Spring Training

With branding smoke in the air, I took some time to get on the horses and remind them of their duty in life. 

I've really tried to take a nice and easy approach to the horses this year. So far they have responded well. 

Once Chief makes the shift in his mind that he is a horse and not a brumby, he's calm, cool, and collected. 

For Mollie, it takes a little longer. As a rule of thumb, if you can fit a beer can between the back of your saddle and the horse, don't get on!

So we ventured out. Me on Chief, ponying Mollie. 

Stopped by the ole stock tank. Still running well. It's good to water the horses off their back. Pretty common procedure when we're out gathering up. 

Then we headed through the hay field, where we were all winter, to the pasture where we keep the cows. 

Good wildlife around here. Antelope in the distance. Nothing new for these two guys, but a good reminder that other critters pop out of no where. 

Like cows!

Doing great. Roaming on grass is how cattle were meant to live. 

Calves and cows look strong. 

Water truck is holding strong. Good for the horses to see foreign objects. 

Then we charged across the hills of the pasture. Good exercise. 

This 150 lies right along the highway. Sensitize and desensitize. 

On our way back, we spooked up some geese. No problemo. 

Once back at the trailer, I got on the brute. 

Spirited horse. Fun to ride. 

A good time was had by all. 

Ranch hard and prosper. Everybody loves spring. Ambition is in the air. We all want to get out and work, and so do the horses. Good idea to get a few miles on them before showing up to your first branding. Not the place for a wreck. Even though these horses are solid, a little spring training is good for us all. Let's ride. 

Glory to God

AMDG! 

           https://youtu.be/oQojFv9Llnw         

Living Stone

Do not let our hearts be troubled.

           https://youtu.be/Mob5gBtTqk8         

Mom's Garden

Last, but not least, is Mom's garden. It may take us a while to get to it, but we always do. And Mom always appreciates it. 

This garden is kind of sacred ground. Mom says you have to be in a good mood before you go in here. Consequently, we pretty much let Mom have her space. 

In every corner is a little momentum of meaning. Our Blessed Mother keeps a good on everything. 

This spring's project was tilling up the raised beds.

Mom had some new soil she wanted to add. 

So Dad and I got this little old school tiller going. 

After we made one pass, we spread out the new soil and tilled it again. 

Giddy up.

Should work.

Everybody's happy when Mom's happy. With Mother's Day coming up, Dad and I wanted to make sure we didn't miss our chance to let Mom know how much we love and appreciate her. No better way to do that than get her garden ready to plant. Ranch on, Mom. 

Spraying Weeds

Weeds are a fact of life these days. Would that it weren’t so, but it is. You either spray them or they overtake your barn yard. Simple as that. 

We choose to spray them. 

Dad has his weed and pest permit so he knows how to deal with chemicals. 

We were working with a sterilant today. A bit more of a science than your average Roundup. 

Once the tank was mixed, we went around all the out buildings. 

Then hit the Sandbox and other weed prone areas. 

Not the funnest part of ranching, but it has to be done. Otherwise, weeds take over. Gone are the days that bare ground will sprout native grasses. Invasive species are the default, anymore. Good stewardship deals with them before they deal with you. Ranch on.

Spaying Heifers

One option for guys that run yearlings, is to spay the heifers. This keeps the bulls away from them and it's also claimed that they gain more by not going in and out of heat. Not an uncommon tactic, but not as common to find a vet trained to do the operation.

We wanted to spay our black heifer, so we can run her with the main herd and she won’t get bred. With the local veterinarians not schooled in the new spaying procedures, the neighbor had a traveling vet coming through to do their big bunch. So we hauled our little girl up there to throw in with them. 

With the dual alley system, they can really move the cattle through. 

Not much to see here, but the doc feels his way around the abdomen with his left arm in the rectum. Then, with his right hand, he inserts a tool into the uterus and is able to remove the ovaries through the uterine wall. That’s my understanding, anyway. 

It is a delicate procedure. One real caution can be nipping some of the intestines while removing the ovaries. So, once they are removed, they examine both ovaries to make sure no intestine came with them. This vet is pretty quick. Takes him less than two minutes a cow. Time means a lot when you’re working with 300 head or more.

Back home, safe and sound.

Interesting morning. We might do more spaying in the future with heifer calves we want to fatten. This was a good test case for the procedure. The rest of the summer will also be a good opportunity to see how well this girl grows. It’s good to try new things. Open minded ranching. 

Trailer Repair

With spring ranch work ahead of us, we needed to give some attention to the ole stock trailer.

This 06 Circle D is a work of art in my world. Built tough, the rust just adds a patina to her. Darin and I ran out to the ranch and brought her to town. 

The dividing gate had a broken bracket and doesn't stay closed.

Down low, the weld rusted off and broke when we hit it with a snowmobile ski. 

Manure really compounds the rust. 

Which old chunk of scrap should we use?

The big one will do. Just cut the corners off of it.

Should make some nice gussets.

Wheel the welder out and get to work. 

We ground it down the best we could and then welded them in hot. Something should stick. 

The spring on the latch also lost some strength, so we added this bungee cord. Works. 

Mui bien. 

When we keep it open, I put this leather strap around it. Sucks it up tight, so you don't hear it clanging all the time. 

While we were at it, we dunged out the tack room. 

Once straightened up, we just blew the dirt out. 

Better. 

Then got her up to date. 

Ready to ranch.

Good stuff. I love this trailer. Mainly in comparison to the old stock rack system I used to run. But nevertheless, she is handy. Got a little cow work in the morning, so we'll put her right to use. Ranch on.