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Hollis BrandtThe Old Cowboy's Barn Book · 2026See the offer

Old cowboy tricks from an Ozark barn

Keep Every Animal on Your Place Healthy, Cheap and Easy, Every Season.

130 numbered old cowboy tricks for horses, cattle, goats, sheep, chickens and pigs. Cut the hay bill, keep the water open in a freeze, keep bugs, bad feet and varmints off, spare your own back, and know the minute it's time to call the vet.

Hollis Brandt
Hollis Brandt30 years on 160 acres in the Arkansas OzarksFrom the Hollis Brandt Ranch YouTube channel

From the Hollis Brandt Ranch YouTube channel

The Barn Book + The Small-Acreage Livestock Ledger free while the welcome deal lasts

$37$57one payment$57one payment · yours to keep
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See what's inside ↓

Every trick checked against university extension, USDA and horse-vet guidance. No home doctoring, no doses.

  • You keep a few horses, cows, goats, sheep, hens or pigs because you love them, not for a living.
  • Winter worries you: frozen water, feed bills, thin old animals and lice under long hair.
  • You want plain tricks you can do tonight, and a clear list of when it's serious.

Not for you if you run a big commercial herd, or you want drug doses and treatments. Those go to your vet, and the book says so on every page.

No. IWhy I wrote it

Two Words in the Ledger

The first hard cold snap came in one November. At daylight I found the horse tank skinned over with ice. Red stood beside it with his head low. He hadn't been able to drink all night.

I broke the ice with the heel of my boot, and he drank a long time.

That night I wrote two words in my green ledger: "Ice, twice." I've broken the ice morning and evening every winter since.

Most of what keeps an animal well is that plain. The trouble is, nobody writes the plain things down.

So I did. This book is 30 years of barn tricks from that ledger, one animal and one season at a time.

No. IIThe barn rules

Hollis's 5 Barn Rules

"Look at every one of them every day." My father, about any animal on the place

  1. Water first. An animal that drinks less eats less. Break the ice twice a day.
  2. Hay keeps them warm. Before a cold snap, add hay, not grain.
  3. Use your hands, not your eyes. A winter coat hides a thin animal. Feel the ribs every week.
  4. Fix small things today. A 6-inch hole in the fence is a loose cow tomorrow.
  5. Call the vet early. My biggest vet bills came from waiting to see if it passed.

No. IIIA real page from the book

Try 4 Tricks Free, Tonight

Free page · try it tonight
Chapter 2 · HorsesThe Old Cowboy's Barn Book · 2026

Old cowboy tricks: horses in winter

Here are the first 4 of the 12 horse tricks. Every animal chapter opens like this.

  1. Break the ice twice a day. Check every tank and bucket morning and evening. A skin of ice can stop a horse from drinking all night.
  2. Keep the water cool, not freezing. Horses drink best when water sits around 45 to 60°F, and they drink less when it's ice cold.
  3. Watch who drinks and what comes out. Small, dry, hard manure piles mean he needs more water. Call your vet if he quits eating.
  4. Keep plain salt out all year. Salt makes a horse want to drink. I keep plain loose salt in a covered tub in the shed.
15

Where this comes from: the water temperature and the twice-a-day ice check are university extension advice for horses in cold weather. Low water intake in winter raises the risk of impaction colic.

That's one page. Every chapter is built like it: a story from the ledger, numbered old cowboy tricks, a Stop Doing This list, a red Call Your Vet Now box and a This Week checklist.

Print this page free (PDF, no email needed) Get Both Books · $37Get the Barn Book · $57

No. IVWhat's inside

What's Inside The Old Cowboy's Barn Book

19 chapters in 3 parts, 93 pages, plus 4 printable bonuses. Plain words, real tables, and large print included.

  • All the barn numbers on one page: normal temperature, water a day, feed a day and body condition for every animal.p. 9
  • 12 horse tricks for winter and beyond: ice, salt, the hair check, when a blanket helps and when it hurts.p. 14
  • Cattle and the family milk cow: the strip-cup trick, bull safety, and the signs that can't wait.p. 20
  • Goats and sheep: the eyelid check your vet can teach you, fences they can't beat, and the copper trap.p. 25
  • Chickens: winter laying, drafts versus fresh air, and why a heat lamp can burn down the coop.p. 31
  • Pigs: shade and wallows, training them to a hot wire, and what never goes in the trough.p. 37
  • Cutting the feed and hay bill: buy by weight, stop the waste, and stockpile fescue for winter.p. 43
  • Winter water that won't freeze, and how to run a tank heater without a fire or a shock.p. 47
  • Flies, lice, mites and worms, beaten mostly with a shovel and a calendar.p. 51
  • Hooves, predators and fences: feet that stay sound, hens the raccoons can't reach, and gates that stay shut.p. 56
  • Old animals and an older body: soaked feed and teeth checks for old friends, and chores that spare your back.p. 70
  • When to call the vet: a plain call-now, call-today, or watch table for every animal.p. 79
  • The barn year: spring, summer, fall and winter chore lists to hang in the barn.p. 85

With the welcome deal you also get The Small-Acreage Livestock Ledger free, my 126-page book on what every farm animal costs and pays back. Every order includes the 4 printable bonuses below.

