Branding today

[webfoot]

Went to B's for a late morning branding. This was a clean branding. Most of the calves in this herd had been branded earlier. This bunch goes to the high country tomorrow. We did about 60 calves based on how much vaccine I went through. We broke for lunch and then went and branded the calves in his registered herd. 160 of them.
Fairly early in the branding a big Angus bull calf (300+ pounder) struggled. He slipped the heel rope, and escaped the cowboys. He still had the front foot rope on. He came my way. No time or way to escape he ran my down knocking me on my butt. In telling the story I think I will leave out the word calf. It sounds better that I was run down by a big Angus bull and escaped unharmed.
But we had more drama. A 9 year old girl was helping. At the morning branding she put ear tags in all the calves we worked. She got horseback and helped gather the registered cows. Mid way through the branding she drug a calf out of the pen. Stopped and then turned her horse the wrong way. The horse didn't like the rope on his butt and went to bucking. She did good and tossed the rope away. I thought she had him covered but he bucked her off. She bounced right up. She got back on and went back to a guy who had picked up the rope. She took the rope and dallied off holding the calf. She ended up roping 5 or 6 more calves. But from the look on her face you could tell she was toughing it out.
All is well that ends well. But I was run down by a big Angus bull.

 

[Mountain Cowgirl]

Went to B's for a late morning branding. This was a clean branding. Most of the calves in this herd had been branded earlier. This bunch goes to the high country tomorrow. We did about 60 calves based on how much vaccine I went through. We broke for lunch and then went and branded the calves in his registered herd. 160 of them.
Fairly early in the branding a big Angus bull calf (300+ pounder) struggled. He slipped the heel rope, and escaped the cowboys. He still had the front foot rope on. He came my way. No time or way to escape he ran my down knocking me on my butt. In telling the story I think I will leave out the word calf. It sounds better that I was run down by a big Angus bull and escaped unharmed.
But we had more drama. A 9 year old girl was helping. At the morning branding she put ear tags in all the calves we worked. She got horseback and helped gather the registered cows. Mid way through the branding she drug a calf out of the pen. Stopped and then turned her horse the wrong way. The horse didn't like the rope on his butt and went to bucking. She did good and tossed the rope away. I thought she had him covered but he bucked her off. She bounced right up. She got back on and went back to a guy who had picked up the rope. She took the rope and dallied off holding the calf. She ended up roping 5 or 6 more calves. But from the look on her face you could tell she was toughing it out.
All is well that ends well. But I was run down by a big Angus bull.

Well, there we have it, a ranch rodeo. You could have avoided being knocked on your patoot if you had dressed properly for the occasion. Knee-length baggy four times too large shorts held by suspenders, tenny shoes, a beat-up Festus open crown dog-eared hat, and you could have sidestepped Burnt River Black, the meanest bull north of the Rio Grande and south of the Yukon. 50 points for BR Black and 0 for Webfoot. Shameful for all the cowboys when a trick riding and roping 9-year-old girl steals the show. She only looked like she was toughing it out to protect the egos of the no score roughstockers.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

The older you get the bigger those bulls look.

 

[leanin' H]

That hardly ever happens in a calf table
Glad ya weren't hurt though. And glad the lil lady was fine too.

 

[webfoot]

I don't know. She sure looked a lot happier in the morning while ear tagging calves than she did in the afternoon after she got bucked off.