Mooooving Day

Wednesday March 1 2017

Sometimes Dudley does OK when it comes to moving cows and watching cowboys and cow dogs work. Other times, I think he's been watching too many shoot 'em up Westerns, and he thinks some old fashioned Good Guy Bad Guy Western Shoot Out Mayhem is going to break out and he won't know which way to duck.

We headed out onto the north flats today, just to see how many cows were out that way, and we didn't find too many, because cowboys were on their second day of moving the herds to the south flats. Dude was surprised, nay, startled mightily to see a cowboy on a horse out there when there's usually no other humans or horses in sight, ever.

We said our howdys and chatted on the nicer weather, while Dudley casually ogled the cow horse who rather totally ignored Dudley, drop dead handsome though he is.

The cowboy and his dogs rode on over a hill, and Dudley really wanted to follow, so we climbed the hill and watched a bit while that cowboy and another drove a small herd westward. We stayed back but followed a ways… until several cows shot off to the south, and a cowboy and several dogs peeled off to head them off, disappearing over another hill. 

That's when Dude starts to get very excited about the whole Giddyup Moooooove 'Em Out Ride 'Em Cowboy Move Along Little Dogies YeeHaw aspect of things. When he's close enough up to cows and calves to where he could bite them if he wanted, he's fine, but watching all these naughty running beasts trying to escape in all directions can set him off and turn him into a volcano ready to explode. (Same with an endurance ride sometimes, when he can see horses strung out long and far along a trail.)

We left off and turned back (mostly so I wouldn't make a fool of myself, getting bucked off and having to be gallantly rescued), and anyway Dudley got some good animated exercise into his walk home as he ruminated over the Wild West in which he lives.

We did see some sights today, besides working cowboys and working horses and working cow dogs.

We saw a calf with a busted knee. He stood up when we rode by the first time; on the return trip he just laid there and looked at us. He won't be going anywhere but down a coyote's gullet. (I did tell a cowboy, but how would he find it, or catch it.)

We watched a coyote, making a big circle around another newborn calf… with mama cow off grazing around a corner draw and unaware of impending disaster. Dudley and I chased the coyote off a ways, but none of our hollerin' brought mama back bellerin' in defensive mode, and the coyote just made a wide half circle.

We saw pretty fresh cow afterbirth splattered on the ground… no coyote or Ravens had discovered it yet.

And we saw the gorgeous Owyhee desert, with the still-snow-draped Owyhees for a backdrop. It's one of Dudley's favorite views.

Rent-A-Cowgirl

Friday April 25 2014

Since we've been getting a lot of practice this spring mooooving cows off our upper acres, when the local Owyhee ranchers needed help gathering and driving their cows, we Rent-A-Cowgirls volunteered.

Connie sat astride her Grandson of the Black Stallion Finneas, and I rode tall (and wide) on The Dude. We joined 15-20 Real Cowboys and Cowgirls, riding out into the sagebrush and splitting up to gather a hundred or so head of cattle, pushing them together and driving them up to an awaiting corral for some branding and sorting before turning them loose in the next higher pasture.


Finneas spent much of the morning ignoring the cows but, more importantly, trying to win the ride, sweating and fretting and covering a lot of extra ground. The Dude spent his morning getting more fretful, as the cattle spread out in a half-mile mooing bawling long line, and as the calves shot back escaping behind the line and the cowboys took off at a gallop to retrieve them, and as Finneas occasionally disappeared over a hill out of sight to go let off some steam.


Once the cows bunched up at a fence corner and gate, and Dudley got to squeeze together with a line of cowhorses and move in close on the cows, that's when he found his comfort zone, being big and bold and bossy, throwing the Stink Eye at the cows and charging at them to get them moving onward. The bellowing cows and hollering cowboys and cowgirls and barking cow-leg-biting cowdogs didn't bother The Dude a bit, and he threw his own snorts in for good measure to scare them.


Once the herd was corralled, the ranch owners lit the fire and heated up the branding irons, the Real Cowboys and Cowgirls roped and branded the "slick" calves;



and after a cowboy lunch the fun began: sorting a dozen dry cows from the herd.


Wisely, Connie and I did not join the sorting. That was where the real cowboying came in, where you see those rodeo competition events really put into practice. It was fast and furious - it took a strong and imperturbable horse and rider to cut a mad cow out of a swirling bawling herd, and a coordinated effort from several other riders to keep that cow moving to the other end of the corral. "You can't outrun a cow," one of the cowboys said - but that didn't stop them from trying. The skill of the cutting horse facing a dancing cow was apparent. One particularly cantankerous cow took 8 cowboys and cowhorses, driving her, literally leaning on her and shoving her along, doubling back to chase her down when she slipped back through holes in the line, a neck rope to pull and a butt rope to shove - and 10 minutes to finally get her across the corral into an adjoining pen.

