I’ve graduated from beginner to advanced cattle driving over the last 2 days. We moved a lot of cattle over long distances and some interesting situations- let’s call them that!
Tuesday’s assignment was to get 15 heads of cattle back down the mountain and to Elk Creek, a holding pasture for the night. The easy part of the assignment was that it was ‘any’ 15 cattle so we didn’t have to worry about getting the correct ‘tagged’ steer. Finding the cattle was the first task – we had to go high on the mountain in pretty steep off-roading but no problems with Catman- my new favorite. and then BINGO – 11 heads hanging out at a water tank. That’s a good chunk of our assignment for the day but we were far from the end point. We were making good progress until they ‘dipped down’ into a swampy area – guess one of the flank person wasn’t quick enough to anticipate the move and stop them!
No time like the present for a crash course in advanced bushwhacking. One wrangler & 2 of us guests went down after them. The bushes were up to the horses’ backs, taller than the cattle which made it really hard to gather when you only see moving bushes. You can also imagine the ‘tickling’ on the horses’ bellies & I had NO idea what the ground below was. It takes some special horses to trust and go ahead with that. Divide & conquer – Ash, the wrangler was off her horse and chasing the cattle on foot while Gill & I were mostly blocking them from getting further in. ……. we made it out but with only 5 of our original 11 steers left 😦 Luckily the rest of the drive was uneventful and the other group we were working with had 6 steers waiting at the truck – NO! not the ones we had lost, a different lot but regardless, our numbers were looking better again!
We still had to move them to the overnight pasture but that was going to be a short drive & for the most part was uneventful. In the meantime, the other group gathered 3 more that we had to go get and bring to the overnight pasture, this time, a little more challenging, where one kept sneaking out to ditches or on the wrong side of fences requiring some serious chasing skills.
By the end of the 7hrs-in-the-saddle day, we had a pretty good grade of 14/15 heads we were aiming for. I’d say that’s a 93% grade in advance bushwhacking class! Beer & Advil time was well appreciated!
I can’t believe we’re done Wednesday already 😦 But it was an awesome day so I won’t think that the vacation is more than half over! Today’s assignment was to take Monday’s 24 steers from the ranch up to the mountain for graze ……….. 15km away, up and down mountains, on roads, trails, bush & fields. Four of us only – 2 wranglers, my buddy Gill and me. And this time, there wasn’t the option to leave any behind ….. no matter what!
Task seemed a little daunting but were were up for it. The cattle started out a little “wild”, bucking and running and NOT going where we wanted them to but they eventually settled down and were mostly well behaved. There was definitely some bushwhacking but after yesterday, nothing will compare! We had one close encounter with another group moving cattle in the opposite direction than us – d/t some miscommunication, we ended up on the same path! it would have been a disaster had the 2 herds mixed / mingled but we were able to hold ours at a higher spot while the other group went by. We told our 24 steers it was a lunch break 😉 LOL. It gave me the opportunity for a few pics – there is no time for pictures when moving cattle! We had another ‘situation’ almost at the end when we were in a field, close to a creek – the cattle had been moving for quite a few hours now and they were thirsty! A few ended up or across the creek which was less than ideal! This time, wrangler Sue saved the day by jumping the creek and getting them all back on track. The very last step of the day could also have been disastrous as instead of crossing the road straight into the final area, they started running down the road ……….. like in non-fenced, logging trucks, etc. road! This time I made the final save by going passed them and blocking the road. It could have backfired but since it worked, I was the saviour of that moment to end our 24 steers, 15km, 4 gals, 4.5hrs cattle drive ✔️.
I’ve had Catman for the 3 days so far & we’re doing really well together. He’s brave & gets me out of some tight spots or nasty terrain. He likes to have a task to do, just like me so this cattle driving works well for both of us. One thing he’s not as good in is being on his own if he can’t see his buddies but that’s been getting better as the week goes on – maybe he’s decided that I’m not that bad to hang out with!
More graze / mountain tomorrow but not too sure what the assignment will be- fingers crossed for more cattle work but I have a feeling it’s not going to be too demanding as they are serving us a special lunch at a view point on the mountain.
But first, I will start my day with “jingle” – I’ll go out on horseback with one wrangler to get the rest of the horses that have been out in the fields overnight. We go out right at dawn, when it’s still pretty dark. I’ve done it a few times and it’s really fun ……… and a special privilege on my request. I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow. In the meantime, I need to get some sleep.
Checkmarks ✔️ 
Oh how i love to read your adventures France! Keep them coming! xox
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