From Tractor to Saddle and Back Again
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We’ve been burning the midnight oil at both ends this week. With the owner and a few guests coming next week, there’s been a lot on our plates here at the ranch, so we’ve been busy getting everything together for their arrival — and trying to fight the weather.
Monday was hot, but I was fortunate enough to find myself in the tractor, fighting sleep rather than sweat. The lower hay fields needed raked, baled and stacked, so Cade and I hopped to it first thing that morning and worked right up until the Hydrobed in his pickup went out. From that point, I finished the last hour on my own from the tractor’s seat.
Tuesday was the exact opposite in weather — cool and wet. With the moisture coming down, we decided against stacking for fear of molded hay — instead, I consolidated hay closer to the stackyard to make it a little easier when we go back to stack it. The primary job of the day for me, personally, was blasting some 90’s country and breaking it up every once in a while with a comedy special off YouTube.
Wednesday was also rainy, but it was spent elsewhere on the ranch. A row of irrigating pipes up on the mesa needed gates fixed, so John and I went up to go handle that, which turned out to be a simple task — three parts and a wrench was all it took, as long as there wasn’t water gushing out to freeze up the fingers. After that, John and I spent some time cleaning the shops to make everything a little sightlier and more orderly. I finished the day fixing fence with Cade, swapping cowboy jokes and Army stories.
Thursday saw the weather clear up some, so we started by pushing our eastern herd west — they’ll spend the fall closer to headquarters and then they’ll winter near the stackyards. To get them there, we’ll push one pasture at a time until it’s time to switch over to hotwire and intensive grazing, which the full-time hands will do after I leave — it’s hard to believe that’s a fast-approaching date.
Before we started, Pierson put his first ride on a colt that just came back from the trainer, so I had the opportunity to watch that done and to watch as Cade shadowed him and ensured a little bit of security. Unfortunately, while I was trying to clear the north side of the creek of cattle, my horse stumbled and began limping. I made a judgement call and dismounted, walking her back to the trailer. Cade came over and assessed the situation, decided he agreed with my call, and I spent the next half hour waiting for the others to return. Horses, I was reminded, are just like the tractors and equipment and all the other things we use to do our job — if you use it enough, eventually you’ll have to fix it. That said, this felt a lot worse; in my family, horses are something to be respected and cared for above oneself if possible, and I couldn’t help but feel responsible for her injury. Once we returned to the barn and got the mare situated, I moved on to weed-whacking for the afternoon.
Friday was spent mowing the fishing trails, which will probably be the last time they need it all summer long — with the weather drying up, the grass isn’t growing quite so fast, so they’ll stay passable for the season. Saturday was a continuation of mowing with a small batch of weed-whacking in the afternoon.
Sunday morning was an early wake-up and an early end to the day. We pushed the eastern herd a little further west, off the common pasture, which we share with two neighbors. Fortunately, the herd moved fairly smoothly, crossing the highway with no issue. We’ve gone to check them a couple times to make sure they don’t turn back, but they’ve stayed right where we left them — fingers crossed they carry on with that pattern.
Submitted by: Leigh Stockton
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team