Those riders and horses knew what they were doing. It was clear from the beginning that we Rent-A-Cowgirls and  our Quasi-Cowhorses would have been way out of our league, in the way, getting dumped or run over. We were happy to watch from the sidelines in awe.

So if you're an Owyhee rancher that needs an extra Cowgirl or two for the day, we're rent-able. We probably won't disgrace ourselves (i.e. we probably won't fall off or get lost), and we might help moooove some cows, and we know when to stay out of the way and admire the professionals doing their thing.

Here are a couple of short videos from the day:
Gathering cows

[link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZY1oQgkAGI&feature=youtu.be]

Pushing cows

[link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tet6mkX7rtg&feature=youtu.be]

Waiting on cows to filter into the corral

[link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q_Pr9cacUo&feature=youtu.be]

Sorting cows

[the white face, white-legged horse is a mustang, an awesome cowhorse]
[link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRdTqBp3YxI&feature=youtu.be]

Sorting cows



[link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_jN_D-PGbg&feature=youtu.be]

Today, The Cows Won

Sunday April 6 2014

We got this cow-moving thing down. (Maybe not the fence-fixin' so much, but definitely the cow-moving.)

A rancher's cows have taken up residence on our upper 200 acres (and Connie's 40 acres) this spring - and why wouldn't they? Abundant grass and water, a 'nursery' to have their babies and raise them in safety, while the BLM land they're supposed to be on is scanty with feed, and the water is a long way away.

We've fixed some fence (over and over - the barbed wire is very old and not cow-sharp, and therefore not much of a deterrent), but once a week or so, after the cows either hop the fence or bust through it (calves just slither right through), Connie saddles up Tiger, and I saddle up Dudley again (sometimes Steph joins us on the ATV), and we moooooove the cows back on up the 200 and out the gate back onto BLM land. Last time there was a bull in with them, and he obediently mooooooooved out with his harem.


We'd gotten good at it. I don't know if Dudley's done this before, or if he's instinctively just a smart cow horse (he's smart at everything else). Tiger's getting brave and smart on cows too, with all the mooing and hollering and "HYAH!"ing; and even the cows have been getting smart. Last time they obediently mooooved along steadily in single file, up the crick much of the way before they let us turn them up the hill, and moooooove them on out the gate.


Today was that time of the week again. We saddled up Dudley and Tiger again, and today Sarah and Krusty joined us to mooooooove 30-40 cows out again. It was Sarah's first cattle drive.

The cows and calves were harder to drive this time, as if they'd get bogged down in quicksand along the way. They'd mush up into a pile like a freeway traffic jam, then they'd split up and down and left and right, scatter back down in the crick, break away back up in the tall sagebrush.


Long about the time we finally got them pushed up 195 acres and turned toward the gate, we saw the problem. The bull did not want his harem to leave paradise this time.

We 3 cowgirls and cowhorses pushed the cows and calves on one side, while on the other side the bull was busy running the line pushing them back toward us. The cows didn't know who to be more worried about - 3 brave and strong cow horses and 3 hollerin' bawlin' cowgirls, or one big bull that was getting madder and madder at them.

We cowgirls perceived we were no match for a mad bull, and we sure didn't want to get him mad at us, too. And since we're some pretty smart cowgirls, we admitted when we were whooped.

So we gave up. The bull and cows stayed on the upper 200. We rode home.


The cows won this round. Might be time to quit pretending and call the Real Cowboys and Real Cowhorses and Real Cowdogs in on the job.

Fence 'Em Out

Saturday March 29 2014

Idaho is a state with "Open Range Laws", meaning livestock has the right of way. Cows wander in and scare your horses off and eat your hay? Too bad, you have to fence them out. Bull charges you out in the open? Too bad, he has the right of way. You hit a cow out on the highway? Too bad, you are liable and you get to pay for your car damage and reimburse the rancher. (We know to drive very carefully on the highways in the winters and springs here.)

The property owner has to fence unwanted livestock out. (Idaho Code apparently allows counties to create "herd districts" where the animal's owner is liable for any damage it causes, but I expect there aren't many herd districts in the state; and anyway, land previously used as open range can't become a herd district.)

There are plenty of twists and turns within this law (such as, what defines a "lawful fence"), but the basic law is, if you don't want the cows on your property, you have to maintain the fencing to keep them out.

We get the occasional cow or two or three every year up our canyon that we drive on out (although if it's a bull, we call the ranchers to come get their bulls! We don't mess with bulls), but this year, many, many cows can't resist our green grass and the delightful bubbling crick up the canyon. 

This winter, we're doing a lot of moving cows out, and we're doing a lot of fencing 'em out. Hammering the little U-nail-jobbers is good hand-eye coordination practice for some people (ahem), and besides, driving cows is excellent cross-training for the endurance horses, some of whom are afraid of cows. 

It's just part of life in the West!

