Good point, Soapweed!
Having been moving toward later calving, with a step backward for this spring due to others owning the heifers at breeding time, I understand it well! Maybe you are far enough 'south' not to share our experiences with even 'later' calving. We are too fearful of hot weather in June to go much later than our current 'end of May/end of calving' goal.
With a BIG "however" on this 122 year old ranch, April and May blizzards have caused us the biggest cattle losses, usually newborn calves, but not limited to those! A late spring blizzard not many years ago killed LOTS of yearling steers, turned out on pasture, they went into creeks full of water and snow, which normally would have been the best sheltered of pastures.
Those spring blizzards with wet, heavy snow can also 'stall out' everything from the shod horses to the tractor and pickups. Horses don't walk well on six inch 'stilts' of snow!
Good luck to all, especially fir the ingenuity demonstrated in some of the home made contraptions!
mrj
We do have some of the black sleds mentioned, and they have been used on rare occasions.