordan

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2013-04-18

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1603449418

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In a world facing chronic and increasing shortages in food crops and natural resources, visionary leadership in agriculture becomes more and more critical for building and maintaining a sustainable future. It is of paramount importance that the dynamic and challenging evolution in agriculture over the last century and a half be met today with imaginative leadership in virtually all aspects of activities and organizations involved. Leadership in Agriculture: Case Studies for a New Generation focuses on key characteristics and elements of leadership. Using case studies from research, industry, education, administration, and extension services, the authors present real-world circumstances ranging from natural disasters to major restructuring that demanded problem solving, new initiatives, consensus, and organizational commitment. Drawing on their own experiences and covering topics as diverse as closing facilities, mounting a national research initiative, reinventing a major corporation, and dealing with invasive termites, the studies contain examples of both good and bad outcomes and tie back to the stated leadership principles and qualities. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Preface vii Acknowledgments xiii Leadership in the Agricultural Environment 1 Character: The Bedrock of Leaders and Leadership 13 Case Studies—How Leadership Can Make a Difference 37 1. Facing Down Nature: How a Regional Lab Survived Hurricane Katrina (Addressing Physical Crises) 38 2. Exerting Ag Leadership in Distributed Geographic Locations (Coordinating Dispersed Units within One Organization) 49 3. Closing and Relocating Facilities and Terminating Programs (Leadership Challenges with Organizational Restructuring) 59 4. National Research Initiative: Creating a Shared Leadership Vision (Bringing about a New Solution) 73 5. Battling Formosan Subterranean Termites (Forging a New Approach) 81 6. Gathering of the Agricultural Clan (Bringing Leaders Together without Central Authority) 90 7. Monsanto: How One Company Saw the Future and Transformed to Seize It (Leadership’s Role in a Significant Change) 96 8. Enhancing Leadership in the State Agricultural Experiment Stations (Cultivating New Leadership) 123 9. Development of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) (Enhancing a Better Understanding of Agricultural Science and Technology) 133 Lessons Learned from Case Studies 145 Making Leadership Work for You 152 Appendixes: How Does the Scientific Agricultural System Work? 161 Appendix A. The Land-Grant System: A Key to America’s Dream? How Does It Function? 161 Appendix B. The USDA’s Agricultural Research Service: Focus on National and International Issues 165 Appendix C. The Industrial Approach to Research: Diverse Foci Linked to Industrial Economic Effects 167 Notes 171 Bibliography 173 About the Authors 177 Index 179