Horsewright
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2011
- Messages
- 13,037
Its been quite a while since I've done one of these threads. Thought it might be time again. Every quarter we process the cattle on our ranch. Saddle up! Grab ya a cup of coffee, sit back and ride along with us. There will be lots of leather in use to check out. From saddles and boots to belts and sheaths and a lot of things in between. Generally in these pics if it's not a saddle or a pair of boots, and its leather, Horsewright made it. The work is generally divided up into four sections:
The Gather:
We started off on Friday morning gathering all our cattle. This took most of the day. Don't have any pics from that day as the gal that was taking our pics was able to only come on Sat. Our photographer was our daughter's best friend Carina. We were pretty successful Fri, making several circles and bringing in large groups of cattle. At the end of the day we were only missing 4 heifers and we didn't need them anyways. So we'll get started Sat morning.
The first thing we had to do was sort all the adult cattle off of the claves. The grass on our ranch is very strong but is weak in copper and selenium. So every three months we bring in all the cattle and give them a vitamin/mineral shot that covers this deficiency. Giving the adult cattle this shot was the purpose of our work this time as well as processing any new calves. Other times of the year there are other things done but this winter processing (usually the last weekend of Jan) the main purpose is this supplement shot. The reason we didn't need those heifers was they had just been weaned for two months and we processed them right before turning them loose after weaning.
Sorting:
Nichole is on her mare Josie and is separating the cows from the calves. We made her spur straps, her charmitas leggings and the slobber straps that attach that mecate rein she is using to the snaffle bit:
Once she's got the cow looking someplace else, she pushes it towards the open gate to the pens off of the main corral.
Our daughter Alyssa is running the gate. Her horse Lil Man, is at home injured so she borrowed a horse, Spudnik from our son, who is usually helping at our deals but had a branding at his ranch that day. We'd had to delay our deal a week and he was already tied up for the new date. Alyssa has two jobs. If the cow doesn't come clean, meaning a calf is running along behind it, she will ride forward and block the open gate in front of her. She also has to be aware of the cows that are already sorted in the pens to her right, as some of them might try to sneak back out. I was sitting on the fence coaching her as she really hadn't done this before. We built those charmitas leggings for her when she was 12. Now at 24 she still wears them. We've wanted to make her something new but she won't let us, she likes her old ones
It takes a while and we purposefully go very slow with just one or two folks in the pen with Nichole. Last one coming in:
So our next project is to process all the adult cattle. So those that need horses go get em and those that don't anymore get on foot. I've assigned everybody a job. Time to get with it. Carina was there now and took over the camera from me.
Processing:
Heading over to get started. Dave, (Alyssa's boyfriend) in the foreground, will run the squeeze chute for Nichole. Tyler and I will be horseback bringing up the cattle to the chute. Nichole and Cara will be giving the shots and doing the paperwork and Steve our partner in the ranch, will be helping them. Alyssa will be running the swing gate after we bring her the cattle and Mary Kay will be up on the catwalk pushing the cattle along to the chute.
Always takes a bit to get ready, mixing meds etc so Tyler and I are visiting with Fletch, Mary Kay's husband who had just driven in from Utah, late the night before. His main job was to man the ice chests and keep folks hydrated. In this pic we made the split reins we're using, the headstalls on the horses, the curb straps on the bits and the spur straps we're wearing. Also we made the martingale/breast collar on Tyler's horse Dusty, this is the straps that go across her chest to help hold the saddle in place. All three of us are wearing Horsewright belts, knives and sheaths and holsters but ya can't see em cause of the vests.
So when they are ready, our job is to bring a group of 4 or 5 cows to them;
Alyssa's job is to shut the swing gate behind the cows but in front of the horses. Timing is very important. Bad form to smack the horses upside the head with a gate.
As the cattle near, she'll duck down behind the gate so as not to scare the cattle. This is her view then:
She'll swing the gate close at the right time and secure it:
The cattle are then pushed up the alley by Mary Kay where they wait their turn in the chute. The cattle push past those padded tail gates and as they pass the gate swings down and prevents the cows from backing up:
As they come forward into the chute and into the head catch, Dave will pull on that bar and ratchet the sides close on the cow, squeezing them. This helps restrain them and allows the crew to administer shots in relative safety:
Some of the tamer ones will just walk into the chute and not go all the way forward and have to be encouraged, here by Nichole, to go all the way forward. This is where the term cowpoke comes from, ya poke the cows forward, or twist their tail.
Cara ready with a shot, she's wearing a Horsewright wildrag too:
These shots are given in the neck and thats why it's important to get them in the head catch and then squeeze. After the shot, the cows are released into another pen:
Sometimes one will get stuck or partially turned around and Mary Kay will need back up:
When they have one or two left in the alley waiting to go in, they will call to us to bring em some more cattle. We've just been hanging waiting meanwhile. Lil Sis, my horse, is just a youngster and relatively green. She was intrigued by the hustle and bustle and crashing and clanging of the chute. Tyler's dotted headstall is a very popular one that we make. Nichole makes all the headstalls but always cusses those dotted ones, tough to sew.
