Posted by rrlund on November 25, 2014 at 07:16:43 from (162.250.26.63):
I thought this was pretty good. I couldn't help doing a copy and paste on it. With six calves still standing out there with their mommas in this miserable weather,that I haven't been able to catch yet,it hit home.
November 24, 2014 5:00 am • RICHARD GEARY
As humans, we harbor three primal desires. They appeal to our instincts and not our cognition. When they arise, the reaction is visceral, and all rationality is lost in the ancient urge to survive. We can't help it.
These phenomena are: the right to water, hunting, and reproduction, a priori human tendencies which guarantee that our gene pool will continue into an uncertain, dystopian future. Nothing else matters.
Working cattle falls into the hunting category. The urge to chase and handle animals is eternally linked to our need for sustenance.
The compulsion wanes with years of moving cattle and working them in corrals, but I don't think I've ever met a person who wasn't drawn to it, especially those who haven't been exposed. Everybody wants to be a cowboy – at least until they've done it for a few years.
That said, I'll offer some rules of behavior that should be followed when a person new to cattle is lucky enough to badger a rancher into being allowed to participate in a cattle drive - especially if you want to be asked a second time.
Be on time. If you've been asked to be at the ranch by 7 a.m., you're late if you don't pull into the yard at 6:45. If you're early, there's always coffee waiting.
Have your horse saddled when you pull him out of the trailer. There is nothing more frustrating for a rancher than to stand in the morning chill, waiting for someone who is already late, to curry the damned horse, then spend a half-hour getting the saddle exactly right. Just put the bridle on your already saddled horse and crawl on. It's not a Japanese tea ceremony, it's a mundane task that should take five minutes.
The lead person is the only one to give directions. Even experienced riders wait to be told what is expected when they're helping a neighbor. Your only question to the boss should be, “Where do you want me?”
It's when you get close to the cattle that the ancient instinct of the chase will hit you. That doesn't work with cows. The best advice I ever received was the old adage, “Never let them (the cattle) know you're there, but never let them make a mistake.” In order to do that, you have to be able to predict what they might do in certain situations. Some people have spent a lifetime with cows and haven't learned that.
Stay back, and don't volunteer your services. Watch the other riders, and compliment their actions. Don't be a hero.
Never, ever, give commands to another rider's dog, and if yours hasn't been around cattle, leave it in the pickup. I've run my horse over a couple dogs because neither it nor its owner would pay attention, and they were about to cause pandemonium. The wayward dogs weren't injured, but they paid attention after that. The owners wouldn't speak to me for the rest of the day, and that was good.
When you get the herd to the corrals, tie your horse out of the way and say to the boss, “Where to you want me?” If you ask that question the second time, the rancher will see that you might have the potential to be of help in the future, and you'll probably be asked back.
If the boss says you're not needed for the sorting, feel yourself lucky, lean on the fence and watch how it's done. The primal need to control animals will ease, and you'll return to your civilized self. Plus, you'll be out of the way.
Should the cowboss need your help, ask him or her the general plan, plus details of your responsibility. Even opening a gate in the wrong direction can cause havoc in the corrals.
Don't try and do too much, and if you decide to take some initiative, tell one of the hands what you're going to do. An incorrect move can cause hours of stress on the cattle and short tempers in the crew.
It sounds easy, but it's not. The urge to be in on the chase is deeply seated. If you've helped on one ranch and then go to another, you're in a completely different world. Your learning starts all over again. The cattle handle differently, the people work them in different ways. Just stand back and learn.
After four or five bovine experiences, especially in pouring rain or raging blizzards, reality will settle in and you'll wish that our ancestors had been vegetarians. You'll wish that our genetic program for the chase had disappeared, and been replaced by a desire to plant carrots or cabbage.
I've had a cow break my hip and a horse spread my pelvis over more than an inch. But a vegetable has never hurt me. But I'm old and slow, now, so it could happen.
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