Tales from the Saddle…Life on a Cattle Drive

Our family considered ourselves more than lucky to live life on a cattle ranch.  We can’t count the opportunities it gives us and we never take for granted the blessing it is.  Not everyday is the same and not every day is fun, but if I could, I would share what a day in our “office” is like.  The best I can do is to tell you to come along with me as I log “a day on a cattle drive” to see a day spent in the saddle.

4:00 AM- Unfortunately the alarm clock rang early this morning.  Beating the heat is always a priority when moving cows and that means getting up before the sun.  At our house there is a division of labor- dad heads out to start catching and saddling horses while I wake up the kids and get a little breakfast going.  Wanting to catch every possible extra minute asleep, sausage and egg sandwiches that could be eaten on the go were on the breakfast menu this morning.

It took more than one shake to finally get everyone out of bed, but who wouldn’t struggle to get up at the time of the day, or rather, the night.

4:45 AM- Finally getting the horses saddled and loaded, and the kids up and dressed, we headed out to the range.  The crew piled into the trucks for a quiet 45 minute drive.  Despite a bumpy, gravel road it didn’t take long for almost everyone to drift off back to sleep.  

5:30 AM- We pulled into the range pasture holding the cows just as the sun started peeking over the hills.  The temperature read a balmy 55 degrees, but to a few cozy cowboys and cowgirls, that was nearly too chilly to mount up.  Knowing that soon enough we would be complaining of the heat, we all climbed on our horses and turned for the cows.

Fortunately, most of the herd had, for one reason or another, made their way towards the gate we planned to move out through, saving us a lot of time in the long run.  While we unloaded in one corner of the pasture and began pushing the cows, we knew our fellow cowboys and cowgirls were doing the same across the pasture, even if we couldn’t see them.  The allotment we share is filled with cows from three other local operations.  It adds a level of complexity but at the same time, always having our friends and neighbors to help always adds a level of security.

It didn’t take long for the cattle to realize what was the agenda for the morning.  The seasoned cows were quick to move out having made the trek from the lowland spring range to the mountain summer every year.  They also were more than happy to move on from the short grazed field that had little left to give after the limited spring rains.

A few calves weren’t so sure about following the herd, cutting back to where they were before the cowboys started pushing them down the fence.  This always causes a bit of anxiety- will we be able to get the calf stopped and turned around?  Will the calf get lost in the sagebrush?  Is his ma actually with the herd or did she get shut out when the gates were closed the night before?  

But sometimes these sort of moments turn out to be great teaching moments, helping our kids learn the ins-and-outs of moving cattle.  Taking a kid with him after one particular calf, dad talked through getting around him, working together from the same direction, and redirecting him back to the herd.  Sometimes it means more work for dad, but helping the next generation learn the ropes is something he gladly does.

Soon enough the gate out of the field was in sight.  With the number of cows we were pushing, the cowboys had actually expanded the gate pulling back the barbed wire fence.  The pressure of so many cows through such a little gate would have likely ended up with broken wires, and cows in all the wrong places.

Before heading through the gate, we spied a neighbor’s bull at the back of the herd, not an uncommon sight despite all our best efforts to keep our cows on our respective sides of the fence.  With a little hitch in his getup, he was in no condition to keep on going with the herd in any event.  A well placed gate made it easy to sort him off and send him where he should have been in the first place.

6:30 AM- Now out of the field, we had to follow a gravel road, travel under the freeway before turning down a long dusty lane heavily spotted with cedar trees.  For the most part the drive would be easy, so long as we could stay on the road.  But from the road is access to the fast moving interstate that would spell nothing but B-A-D N-E-W-S if any cattle found their way up there.  But with plenty of cowboys and experience with us, that sort of a problem was easily avoided and we made it along on our merry way.

The dried out dusty range made it easy to see that the leaders of the herd were walking out and making good time.  I always feel a little uneasy celebrating those little wins- being ahead of schedule, the cows moving so well, or no calves lagging back- because as sure as you bring attention to it, something will give.

After turning down the lane, we had our share of cows trying to turn back.  Somewhere along the way, a momma cow or two realized they didn’t have their calf by their side and were determined to go back and find them.  All the way back.  It took some effort, maybe a little more with each ornery cow, but we managed to get them turned around and all headed in the right direction.  

The closer we got to the corral, the thicker the cedar trees became.  Losing one or two cows as they slipped under a tree we couldn’t get around was a real possibility, so keeping them in a tight group on the fence became the mission.  A drifting calf or bull tried to wind through the edge of the trees, but nothing really tried to test us as we neared the final corner.

An old goat of a cow, skinny and a little lame, decided she was done and wasn’t going any further.  Ducking under some trees, she headed away from the herd on a dead run.  While the rest of the herd and the cowboys finished their way to the corral, she decided to play a quick game of hide and seek.  Determined to get the job done, we hooted and hollered, zigged and zagged and finally coaxed her back to the road.  

Seeing the stock trailer bringing up the rear, we opted for a roadside trailer load to get the ol’ girl back to the herd.  Throwing a rope around her neck to take her to the trailer, we knew this could go easy, but if she decided to fight us, things could also go bad and real fast.  

Things were looking well, but before stepping into the trailer, the ornery cow just laid down.  Was she tired?  Was it just a little slip?  Was she just being obstinate?  Needing to convince her to load, we gave her a little prod from behind, ready to turn and run if she turned nasty in response.  But our good luck held and she simply plodded into the back of the trailer.

7:30 AM- Catching up to the herd, we were happy to see everyone made it to the corral without any problems.  A handful of the cowboys quickly loaded up to get the stranded trucks and trailers left along the way to bring back to the crew.  

The pause was the perfect break for the cows to rest and “mother-up.”  Before turning the herd out of the corral to the summer pasture, we had to first ride through to mark and tag any calves that had been missed or born since branding.

Running so many different brands in a single herd, assigning a calf to the right operation can be tricky.  Just seeing a full ear calf (not tagged/branded) isn’t enough.  You have to find its mother and see which rancher she belongs to before slapping a tag in its ear.

8:00 AM- Once the trucks made their arrival with the vaccine and tags, the roping was on.  It may be work, but to most of these cowboys and cowgirls, this part of the day is all play.  One after another, the calves were headed and heeled, brought in to be given a quick once over with tagging, vaccinating, and castrating, and then turned back out to their mommas.  

10:00 AM- With just enough of a crew to get the job done, it wasn’t long before the old cowboys were calling it a day.  The calves all tagged, a few cows doctored, and checked our work was done and not a moment too soon.  Thus far the heat had been held at bay, but as the morning ticked on the temperature was quickly beginning to hit HOT.   Throwing open the gate to the summer range, the cows slowly began to trickle out, our cattle drive done for the day.

11:00 AM-  Back to the ranch with a truck load of tired, dusty cowboys and cowgirls, there is only one question worth considering- after putting the horses away, do we have breakfast or lunch before we turn in for a nap?