No. V · 2026 Edition · Digital ebook

Everything You Get TodayEverything You Get

Digital PDF, print it at home, nothing is mailed.

What you getIncluded
The Old Cowboy's Barn BookThe whole book: 19 chapters in 3 parts, 93 pages, 130 numbered old cowboy tricks, with tables and checklists to print.Included
The Small-Acreage Livestock Ledger FREEMy 126-page money book: what every farm animal really costs, what it pays back, hay math and the sale barn. Large print included. Free with the welcome deal.FREE
The Barn Chore CalendarDaily, weekly, monthly and seasonal chores on one sheet for the barn door.Included
The Call-the-Vet CardsOne card per animal: the signs that mean pick up the phone now, and what to have ready.Included
The Feed and Hay Cost LedgerFill-in pages to weigh, price and count your hay and feed, month by month.Included
The Winter Water ChecklistKeep every tank open through a freeze, and run heaters safely.Included
Large-print editionBigger type, same book.Included
Regular price$57
You pay today$37$57
You save today$20

One payment, no subscription.

Why only $37? It's my welcome price for first-time visitors. For 15 minutes from your first visit, you get the Barn Book and The Small-Acreage Livestock Ledger for $37. After that, the page shows the Barn Book on its own for the regular $57.

The welcome price has ended. $57 is the regular price. One payment, and the 30-day money-back promise still covers you.

Get Both Books · $37Get the Barn Book · $57Instant ebook, nothing shipped · 30-day money-back
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What happens after you tap the button

  1. Pay on Stripe's secure page. Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, about a minute.
  2. Your guide opens right away. The next page has a big download button. An email brings the same button.
  3. Start today. Read on your phone, tablet or computer, or print the checklists.

What Readers Say

No. VI · A note from Hollis Brandt

My 30-Day "Square Deal" Promise

Read it. Try three tricks on your own place. Tape the Call-the-Vet Cards inside the barn door.

If it doesn't help you, reply to your receipt email (or use the contact page) within 30 days, and you'll get every cent back.

No forms. No questions. Keep the printables either way.

Hollis BrandtThe Old Cowboy's Barn Book · 2026
Get Both Books · $37Get the Barn Book · $57

No. VIIAbout the author

Who's Writing This

Hollis Brandt
Hollis Brandt30 years on 160 acres in the Arkansas Ozarks
Look at every one of them every day.

My name is Hollis Brandt. I grew up on my family's 160 acres of hilly fescue pasture in the Arkansas Ozarks and took the place over in 1994. At my peak I ran about 40 beef cows, about 120 hair-sheep ewes, a family milk cow and 2 feeder pigs a year for the freezer.

For more than 30 years I've written down what this place costs and what it pays in a green clothbound ledger on the kitchen table. That ledger is the reason I can tell you what an animal costs.

I'm not a vet, a farrier or an extension agent. I don't name drugs or doses, and I won't promise you a profit. The tricks in the book are checked against university extension, USDA and veterinary-association guidance.

Hollis Brandt

No. VIIIQuestions

Common Questions

Is a paper copy mailed to me?

No. It's a digital PDF you read on your phone, tablet or computer, or print at home. Large-print editions are included.

I'm not good with computers. How do I get it?

The page you see after paying has a big download button, and an email brings the same button a few minutes later.

I only have a few hens and two horses. Is it for me?

Yes. It's written for hobby keepers on 2 to 40 acres. Read the chapters for the animals you keep, plus the trouble chapters everyone needs.

Does it tell me what to give a sick animal?

No. It names no drugs and no doses, and it has no home remedies. It tells you the signs that mean call your vet, and what to tell them when you do.

Are these real old-timer tricks or internet stuff?

They're plain barn habits from 30 years on an Ozark place, each one checked against what university extension services and the horse and cattle vets advise today. When an old practice doesn't hold up, the book says so.

Will it save me money?

Many of the tricks are about wasting less hay and feed and catching trouble early. How much you save depends on your animals, your hay prices and your place. The Feed and Hay Cost Ledger helps you track your own numbers.

Is it safe to pay here?

Yes. The button takes you to Stripe's secure checkout, so your card details never touch this page.

Why is it $37 now and $57 later? What is the timer?

$37 is my welcome price for your first 15 minutes here, and it includes The Small-Acreage Livestock Ledger free. After that the page shows $57 for the Barn Book on its own, with the 4 printables and large print. Reloading doesn't restart the clock.

What if it's not for me?

Reply to your receipt within 30 days for a full refund. No questions.

No. IXYour decision

Ice, Twice. Then Go Watch Them Eat.

Most of what keeps an animal healthy is plain: open water, dry hay, a hand on the ribs, a fence walked every week, and a vet called early.

This book puts 30 years of those plain habits on paper, so your animals get the benefit this winter.

$37 $57 · Instant ebook, nothing shipped · 30-day money-back

Get Both Books · $37Get the Barn Book · $57

P.S. Not sure yet? Try the free page above. My 30-day promise covers you either way.

Get Both Books · $37Get the Barn Book · $57