Better than Bass Fishing!

There is nothing like the purity of a newborn calf. At this time of year, they are like flowers springing up from the desert. Give them three or four weeks of good, high-protein, green grass, drive them into a small corral, build a big fire, scoop up two hind legs from atop your best mount, drag over by the fire, scorch their hide with a hot iron, notch one ear, cut a couple waddles from under their neck, if it's a bull whittle him to a steer, vaccinate him with a two inch needle and smile 'cause it's better than bass fishing!

The Brand

The origin of branding livestock dates from 2700 B.C. Paintings in Egyptian tombs document branding oxen with hieroglyphics. Ancient Greeks and Romans marked livestock with a hot iron. Hernando Cortez introduced branding from Spain to the New World in 1541. He brought cattle stamped with his mark of three crosses. There has never been anything to take the place of a visible brand as a permanent definitive mark of ownership and deterrent to theft. Livestock people say "a brand's something that won't come off in the wash.
The original Spanish brands were, as a rule, complicated, and beautifully rich in design, but not always practical. The early American ranchers wanted more simple designs that were easy to remember, easily made, that did not blotch, and that were hard to alter. Some say that the old west died out years ago. News that upsets yet gives hope of an era still open, was given in a dull two hour speech at our local cattleman's meeting this week. "Hey boys brand your calves early due to a band of no account, cattle stealin', low down, brand alterin', night punchers, that are working our county over for sure". We can't start tying noose knots yet, but here is your warning to put your running irons away and you better not get caught with soot marks on your cinch ring.

KidsWill be Kids!

Although, it may not seem obvious to anyone that has watched horses shoving, biting, kicking and squealing at one another, the establishment of a dominance pecking order among horses is actually a way to avoid violence. A study of free range domestic ponies on the isle of Rhum in Scotland found that more than 80% of aggressive encounters between animals consisted of threats with the head alone (pinning back the ears and extending the neck) and that kicks or threats to kick were rare. A horse put into a new group of horses will usually find its place in the pecking order within a day and a half. Fifty years ago, the toughest kid on the playground could have maintained his status as coolest kid also, if he wasn't a bully. If he was a bully the mob would jump him, thus keeping a balance of limited violence. Kids of today are stuffed full of blood violence, crime violence, drug violence and domestic violence, then told to be NICE at school. Video games and Hollywood are teaching our children that when they get to be an adult, anything goes! All the while, the left wing educators have been gravitating towards some kind of phantom utopia with not so much as a verbal warning allowed in a true to life pecking order. Due to hurt feelings in tee ball, the scoreboard has been done away with. Horses learn from early on, the balance between kindness, aggression, leadership, subservience, winning, losing and when it's none of their business! Maybe a good lesson for young humans as well? A good, old fashioned, second grade knuckle bumpin' may have adverted disasters, such as Columbine.

Heroes and Uncles

In my eyes the man who sat the straightest in the saddle, was Uncle Bobbie. He literally let hundreds of nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and friends of the family, ride his ranch horses. Many of them were invited to stay for the summer, even as early as eight years old. He taught us important life lessons, how to get up with the sun, how to fix fence, and how to drive a pick-up truck. With the nations decrease in family farms, these basic farm-kid mentalities are being lost by simply pressing the delete and escape keys. They are not being taught, if you leave the gate open, the bull will get out and eat Aunt Louise's beans. Instead, our children are learning they can erase their mistakes by a key stroke. He never instilled fear by discussing what not to do. He never told us, if you fall off that horse, the ground will hurt, he let us feel it. Strengthening my thoughts and opinions on learning by doing, not learning by hearing.This morning, before there was a sliver of light on the eastern horizon, my little nieces, Emily and Lily, who have come to stay with us for a week, were asking to ride horses. Impressing upon me our responsibilities (not yet a hero) but as an uncle!

Inner Man

If you want to know a man, take a look at his horse. If you want to know what he is like on the inside, ride his horse! If he won't let you ride his horse, look into the mirror.

Diet

A remarkable fossil specimen of the equoid Propalaeotherium, from the late Eocene epoch was found complete with fossilized stomach contents, which included grape pits. Climatic changes of the Miocene epic, gave rise and increase to size and shape of the equoid species. That started when the ancestral horse began to eat grasses. Modern times has brought many varieties of horse feeds. Modern equine dentistry has brought longevity to these functionary feeds. Basically, what I'm saying is, that millions of years of adaptation, from forest browser to grass eating prey animal allowed their brain size to increase. So, that while feeding low to the ground, they kept an eye out for the hungry carnivorous predator. The extra cup of morning coffee, that we as humans have adapted to, makes you five minutes late to feed your modern fed, time scheduled, six hundred pound mule, she can now pick the lock on the gate, freeing her and her cronies to unlimited hay access.