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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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Monday, June 6, 2011

Colt + Sheep = Not On Your Life!

~A large bird circled around me like a hungry man.~
~Katherine Richards 1901~

And Colt thought he was gonna be eaten by the shaggy, wooly THING!


The Infamous Sheep
"Who me??!?? I'm just an innocent bystander! I won't hurt you horsey"
At one of Thompson's brandings this lovely sheep was gathered into the pen with the cows and calves. How did it get there? Well, the story as I've been told is that two years ago, Thompson's brought home their pairs from summer grazing and this lil' sheep was mixed in with the herd and just came home with them. Sheep do share the BLM grazing allotments sometimes and this one somehow lost its way and hooked up with the cows. So, it's been at their ranch ever since!

As you can tell, it's never been sheared. Before the branding began, they were going to shear it and get it out of the branding pen. So, they got the generator and the clippers out, but the blades were the wrong ones, so it didn't get sheared.

Colt wanted NOTHING to do with that sheep! He side-stepped, back-peddled and did everything but bolt 'n run (which he would have like to do if I didn't keep him facin' the sheep!) If the sheep had been sheared, it might have been different, but with all that wool, every time the sheep moved, he jiggled...one big bouncing, jiggling THING!! I'm still laughing at Colt. But he wasn't the only horse that had a dislike for the THING! The sheep was finally escorted out of the branding pen.


I Don't Do Sheep!
"Yes...YOU...I don't know what you are,
but I don't wanna have anything to do with YOU!!!"
Then, two weeks later I go back to help move the pairs out to summer grazing...and of course the THING is still there! Martin and David's horses had seen the sheep for two years and didn't mind it at all, but cuttin' a sheep from the herd is a lot harder than cuttin' a cow out...that sheep was stayin'.

So they roped it!

It was quite entertaining to see these two cowboys ropin' the sheep and tyin' it up so we could get the cows and calves out of the field!


Sheep Ropin'
Brothers David and Martin gettin' the problem solved.
(No sheep was hurt in this photo!)

It was a grand day for moving the pairs...a lil' bit on the warm side for the livestock, but the views were spectacular~

Great Basin Cattle Country
Great Basin Cattle Country
Steens Mountain stands majestically in the background.

I hope everyone has a great week!!

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17 comments:

  1. UnknownJune 6, 2011 at 9:42 AM

    LOL too funny! I could just picture it!

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  2. MaiaJune 6, 2011 at 10:02 AM

    What a stitch. It's amazing what horses do and do not like. I guess it's just what you get used to. Loved the pictures. Really well done.

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  3. RhondaJune 6, 2011 at 10:10 AM

    Good grief that's one wooly sheep! I don't blame Colt for back-peddling!!

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  4. SarahJune 6, 2011 at 11:41 AM

    its amusing that the horses will "tackle" a herd of cows, but then get shy off a little thing like a sheep. Kind of like the elephant and the mouse? Wonder if the sheep's owners ever wondered where it got too. Sounds like he's set up permanent residence with your friends herd!

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  5. ShirleyJune 6, 2011 at 11:51 AM

    That's one horse-eatin' sheep for sure! I used to have a mare that thought mini horses would eat her.
    Love that last photo, sure still is a lot of snow in the mountains here too.

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  6. MikeyJune 6, 2011 at 12:27 PM

    Colt is clearly saying "I'm a COW horse, not a SHEEP horse" lol. Poor thing! Reminds me of when horses see mini horses for the first time. You can cause a stampede with a mini horse!
    Beautiful country. Boy do I want to be up there right now.

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  7. MaryJune 6, 2011 at 12:42 PM

    My gosh it's beautiful over there! That is some back yard you got there. I think I'd be a little aprehensive with that weird lookin fury thing around me too, I'm giving Colt a pass on this one. It is pretty cute though. Colt is one very nice looking horse!

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  8. Heart of a CowgirlJune 6, 2011 at 3:14 PM

    Aww Colt, come on big guy! That is pretty funny. I love that sheep, can't decide if I'd like to hug it or ride it! ha ha

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  9. BarbJune 6, 2011 at 6:15 PM

    I like that sheep! A very proud looking critter. Great pics too.

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  10. lisaJune 7, 2011 at 4:19 AM

    Great pics and that is too funny! I can see it now with the horses wondering what the heck is that white thing out there! Funny lookin cow!

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  11. cheyenne jonesJune 7, 2011 at 5:11 AM

    Sheep! Thats the trouble, they never know when to go home!

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  12. EdJune 7, 2011 at 7:36 AM

    LOL!!! Thats too funny, he must think he is a cow or maybe he feels safe from the yotes with them..:-)

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  13. LindaJune 7, 2011 at 9:53 AM

    Hilarious how something different can be SO scary. A neighbour of ours has llamas.....heads up when you have to ride through there I tell ya!

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  14. ReddunappyJune 7, 2011 at 10:37 AM

    Should have seen Mickey when she saw Ostriches for the first time!! Oh baby!!!! LOL but she was good and didnt bolt, some jogging in place though LOL

    I love your photos!!! I can just smell the sage on a hot day....mmmmm

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  15. Oregon EquestrianJune 7, 2011 at 10:38 AM

    Fun story, great photos. The Steens backdrop is spectacular. My Goober Boy spooks at sparrows, so I imagine the sheep would give him a coronary.

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  16. thecrazysheepladyJune 8, 2011 at 8:22 AM

    Oh Colt... :-)

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  17. CTG PoniesJune 15, 2011 at 5:36 PM

    Poor Colt, I don't blame him! That thing looks like a dust mop with feet.

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