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Soapweed
Rancher
Joined: 11 Feb 2005
Posts: 12095
Location: northern Nebraska Sandhills
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JF Ranch
Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2006
Posts: 436
Location: North Fringe of the Nebraska Sandhills
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 Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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Great pictures as always, Soapy. Especially of a certain black mare!
Incidentally, she was unloaded here at our ranch before we even got home from OKC last month. I've been riding her some lately. 3 1/2 years of arena riding has changed her quite a bit.
If I can keep on her, I'm confident I could make a great ranch mare out of her... again.
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Haytrucker
Member
Joined: 11 Feb 2005
Posts: 397
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| Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 4:39 am Post subject: |
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How did the adventure turn out JF?
That is a dandy looking bronc, sorry to hear she needs retrained...
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Soapweed
Rancher
Joined: 11 Feb 2005
Posts: 12095
Location: northern Nebraska Sandhills
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nr
Rancher
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 2823
Location: DE
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| Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 5:36 am Post subject: |
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| Some beautiful pictures there. I enjoy seeing the pictures of the local people which seems a bit dumb since people look about the same across the USA. Why do the cattle form a wide circle like that? I could see if they were all huddled together for warmth. or all looking outward for predators
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Soapweed
Rancher
Joined: 11 Feb 2005
Posts: 12095
Location: northern Nebraska Sandhills
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| Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 7:36 am Post subject: |
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| nr wrote: |
| Some beautiful pictures there. I enjoy seeing the pictures of the local people which seems a bit dumb since people look about the same across the USA. Why do the cattle form a wide circle like that? I could see if they were all huddled together for warmth. or all looking outward for predators |
The cattle were in a big circle because I had just finished caking them. I drive the pickup in circular fashion to give each cow optimum opportunity to eat their share.
This year, the cake is 30% protein made from distiller's grain (DDG). Originally it was to have 5% fat, but the cake was not holding together well enough. The milling company added more sunflower protein, and now the cubes stay together much better. It is still 30% protein, but the fat is only 3 1/2%. We can either handle a 25-ton semi load or a 15-ton straight truck, depending on which rig the feed mill has available. The cake is put into an overhead bin. Our cakers are mounted on the flatbeds of the pickups. To load, we just drive under the overhead bin and let gravity load the caker. When I get out to the pasture the sound of the horn attracts the cows, and they come on the run. When they all arrive, I drive in a circle and make another circle outside the first one. Everything gets a pretty even shot at the goodies.
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cowsense
Rancher
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 1377
Location: Central Saskatchewan
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JF Ranch
Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2006
Posts: 436
Location: North Fringe of the Nebraska Sandhills
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| Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 8:06 am Post subject: |
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Haytrucker: I had tongue in cheek a little bit there on re-training the mare. She is very exciting and a lot of fun to ride. I have noticed however that arena riding is different than pasture riding, or perhaps more to the point: everyone likes something a little different in a horse. She is very sensitive and easy to train, so I can fix the little things that need fixing.
We were very pleased with her performance at the World Show. If you are interested in the results, I don't want to re-hash it all again here, but you might check out my story in "Horses & Dogs" entitled "We went to the World Show and now we're back". It's about three fourths towards the bottom of the page by now. Thanks for asking!
nr: I've always thought that us ranch folks have a "certain" look to us even though people are basically the same all across the country. When I'm watching the news on TV, I'll occasionally see a guy in a business suit who appears to me that he'd look natural in a western shirt & hat, but most do not. It's funny though, they are always Republicans. Now, I didn't mean to start anything with that!!
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Faster horses
Rancher
Joined: 11 Feb 2005
Posts: 19605
Location: SE MT
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| Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 11:44 am Post subject: |
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I'll take the chance and add that President Bush is one that looks
very natural in hat and boots. I like seeing him that way. I like the
way he walks too, full of purpose.
Your cattle are in good shape, Soapweed and nice and shiney.
I think that's a good mix in your cake. Adding fat is a hard one, because
it can get rancid.
Oh, I love that picture of the cows in a circle. Awesome!
I might pm you about getting that for my wall. I have a good
one from TTB and Lazy Ace. This would go well with that one.
We feed in a circle too, as I think most ranchers tend to do.
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IL Rancher
Rancher
Joined: 08 Apr 2006
Posts: 3023
Location: Northwest Illinois
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| Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 12:14 pm Post subject: |
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The one year we caked I feed it in circles.. other year we used small pelleted stuff and we fed that in troughs... now everything is in troughs which I really appreciated when the pastures are as muddy as they are now.
As far as western wear.. Don't know if I have ever worn western wear even when I lvied west, lol.. Folks keep threatening that they are going to get me one, I assume one christmas there one will be.. til than it won't happen because I just don't buy things for myself.
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the_jersey_lilly_2000
Rancher
Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 11266
Location: South East Texas
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| Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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Great Pictures Soapweed. I too like the cows in a circle pic.
We may be one of the few that don't feed in a circle. But since we don't have the cake box on a truck and someone either me by myself feedin, or Mr Lilly and myself.......If I'm by myself feedin, I dump feed from the back of the truck in a horse shoe shape around the bed, then crawl out over the side, get in pull forward, repeat the process. If both of us are out feedin, Mr Lilly will feed from the back in a strait line as I drive forward.
That's what I want for Christmas.......a cake box for my truck LOL
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Jassy
Rancher
Joined: 23 Aug 2006
Posts: 2733
Location: S. of Valentine, NE
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| Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 10:47 pm Post subject: |
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| I missed these pictures last weekend...I love your explaination of "how to cake cows"...I just tell everyone that my job is driving around in circles and never leave the ranch! In fact...my cake truck I got brand new in 1999...it now has over 85600 miles on it...and it's only been off the ranch a dozen times or so...lol This time of year is low milage...cause all critters are close by...but come spring and summer...they keep moving the critters farther out..and so I have to drive farther around...Oh well..it's a great job and I luv it!
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