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Chasing wayward cows (Pictures added)

leanin' H

Well-known member
On the 19th of December we had a nice chinook which had us up to our ears in mud but all our snow was gone. It started snowing at dark that night and didnt quit til Tuesday the 21st in the evening. We got 16 inches of snow here at our place with 7.6 inches of water in it. So much for living on a desert! :???: :shock: :D Here is a shot I took during the storm. It was stacking up!
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We knew the ranch probably got really thumped. When we went out to check on the cows, we found a wide trail walking across the lower cattle guard and heading for the desert. Those old gals decided that they were heading home! We gathered 71 and got them started for Delta on Sunday the 26th. We will have them there tomorrow. Leaving the ranch on sunday morning. It has been warm and the snow is going quick.
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Looking back at the snowy mountain. We are at 206 percent of normal for snowpack and 213 for snow water equivilent. :D Global warming is AWESOME!!! :wink:
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While there is still grass in the foothills and on the desert, the ridges are still covered. The cows come home about now anyway, so it's time.
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After crossing Desert Mountain pass, it is another 5 miles to the wirelot/corral we leave them in overnight. The first day is about 24 miles. All of us are glad to see the gate close in the afternoon. :D Looking back at the pass.
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How it looks to the west. Sure wish we had a winter permit down here. But there are pretty dear and seldom are for sale.
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I spent the last hour pushing a sore legged bull. He wasnt happy about it but he made the trip. I'll take more pictures as we finish our trip and get the rest of the cows found. Have a great evening! :D
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per

Well-known member
burnt said:
I really did not know you could move a herd 24 miles in one day. That sounds like a hard day's work!
You can't spend too much time eating the free grass but we have trailed farther than that in the past. With all the traffic now it is easier and faster to truck them for us.
 

Northern Rancher

Well-known member
Cows without calves this time of year will trail along pretty good-in the spring with small calves at side it's a bit of a different deal.I think the worst rash I ever got was packing a baby calf across my saddle about 5 miles after he whizzed down my pant leg lol. As for traffic we hand a gunsel drive through 400 head of yearlings we were moving for a neighbor-you can take a vehicle through behind a horse pretty easy but he honked his horn through them and we lost 70 head in a big swamp. Spent the next day roping yearlings and sidelining them till we had a trailer full-it was fun but glad they weren't mine.
 

Dylan Biggs

Well-known member
Nice pics for sure Leanin H. How much daylight do you have this time of year. I don't think we have enough daylight to do 24 miles in a day. Unless the cows kept a 3 mph pace for 8 hours straight. Good job at any rate. :)
 

leanin' H

Well-known member
We left the ranch at 7 am which is just breakin' daylight. We made the corral at 4 but we had about a half hour sandwich stop before we went through the pass. It is a pretty good day and we dont stop to sign autographs! :wink: It gets dark at 5 or so. We truck them out in the spring as the trip would be too much for young calves. It has been a snowy, muddy, foggy three days but we turned them into the gate at thier winter home today at 3. :D I'm gonna put up my feet tomorrow and watch it snow some more. Then back out to gather up the rest we are out on Thursday.
 

leanin' H

Well-known member
We made the last 14 miles into Delta today. It has been a muddy cotton picker and we didnt think we could get a trailer full of horses to the corral so we took the 4 wheelers. It got the job done but I sure wished we'd a rode real horses. You can't visit as you ride along or sleep. :D Anyway, we left at 8 am and the fog was out and about. Stringing down the road after a night in a wire lot.
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The ice crystals in the air were chilly on the chin. The ol' cows had humped backs as we got started.
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Pushin' them along while poorly mounted. :roll: Not to offend any of ya'll who regularly use 4 stroke ponies to move cattle. I just love being a horseback and the simple pleasure it brings to my life. A wheeler is just a wheeler. A horse is a reason I enjoy life! :D
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Like snow through the sandhills, these are the cows of our lives!
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Once we reached the paved roads of civilization the bovines kinda hestitated. But then they remembered how to walk on smooth,level surfaces without ledges and slide rock and cedars and they went along great! :lol:
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We have 2 bull calves down at Phil's being fed. After we got the cows turned in the gate and had a bowl of good chilli to warm up, my wife and I walked out and looked them over. They are in with the steers and the corral is a mess thanks to all the moisture. They are growing. We'll see how they turn out. This calf is out of a Select bull.
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This bull is out of our best cow and a registered bull from here in Utah. I like his length and most of the rest of him too. We'll see?
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Same calf under more zoom.
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Littlest H and his cousin checking out the herd of pigs. Phil raises them too. I like my pigs as bacon and chops so I buy one from him and save myself the smells of pig byproducts.
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These pigs smell 4 times worse than a cow Dad!
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Soapweed

Well-known member
Looks like a tough trip through paradise. Glad you made it, and thanks for the pictures.
Cute kids playing in the mud. Their mathmatic evaluation sounds right to me. :wink: :)
 
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