The Lazy F Working Guest Ranch COMPLETELY fits the definition of a "working ranch" ... The Lazy F Working Ranch has been in my family as a cattle ranch since 1853. After 156 years of continuous ownership by our family, my 15 year old daughter, Sydney, is the 6th generation on this ranch. Now guests have become equal partners in the cattle operation. The Lazy F WORKING RANCH (Roundup time) and Lazy F GUEST RANCH (not at Roundup time) programs teach guests how real cowboys work. And then the guests get to try it "hands on." You don't just watch, unless you want to. It ain't all about horseback riding. DO NOT MISS ... if you do all the "hands on" work my cowboys and/or I do, then you ARE a cowboy. If you learn to round up and pen cattle, brand, rope, vaccinate, castrate, tag, deworm, doctor, sort, and take to market the animals you rounded up, THEN YOU ARE A COWBOY. Or a cowgirl, as my 15 year old daughter, Sydney, and her friends, who ride and help on the ranch, will be quick to point out. In addition, you can eat round a camp fire, learn to shoot, learn to rope, learn to repair fence, feed cattle from the back of a truck, haul hay, put out mineral and salt, etc. etc. Not all cowboy work is done on a horse ... oh heck no. The rest of this definition is right on the money ... if you don't come at roundup time, what you get to do may depend on what's going on when you are here. Or what crisis arises that requires immediate action, such as cattle on the highway or in the neighbor's pastures. You are not required to work, but can help if you wish and learn a lot in the process. This is no 200 acre "spread", this ranch covers 2500 acres; 4 square miles; or 1000 hectares. It is 5 miles (8 kilometers) long. We run up to 300 momma cows, depending on rainfall. We have a herd of 32 horses. During the Lazy F WORKING RANCH (Roundup time) program, the work is non-stop, morning to night, grab a bite and get on your horse again or back in the pens. This is for those guests who want hard work with their adventure. The Lazy F GUEST RANCH (not at Roundup time) program is much more relaxed and geared to your speed. Mostly riding and daily ranch chores. In both programs, YOU learn to take care of the cattle, the horses, and the ranch. The price of BOTH the WORKING RANCH (Roundup time) and the GUEST RANCH (not at Roundup time) programs includes meals and other on and off ranch activities that would be paid for individually under the Room and Ride or Just A Room  programs. The housing at the Lazy F Guest Ranch is only for guests. The main house is shared by guests (except the bedrooms), who relax together in a very warm and personal way that is rarely available to visitors on the much larger "dude" and "resort" ranches. My daughter and I DO NOT live in the guest housing complex. We live in the old (over 100 years old) family home, 1/4 of a mile from the Main Guest Housing complex. The Lazy F Guest Ranch Room and Ride and Just A Room programs provide a room paid by the night and horses by the hour, but no other activities OR MEALS, unless they are especially arranged and paid for. None of our programs require you to ride "nose to tail", at a walk, 50 minutes at a time. Both the Lazy F Working Ranch and Lazy F Guest Ranch guests ride to accomplish real ranch jobs. You may not gallop around and risk getting killed, but you always ride with a purpose and I will be glad to assign that purpose and explain it as we ride, or drive, or walk. Since I rarely have over 10 persons at the ranch, they will be like family before you leave. Up close and personal is how we operate.