We decided to get a jump start on processing our calves this year. This is the North herd. We usually process them in June. By June these little buggers aren't so little, the weather is terribly hot and usually windy. Also, there are over 400 in this herd. So we gathered all the calves we could, and took them to some corrals nearby. It was slow slow going with little tiny calves.
A little stream of water. I took a picture because this is a rare site in our neck of the woods.
This is Clay on a horse he is training. It was about his 5th ride and first time out in the open. He did great.
The calves aren't very old and have a hard time keeping up. Then they get scared and confused and want turn and run the wrong way. Nothing about moving pairs is easy.
We got them into a fenced area, and the next day went out to brand. (Remember when I say brand, I am referring to how we process our calves. We don't actually "brand". We vaccinate, castrate, earmark and ear tag.)
Because we have such a wonderful bunch of people who volunteer their time to come help, I was able to take a bunch of pictures. So beware, there are way too many in this post.
You can't say we discriminate against women around here. The women make up about half of our team and rope and work just as well and as hard as the men.
The pictures tend to focus on the ropers. But the ground crew is crucial in getting the job done and done properly.
There is a lot happening on the ground. It is busy and everyone needs to stay alert.
These aren't fancy pictures, but they show what it's like at our "brandings". We have about 6 more bunches to do, so stay tuned.
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