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Welcome to the Rough String, and thanks for stoppin' by!! Grab a hot cup of coffee and sit a spell!
10/22/18 You will see a name change on the blog. Lots of things have changed in my life in the past few years, and I feel compelled to share my story.

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Eleven Hours in the Saddle

...and I'm a lil' stiff today! I spent the day up out of Diamond helping the McCoy Creek Ranch gather pairs off of the Moon Hill allotment. We hauled the horses uphill for about a half hour on a rocky son-of-a-gun two track road.

Gretchen and I unloaded and took off into the west field while the others headed farther on up. I hadn't ridden in this area before, but it sure was a nice change from our flat lands. There were juniper and aspen trees and lots of hills to climb.




Bringing in 4 bulls that were hiding under a rock ledge.
They didn't want to be found...nor did they want to
leave their pasture!


As we continued combing areas, we'd find cows and it was a struggle to get them going down...none of the cows wanted to leave. They had plenty of good feed and the water holes were still full. But, the BLM sets a date to remove the livestock and the rancher has to comply.





Gretchen and I are heading up into the draw to get to
the top side of Moon Hill.






Part way up the draw I tuned back to have a look see.
What a view!



Up on top it flattens out and is so rocky that you can't even trot your horse. The dogs were working hard to get the cows moving toward the north where a two track road goes down the hill. But, the cows weren't very compliant.

Rancher Dan and my neighbors Rusty and Sam were gathering from the east, and Gretchen and I met them with the bunch we gathered from the west. Just as we get them started down, half of them break off at a dead run back toward the east! All you can do is go gather them up again!

We really could have used a few more riders, but it's hard when everyone is out doing the same thing with their own herds. Extra riders are hard to come by.


Thunderheads over the Steens Mountain.






Signs of fall are becoming apparent.






These are my 3 renegades. We split up to do a final
sweep and I came across this bunch hidin' in the junipers.
They took off through the trees in a cloud of dust.
Colt and I followed them...lost them a couple of times...
they tried to head up the hill again...then they crossed
over the two track twice before we convinced them
that down was the way to go.
Colt was good as gold and did his job like an ol' pro!



Colt and I were the last off the hill and by then it was 1:30 PM...we'd started at 8 AM. Gretchen and Dan rounded up everything we'd gathered and figured we didn't even have half the herd! The rest were hiding in the trees, rocks and draws. They'd have to come back up in a couple of days and do it all again!

I watered Colt in the pond and after a sandwich and a cold one, we start trailing them down the road.


Colt and all the horses were tired, but they have
such big hearts...they'll do their job.






Rusty said that if I wanted to swim my horse, this
is the hole to do it in...ahhh...maybe another time...




The view that goes on forever...


It was a long trip down...slow cows that didn't want to go forward. The last mile was the worst. I must have taken us an hour to get them across that last field. They just kept stopping...the bulls were butting heads...cows were butting heads...the horses and the dogs were doing their best to keep them moving.




Getting within a mile of the last gate.
Done...7 PM


It was a long day, but well worth it. I'm ready for the next one which will be up in the forest north of Buchanan for the Temple Ranch...but not until after Pendleton.



On the hay front, 3rd cutting is on the ground and drying nicely!

See ya'll next week...Let 'er Buck!!

TransparentSig

13 comments:

  1. Boy you need the dogs for that kind of work!
    Last time I rode for 6 hours, I had half a softball on each of my butt bones, I was so bruised and sore! LOL LOL Emma does not hit the ground softly LOL

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  2. Beautiful post. Glad that you are looking forward to the Roundup...one of my all time favorite rodeos. A well deserved break...yep, Let'er Buck!!

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  3. Loved coming on your ride with you! I wouldn't be able to walk for a week if I was in the saddle that long. I would give up a week for 11 hours though:)

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  4. You Humans sure do your part but those dogs and horses sure do get a work out! Can't imagine anyone getting the job done without a few good dogs helping chase and corral. Glad you were able to get at least part of the herd down.... may the rest follow easier. Happy trails. Love and Light, Nina P

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  5. That looks like so much fun! Beautiful land and pictures!!
    You are one lucky woman to get to do that!! One of these days I hope too!

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  6. That hay looks really nice! I wish we had alfalfa down here. It looks so green and nice. It's nice to be getting a third cutting.

    And 11 hours, dang girl!! I need to send my four year old up to you to be ridden. He needs some miles put on him. Colt is a good boy. I think i would have been a little stiff too. But the ride sounded like fun.

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  7. Great photos, thanks for taking us along! Hope it was worth the sore backside... ;-)

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  8. Great photos! I especially like the third to last one, with the dust and the sun, it makes everything look so mysterious, even though at the time I'm sure it just looked like a lot of hard work. The countryside there is so different from here. (trees in every direction)
    Colt sure seems like an honest, reliable ride, a real gem.

    Keep it up!

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  9. I agree with above poster, The sunset, dust picture is amazing!!!!!!!!!! The one right above "Getting within a mile of the last gate.". I would love to see that one in say a 11 X 14 or bigger. Thanks again Karen for letting me live through your blogs and pictures!
    Julie

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  10. Wow, I wish I could be an extra rider... You must be very proud of Colt, showing, working and handsome too. And, such amazing scenery!!

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  11. Thanks for the cool journey, it was fun to ride along...:-)

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  12. Enjoyed the ride-a-long ..it was nice view! Thaks.

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  13. Ah, these are the days that memories are made of.....

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I love your comments! Let me know what's on your mind~~