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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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Thursday, February 28, 2013

Trailing Cows ~ Day 2

The weather forecast was correct this time...cold, snowy, and windy.

We pulled into the Jenkins place where the cows were left overnight expecting to see 8-10 newborn calves, but there were only two! As we separated the pairs from the herd, the snow was pelting our faces...I thought to myself that there are buckaroos out here doing this on a daily basis...this was not the glamorous part of being a buckaroo!

But, we got the lil' calves loaded into the trailer and Rancher Dan's wife (G) drove them to the ranch and put them in the barn under a heat lamp to wait for their mother's arrival. The momma cows were not too happy with us, but they joined up with the rest of the herd and headed on down the road.


Rural Traffic Jam
A rural traffic jam

The early mornin' snow was just a shower thank goodness...the sun came and went all day with a few snow showers here and there, but the wind picked up it's pace as the day progressed.

Yes, those are red ears in that photo...Rohan is going to get his fair share of riding this year. He's been left to sit in the pasture and get fat far too long! He'll never be the cow horse Colt is, but gathering, trailing and a bit of sorting will be really good for him. It's always good to have a back up horse ready to go when needed.


My Ride: Rohan
Rohan is my cow pony for the day!

Today's trip is about 13 miles, and like the day before, the cows were making good time with a nice, steady pace headin' for home.


Walking the Wide Open Spaces
Overlooking the beginning of the Diamond Valley toward the west.

About 5 miles from the ranch, we saw one cow laying down along the side of the road...we figured she might have her calf right there. But when we reached her on horseback, she got up and headed into the middle of the herd. Shortly after that, we turned onto the road going east and the wind was to our backs with tumbleweeds rolling along with us...I felt like a tumbleweed! The wind was pretty gusty!

We took the herd through a neighboring rancher's field and then onto the 2 mile driveway...everything was going smoothly!


Trailing
Almost to the ranch and the sun is shinning brightly! But the wind was still rippin'.

Rancher Dan was in the front opening gates, and My Man and I were bringing up the rear closing gates behind us as we went. By the time we got to the ranch and into the field with the end of the herd, the cow that had laid down along side the road was already giving birth...such a good ol' girl!


New Born
Just in time...this cow laid down immediately and had her calf. Yes, those are snow flakes dotting the photo.

We had to sort out the two mother cows from this morning and reunite them with their calves; they mothered up nicely. And there was another calf in the barn that had been gathered up the day before; that calf was too cold to be left behind with its mother, so G took him to the ranch (riding on the floor board of the pickup) to get warmed up and bottle fed. They locked that cow into the barn with the calf...after two days apart, the momma cow may reject the calf. But, last I heard, they were starting to mother up.


Cool Refreshment
Rastus is getting a bit of cool refreshment from McCoy Creek.

We moved some heifers around for Rancher Dan, and then tied the horses up on the trailer. G had an awesome lunch for us...the end of a great day! For D & G it'll be a 24/7 job until all the cows and heifers are done calving...hard work, but well worth the doin'.

Thanks for comin' along on the drive!


9 comments:

  1. Great Post! I just love your posts on Trailing cows, the whole thing. Thanks for the ride!

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  2. A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to get to go on a drive like that with weather about like that. It was 11 miles, and the first time I had ever done anything of the sort. I had not had my paint very long so wasn't sure how he would do. Well naturally he made me so proud.

    But what I remember is that even though it was so fricking cold and windy, because we were on horseback and really doing something important, it didn't seem so bad. I really had a great time. But to just for a trail ride when it is that cold, I just can't do it. It seems pointless.

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  3. Poor cow, bet she was glad to see that field! she must have been in labour while walking.
    Is Rohan barefoot? Looks that way from the photo. He looks like a good steady kind of horse.
    Cold or not- I bet you enjoyed it!

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  4. What a great journey...I wish I was younger all over again!...:)JP

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  5. I'm sort of having a little envy because I haven't ridden in a while.....it's still a sheet of ice here and I imagine I'll be in the saddle before too long. Great photo's!!!!

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  6. WOW! I love riding in the cold weather. For some reason it seams to refresh the soul! Great pics. Thanks for taking me along.

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  7. Brrr. Way too cold for me! But it has to be done!
    What a cute newborn calf. Loved all the pictures!

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  8. Oh my...how spoiled we humans are to give birth in hospitals. What an adventure you live!

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  9. Thanks for the great posts-- I could almost feel that I was there!

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