This was first posted August 2, 2011.
We moved the last of our cattle that are down low to our Mesa Pasture early this morning.
Dally was my dog of the day… and it wasn’t very long before she was soaking wet from the heavy dew that lay on the grass and in the willows. It was easy to see how she’s lost so much weight from these puppies. I still feed her plenty of extra food, but she’s a skinny girl!
I actually wore a sweatshirt this morning… for the first time in a LONG time! It was a gorgeous 52 degrees, which felt wonderful. The willows dampened me and I tried to enjoy it, knowing it’d heat up before too long!
By the time we filed through the gate below my favorite chugwater, the temperature was rising and cattle were warming up, as evidenced by the strings of slobber beginning to appear on a few old girls.
The pull up the last little hill is always a weak spot for us… and they tend to wad up coming through the gate.
It didn’t slow us down too much, making it to the pasture by 10 am.
We paired them out… searching for one calf’s mommy for a bit… and headed home by noon.
One day, I want to try this drive following the rules of Bud Williams Low Stress Stockmanship. It would be very interesting to me to see what changes. (For those interested in LSS, Bud’s website is here, and Steve Cote’s book is completely online)
Find me here!
Your favorite chugwater is also my favorite chugwater, courtesy of your photos.
In those past eleven years, did you ever have a chance to try low stress stockmanship?
Yes, we’ve done some changes…
Thank you for replying! It’s an interesting, convincing concept. Says she who understands nothing about stockmanship… Low stress sure works in horsemanship and “dogmanship” though. Maybe I’ll try it in “peoplemanship” next. 😉 Greetings from Frankfurt, Germany.