Beef. It’s what I did today.

Yesterday my sister invited me to come join in a cow wrangling day.

So I figured why not.  It's not every day you get to be a genuine cowboy.  So I took a day off work and this morning I drove out into the country..

I don't know how many of you have wrangled cattle before but these critters are stupid, strong, stupid, herd, and stupid.   About 8 of us used horses to shove the herd (roughly 100 future cheeseburgers) into the working pens.

This is where things got interesting.  You have to separate the cows that are being kept from the cows that are going to the stockyard.  Steers, heifers, and the three bulls also have to go into separate pens.  The problem is that they are herd animals and don't want to be moved.   And they don't really like humans.

Fortunately there was only one actual injury.   This gentleman is owner of the farm and the one running the show.  A steer head butted him and ran him down stomping on his leg.  He'll be feeling this in the morning.

I think I'll have a steak for dinner as revenge. 

Sounds like an interesting, different, and fun day!

Curious where this is...

I skipped on a similar invite a few years ago. Still regret that decision. 

I've herded beef cattle once or twice for my neighbor, when I was younger.  We used a tractor with a really wide board fence / gate thing across the back, and a pair of 175 dirt bikes for the outliers.

In addition to being stupid and strong, they are also creatures of habit, meaning that anywhere they walk on a regular basis, they will literally follow in the same footsteps.  Cow pastures are riddled with 6"-8" deep and wide ruts, especially along fence lines.

It's exciting when you're chasing down some escaping cows and the bike hits a rut and tramlines you into the fence.

In reply to mtn :

Central Kentucky.  Bourbon County

BTDT. I used to help my uncle who kept a herd and was a large animal vet. 

That is some serious work. You will probably be feeling it in the morning too.

KyAllroad said:

In reply to mtn :

Central Kentucky.  Bourbon County

Cool - was wondering if it was close to the cattle farms I've been on (though never got to be a cowboy on), but they're about 150 miles west of you...

My mother got to do a roundup with the neighbors after my parents moved to New Mexico.  She was 70 at the time these pictures were taken.  She died three years later.

In reply to Karacticus :

My 70 year old mother was on one of the horses as well.   Thanks for sharing.

Ground transportation is inefficient and slow. You need to up your game next time. They may be big and stupid, but they can't jump. Not too high, anyway.

My uncle used ATVs instead of horses on his ranch. One of his bulls did some damage to the front of his pickup truck once during feeding time. Those guys are big.

some of the guilty parties after all was done.  Beers for the menfolk and mimosas for the ladies.

I grew up on a farm and we always had 2-4 cows for milk and beef. Dealing with only a couple of cows was a challenge.

In reply to KyAllroad :

[juvenile sexist joke]

So how was your mimosa?

[/juvenile sexist joke]

Good of you to help herd. My wife's family used to buy beef quarters from the local meat locker and we would butcher a cow to a cow and a half over a weekend. I don't really recommend this. You do get exactly what you want in your steaks, roasts, and hamburger that you want at the expense of ~20hrs of labor plus the cost of beef.

KyAllroad said:

Fortunately there was only one actual injury.   This gentleman is owner of the farm and the one running the show.  A steer head butted him and ran him down stomping on his leg.  He'll be feeling this in the morning.

I think I'll have a steak for dinner as revenge. 

And this is why I work on cats and dogs.
 

I trained Standardbreds for 12 years, but my last large animal call was in 1998. 

Here’s a little something from Corb Lund that may be appropriate https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BKoYT4febHM

Any day that I finished work on a farm/ranch, was a day that I felt better about life than any day worked behind the desk. 

Dirt bikes and sheepdogs were my favourite herd moving tools.

Spotting and chasing the neighbors' bull out of a herd of cows on a SD ranch remains as one of the more memorable pick-up truck rides I have ever had.

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

I grew up on horse farms.  Thoroughbreds are kind of a thing here in Kentucky (we have a little race in May for them).  My childhood stomping ground of Xalapa farm was the site for some of the scenes in Seabiscuit.  So I get horses, it even annoys horse people to know end that I'm a really good rider both without trying and actively disliking the beasts.  But horses are Mensa geniuses compared to cows.

My stepfather was a large animal vet for many years specializing in horses.  And he was often heard to say that the only good cow was medium rare on a plate.

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:

KyAllroad said:

Fortunately there was only one actual injury.   This gentleman is owner of the farm and the one running the show.  A steer head butted him and ran him down stomping on his leg.  He'll be feeling this in the morning.

I think I'll have a steak for dinner as revenge. 

And this is why I work on cats and dogs.
 

I trained Standardbreds for 12 years, but my last large animal call was in 1998. 

I can't count the number of times my uncle got stepped on, smashed into a fence, had his truck attacked, or had to jump a fence to get away from some stupid cow. He sure did love working with them though. He would drop a horse or cow in the middle of a paddock, cut it open, fix whatever the problem was, and stitch them back up in no time. While he also worked on dogs and cats, his true calling was big animals. He worked with several of the local zoos as well as the red wolf project in the Francis Marion NF. He was also the state field vet for a lot of years after he sold his practice. He stopped working on cows and such when he turned 78. Said he finally got too slow to dodge them.  

My first job was working on a farm that had 40 or so cows. Great times to learn what I did not want to do for a living. We had cows when I was a little kid too. The best steak I ever had was named Freckles. She chased me when I was 6 years old...

If you want to borrow a border collie coydog mix next time, let me know. 

Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:

If you want to borrow a border collie coydog mix next time, let me know. 

That would be an interesting mix. Pics of this badass?

My dad grew up with cows.  There was one Momma who was a royal b*tch to start with, then when she had a calf she was way overprotective.  One day she started charging dad (he was 10) so he instinctively picked up a lead pipe leaning on the barn, side stepped her at the last second, and whacked her nose with the pipe.  He said she just dropped to her knees and he never had trouble with her again.