Time to get some more:
Sometimes the bulls can be of a different mind. Patrick on the right and Padre on the left are half brothers with Patrick being the oldest. We picked Patrick up on St Patrick's day a couple years back and Padre on Father's day a year ago, which is how they got their names. Patrick turned around one time pushing back and I was real proud of how Lil Sis body slammed him. She went right at him and slammed him in the shoulder with her chest. Well, weight and momentum were on his side and we didn't stop him but she gave it her all. Brought him in with the next group:
Will continue on:
The Gather:
We started off on Friday morning gathering all our cattle. This took most of the day. Don't have any pics from that day as the gal that was taking our pics was able to only come on Sat. Our photographer was our daughter's best friend Carina. We were pretty successful Fri, making several circles and bringing in large groups of cattle. At the end of the day we were only missing 4 heifers and we didn't need them anyways. So we'll get started Sat morning.
The first thing we had to do was sort all the adult cattle off of the claves. The grass on our ranch is very strong but is weak in copper and selenium. So every three months we bring in all the cattle and give them a vitamin/mineral shot that covers this deficiency. Giving the adult cattle this shot was the purpose of our work this time as well as processing any new calves. Other times of the year there are other things done but this winter processing (usually the last weekend of Jan) the main purpose is this supplement shot. The reason we didn't need those heifers was they had just been weaned for two months and we processed them right before turning them loose after weaning.
Sorting:
Nichole is on her mare Josie and is separating the cows from the calves. We made her spur straps, her charmitas leggings and the slobber straps that attach that mecate rein she is using to the snaffle bit:
Once she's got the cow looking someplace else, she pushes it towards the open gate to the pens off of the main corral.
Our daughter Alyssa is running the gate. Her horse Lil Man, is at home injured so she borrowed a horse, Spudnik from our son, who is usually helping at our deals but had a branding at his ranch that day. We'd had to delay our deal a week and he was already tied up for the new date. Alyssa has two jobs. If the cow doesn't come clean, meaning a calf is running along behind it, she will ride forward and block the open gate in front of her. She also has to be aware of the cows that are already sorted in the pens to her right, as some of them might try to sneak back out. I was sitting on the fence coaching her as she really hadn't done this before. We built those charmitas leggings for her when she was 12. Now at 24 she still wears them. We've wanted to make her something new but she won't let us, she likes her old ones
It takes a while and we purposefully go very slow with just one or two folks in the pen with Nichole. Last one coming in:
So our next project is to process all the adult cattle. So those that need horses go get em and those that don't anymore get on foot. I've assigned everybody a job. Time to get with it. Carina was there now and took over the camera from me.
Processing:
Heading over to get started. Dave, (Alyssa's boyfriend) in the foreground, will run the squeeze chute for Nichole. Tyler and I will be horseback bringing up the cattle to the chute. Nichole and Cara will be giving the shots and doing the paperwork and Steve our partner in the ranch, will be helping them. Alyssa will be running the swing gate after we bring her the cattle and Mary Kay will be up on the catwalk pushing the cattle along to the chute.
Always takes a bit to get ready, mixing meds etc so Tyler and I are visiting with Fletch, Mary Kay's husband who had just driven in from Utah, late the night before. His main job was to man the ice chests and keep folks hydrated. In this pic we made the split reins we're using, the headstalls on the horses, the curb straps on the bits and the spur straps we're wearing. Also we made the martingale/breast collar on Tyler's horse Dusty, this is the straps that go across her chest to help hold the saddle in place. All three of us are wearing Horsewright belts, knives and sheaths and holsters but ya can't see em cause of the vests.
So when they are ready, our job is to bring a group of 4 or 5 cows to them;
Alyssa's job is to shut the swing gate behind the cows but in front of the horses. Timing is very important. Bad form to smack the horses upside the head with a gate.
As the cattle near, she'll duck down behind the gate so as not to scare the cattle. This is her view then:
She'll swing the gate close at the right time and secure it:
The cattle are then pushed up the alley by Mary Kay where they wait their turn in the chute. The cattle push past those padded tail gates and as they pass the gate swings down and prevents the cows from backing up:
As they come forward into the chute and into the head catch, Dave will pull on that bar and ratchet the sides close on the cow, squeezing them. This helps restrain them and allows the crew to administer shots in relative safety:
Some of the tamer ones will just walk into the chute and not go all the way forward and have to be encouraged, here by Nichole, to go all the way forward. This is where the term cowpoke comes from, ya poke the cows forward, or twist their tail.
Cara ready with a shot, she's wearing a Horsewright wildrag too:
These shots are given in the neck and thats why it's important to get them in the head catch and then squeeze. After the shot, the cows are released into another pen:
Sometimes one will get stuck or partially turned around and Mary Kay will need back up:
When they have one or two left in the alley waiting to go in, they will call to us to bring em some more cattle. We've just been hanging waiting meanwhile. Lil Sis, my horse, is just a youngster and relatively green. She was intrigued by the hustle and bustle and crashing and clanging of the chute. Tyler's dotted headstall is a very popular one that we make. Nichole makes all the headstalls but always cusses those dotted ones, tough to sew.
Time to get some more:
Sometimes the bulls can be of a different mind. Patrick on the right and Padre on the left are half brothers with Patrick being the oldest. We picked Patrick up on St Patrick's day a couple years back and Padre on Father's day a year ago, which is how they got their names. Patrick turned around one time pushing back and I was real proud of how Lil Sis body slammed him. She went right at him and slammed him in the shoulder with her chest. Well, weight and momentum were on his side and we didn't stop him but she gave it her all. Brought him in with the next group:
Will continue on:
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