Da Bull

December 28 2013

Every winter, we get a stray bull or two who wanders on down our canyon and either gets stuck, or decides he likes it with us, rather than heading on down onto his own ranch. I don't mess with bulls anymore. I leave them to the cowboys.

And anyway, just by watching this bull, I could tell I didn't want to be anywhere close to him. I perched my binoculars on a fence post and stared at him for 15 minutes until he turned his head just right (he never took his eyes off me) so I could just read his ear tags/numbers. Then we called the right cowboys to come get their bull.

Here's a short photo narrative of the adventure.

Content Bull


Suspicious Bull


BullCatcher #1


BullCatcher #2


The Jig is Up Bull


Wary Bull


Chagrinned Bull


Herded Bull

Bull with Other Ideas


Pissed Off Bull


Pissed Off Bull and Cowdogs


Charging Bull


Caught Bull


They rather easily caught this one - compared to another one I watched - though it was more Luck than Easy that got him in the trailer without too much of a fight.

Punching Cows

Saturday March 16 2013

Originally, a 'cowpuncher' referred to a man prodding or punching a walking steak (i.e. beef cow) with an iron-spiked pole up a chute into a railroad car bound for slaughter. Eventually, 'cowpuncher' came to mean cowboys in general, and cowpunching referred to the work cowboys do.

But I know now why they really call it Punching Cows.

When your horse wants the sloooooow moooooo-ving tired little calves to get along, he punches them in the butt. Sometimes he bites them in the butt to hurry them along.

Jose punched this little calf along the wash on our cattle drive today. More on this adventure soon!

[video here]


or link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek275B-hSWQ&feature=youtu.be

Owyhee Deputized

Wednesday February 6 2013

I am no cowgirl, and I hadn't planned on herding cattle today. I daresay it wasn't on Jose's calendar either. But when the 2 young heifers showed up in our back yard, and wouldn't take "SHOO!" for an answer, and Jose was standing right at the fence looking at them, I thought… 'what if?'

What if I just grabbed Jose and threw a saddle on him, and we tried herding the heifers down the road? Jose's helped move cattle out of our canyon with other horses, and he's plenty brave, but… moving cows by himself?

I grabbed Jose and threw a saddle on him, and we took aim on those heifers.

I figured they belonged up on the north rim with the other black cows turned out up there and roaming all the way up to the highway, but all I really planned to do was get them started down the road away from here, and if they turned into any of the neighbor's driveways, well… I'd say "Oops!" and Jose and I would turn around and come home, and the neighbors could Have a Cow (or two). So I admit up front we didn't start out with the best of intentions.

Along with Girlie the cow dog, who hasn't herded cows, but has some instinct for them, we  successfully pushed the 2 heifers out our driveway, and successfully turned them down the road to the right, instead of up the road to the left.


Jose was interested in the fact that the black cow butts kept a constant distance between us, no matter our speed. If we walked, they walked. If we started trotting, they started trotting.

When the heifers by-passed the first neighbor's driveway, and I didn't have to say, "oops!" and turn around, we kept pushing them on down the road. And the cows passed the next neighbor's driveway without turning into it and I didn't have to say "oops!" and turn around, and we kept pushing them on down the road.

An idea formed in my head. Another half mile down the road and back up a draw was a small gate (aka Carol's gate) that led on up that draw and eventually up onto the north flats - where the other cows were.

What if Jose and I could just take the cows up there and turn them back in with the herd, instead of just leaving them further down the road and someone else's problem?

When the cows came close to the next neighbor's driveway and started drifting in that direction, Jose and I drifted off the road a bit on the driveway side, successfully edging the cows away from the driveway. They continued on down the road.

Heck, we were getting the hang of this. At the next driveway, the cows started to turn into it, but Jose and I angled off the road into the driveway and pushed them back up onto the road, and on down it they continued.

Well now. Since we were so good at this, and were now obviously official deputized Owyhee Cowgirl, Cow Horse and Cow Dog, there was no question that we had to continue our mission and return the heifers to the proper grazing allotment. 

The trick would be the next turn in the road, which hair-pinned to the right. We needed the cows to go left, and walk up the draw a ways and hang out there a while, while we raced around them to open Carol's gate up ahead, and raced back around them before they decided to leave, and then push them on up the draw and through the little gate.

Well. Now that we were experts and all, it was too easy!

We skillfully turned them off the hairpin road to the left, and after pushing them partway up the draw we let them stop a minute;


then we cantered a wide circle around and ahead of them up to Carol's gate, propped it open, then cantered wide around to the back of the cows, and started pushing them on up the draw toward the gate.


Those obliging heifers walked right on through,


and Jose watched them out of sight as we closed the gate on them.


Of course, I'll always leave driving bulls to the real cowboys and cow horses, and I wouldn't try herding cows alone with just any of our horses, like, say, Mac the ex-cowhorse who is now afraid of cows.

And of course any 2-year-old ranch kid could do this on any half-broke ranch horse, but…

we were quite pleased with our excellent impromptu roundup!