Flood Irrigation, Horses and Bulls

#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk

This week, regarding the irrigation aspect of ranching, I learned how flood irrigation works and how to place dams in sets that will ensure a whole pasture is irrigated, but not over-irrigated to prevent species loss of less water-resistant plants. Dams are created using a wooden triangle and an orange tarp, and the suction of the water flowing in the ditch traps the tarp to the sides and bottoms, and presses the wooden triangle down, creating an effective dam and pushing the water outwards into the field.

I also learned how to saddle a horse and use a lead. Though I have ridden before, my experience with horses is extremely limited.and [I]t was very interesting learning how to prepare a horse for a saddle, clean horseshoes, [cinch on]strap in a saddle and just practice riding in the barn and [reigning]steering the horse.

Beyond that, I continued working with the cows this week by prepping fly rubs with oil and moving feeders. It was interesting to watch the dynamic of the herd change now that the bulls have been released and observing how they interact with heifers and each other in the pasture is much different than the usual calf-cow pairs.

I would challenge how dams could be created more efficiently in an inexpensive way. I wonder what could be used to make a more effective dam that requires less human intervention at the same cost as the tarp and wooden triangle method.

[I wonder] how many dry heifers are generally sold at the end of the summer season?with How hot does it have to be for a calf to experience heat stress? How do you handle heat stress in calves when you come across it? How do beef cows vs milk cows interact with humans differently? In turn, how do heifer-fed cows vs bottle-fed cows interact with humans differently? How do you measure how many hands a horse is?

I plan to use what I’ve learned over this past week to more continue pursuing riding and hopefully, eventually learning how to herd on horseback. I am really interested in the power dynamics between horses and cows, as well as between horses, cows and dogs. I am excited to continue observing interactions between these animals and how they learn to work alongside one another. I plan to learn more about how to saddle and tie knots, as well as gaining the trust of the horse and how each horse rides differently.