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Gathering and loading four bulls, a pictorial account

S

Soapweed

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
16,264
Location
northern Nebraska Sandhills
We summered 90 Angus cows and their heifer calves in a pasture belonging to a neighbor. This morning, the hay was too damp and sticky to bale, so we gathered and loaded the four bulls that were in this pasture. Here is the photo documentary.

Assemblingthebullsatthewindmill.jpg

Assembling the bulls at the windmill
SaddletrampatMortonsmill.jpg

Saddletramp at Morton's mill
Pushingthebullsoverthehill.jpg

Pushing the bulls over the hill
ThesebullsonlywishtheyhadEPDs.jpg

These bulls only wish they had EPDs :wink:
Iwaslookingbacktoseewhowaslookingba.jpg

I was looking back to see who was looking back at me
Acowboysworkbench.jpg

A cowboy's workbench
Meanderingonward.jpg

Meandering ever onward
Gettingcloser.jpg

Getting closer
Easyboys.jpg

Easy boys
Niceandslow.jpg

Even a "good" cowdog could screw things up at this point :wink:
Steadypressure.jpg

Steady pressure
Ontheygo.jpg

On they go
Saddletrampshutstheendgate.jpg

Saddletramp shuts the endgate
Loadingthehorses.jpg

Loading the horses
Securingthefinaltouch.jpg

The final touch--securing the latch
 
Soapweed, I think you are really getting into this!!

Now all you need to do is get SaddleTramp to put a line that rhymes under each picture and you've got the makin's of a very good book!!

Mike Logan does that in Montana and he sell's the heck out of 'em. If I can find you one on our trip to Western Montana, I will bring one to Deadwood for ya. Wish I'd a thought of it sooner, I would have ordered one from his Buglin' Bull press!! Wouldn't get here in time now, I'm afraid. He calls one of these books, Montana Is, one Ranchin' Is, and the pictures are similar to what you have shared with us.

Jersey Lily, I thought your comment about the arrows was hilarous!!
 
No trees!!!! Yes I noticed the brands - - - I feel that that might be a good Idea if you have city folks coming for a visit they will know which end to look at.

With the fesque we have here we would have had to bale these fields as if we allowed them to run in fescue that tall we would have had pink eye problems as well as foot problems.
 
I'm glad we have a "Bull Session" so Soapweed knows where to put the pictures.........

This is the "Bull Session", right? :roll: :roll: :roll:
 
haha...if they would ever try that method of loading up home with our Charlais bulls, there would be about 3 pissed off people, a quarter mile of fence to fix and prolly a dented trailer or a crippled bull.

Your bulls look like they'd eat out of your hand if you let em.
 
TXTibbs said:
haha...if they would ever try that method of loading up home with our Charlais bulls, there would be about 3 p****d off people, a quarter mile of fence to fix and prolly a dented trailer or a crippled bull.

Your bulls look like they'd eat out of your hand if you let em.
Click to expand...

I'd lay a small wager that there are some fellers up in ytour old stompin' grounds who could not only get it done with your bulls, but also keep from getting anything from getting hot or tearing some things up. A couple of thems names are Nub and Dave and they are good hands.
 
You aint a kidden boy. Nub and Dave are some of the best hands out there. They are fun to watch too. Pretty darn handy with a rope. I get to brand with them once in a while. My brother works with them at the sale barns in the fall, and tells some pretty good stories once in a while. Great people.

If those bulls would be red, it would look just like our place. We gather the same way. Makes it pretty easy and not very stressful on you, the horse, and the bulls.

It is nice to see cattle being gathered with a horse. Most of our neighbors have switched to a 4-wheeler. I guess that is ok too, but I perfer a horse anyday. This way you can enjoy nature when you are riding quietly with it.
 
Jinglebob said:
TXTibbs said:
haha...if they would ever try that method of loading up home with our Charlais bulls, there would be about 3 p****d off people, a quarter mile of fence to fix and prolly a dented trailer or a crippled bull.

Your bulls look like they'd eat out of your hand if you let em.
Click to expand...

I'd lay a small wager that there are some fellers up in ytour old stompin' grounds who could not only get it done with your bulls, but also keep from getting anything from getting hot or tearing some things up. A couple of thems names are Nub and Dave and they are good hands.
Click to expand...


yeah keywords there "small wager" :wink: I never heard of no Nub and Dave...who the hell are they?
 
Gee Tibbs, Maybe y'all should bring them off of the range more than once every 5 years :wink: Jus kiddin.

My dad talks about Nub once in a while, and says about the same as you guys.
 
BRG said:
It is nice to see cattle being gathered with a horse. Most of our neighbors have switched to a 4-wheeler. I guess that is ok too, but I perfer a horse anyday. This way you can enjoy nature when you are riding quietly with it.
Click to expand...

We don't have any cattle and currently board our horses. The place we board keeps a menagerie of chickens, ducks, goats, and there is always a gaggle of tenage girls. When I go out there and ride I can barely hear myself think let alone hear nature. I'm definitely envious BRG!
 
I would never try to diminish what Soap and Saddletramp are accomplishing in any way, but I do notice that these are younger looking bulls that don't have such an aversion to being in the same vacinity of each other. We gather our bulls in the same manner sometimes, but you usually need more trailer compartments to get those old codgers ( the bulls :wink: ) loaded.

We run bulls to 6 years old occasionally, and just normally trail them several miles when we pull them from the cows. The fight into corrals or a trailer just isn't worth it most times.

If it wasn't for bulls, ranching could be fun. :!: :wink:

I admire anyone with an original thought and getting it done horseback.
 
the real jake said:
I would never try to diminish what Soap and Saddletramp are accomplishing in any way, but I do notice that these are younger looking bulls that don't have such an aversion to being in the same vacinity of each other. We gather our bulls in the same manner sometimes, but you usually need more trailer compartments to get those old codgers ( the bulls :wink: ) loaded.

We run bulls to 6 years old occasionally, and just normally trail them several miles when we pull them from the cows. The fight into corrals or a trailer just isn't worth it most times.

If it wasn't for bulls, ranching could be fun. :!: :wink:

I admire anyone with an original thought and getting it done horseback.
Click to expand...

Jake, I know that you wouldn't put down Soap or Saddle, but some seem to be!

Those who've never seen or done any of this kind of deal, seem to think it's all magic and maybe it is tyhe way some of these ol' boys can get the work done a horseback and so smooth and easy.

TX, if you don't know who Nub and Dave are, next time you get home, just ask around that Ridgeview country, from some of them good ol' hands up there.

I've had the pleasure of workin' in a brandin' pen with both of them and ropin' and watchin' both of them in action. I've kind'a got a hunch that if they can't do it, it probably can't be done. 'Course they probaby ain't real good at chousin and chasin' with a 4 wheeler, but put them a horseback and they are damn shiney! :lol:

And your right Jake, them old bulls are a different story. But it can be done that way, and as you said, more compartments help.
 
Jinglebob, I can't argue with anything you said!

We pulled our bulls out of our cows last saturday after 49 days with the cows. I think that is plenty of time to get a cow bred, and I would like to get down to 45 if we can keep our conception up.

We had great luck that day, and had bulls out of 4 herds by mid afternoon. Most of the bulls we trailed a ways, but did haul one bunch home from aways away. The youngest bunch of bulls we locked in the corral for a couple of days till they forgot about the cows a bit. That seems to help, and they normally don't fight much with each other. Once in a while those youngest bulls can be the toughest to do anything with.

We seldom have an old bull that will take a horse, and I attribute that to moving them horseback their whole lives. I don't use birdshot or a bullwhip, but I have a steel honda on one of my ropes that gets their attention if you can get 'em on the end of their nose. That really works. :!: :!: :D
 
That is a great way that Soap and Saddletramp handle those bulls-yes that is what we are thinking of doing-running more yearling bulls as they are much easier to handle and probably will market fairly well after filled up. WE have to sell at least 6 older bulls this fall and will wait til spring to replace them. That still leaves too many of the bulls around for winter care-have to remember that they need to be feed pretty good even when not working them. Have to keep several around for breeding the fall calvers,but really am considering the yearling route. But different ways work for different operations.
 
Jake,
I read a poem by Ross Knox one time and in it he was lamenting about the fact that so many people trailer there horse to the pastures and then ride. And in this day and age, you got to do what you can to get all the work done and make a buck. But his one line was about how horses that are trailered can't even walk or trot a straight line. I think he might be right.

Saddle Tramp and I were wondering how $3 gas was going to effect some of these ranches. Maybe some will go back to feeding with teams and maybe more will trot to the pastures instead of hauling. If a feller is scattered out, trailers can be real handy, but we are guilty of too often jumping in an outfit to check something when we could just as well ride out on a colt and get the job done and be making the colt a better horse. :lol:

Maybe high priced fuel will help the cowboys out! :shock: :lol:
 
Ross Knox.

Isn't he the guy that packs in the Grand Canyon? I believe I saw him perform at Elko once.

Our outfit is too scattered to not haul back and forth, and it seems lately we have been trying to get by without xtra help, so we do what we have to, like you mentioned.

BTW, I have a couple of big saddle horses that I have ground driven that might make a decent team if anyone is interested. Maybe I could post a picture of them sometime. They are 16 hands or so, and gentle. I already have a light team, so don't really need two. And both horses are broke to ride. One is a heck of a calf dragger, but not the best mouth in the world.
 

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