Falling Over the Falls…

Sometimes it seems that when we work the fall calves, some of us seem to fall down quite frequently.

Well, we are back at it again, working calves, our favorite time of the year. (If you want to know exactly what working calves means and what we do exactly, go to a previous blog post titled “Working Cattle with the Cowboys”) This particular ranch activity is our favorite because of the weather, the camaraderie with the cowboys, and the particular jobs we get to do.

This year Cate and I have been able to “work the ground” quite a bit. This means that once the calf is roped, then we get to grab the tails and turn the calf over on it’s side and sit on it so the calf doesn’t move while it is getting its shots and the ranch brand. This is usually where the tripping and falling happens…

Whether it seems like it or not, there is definitely an art to being able to time the pulling of the tail with your partner’s pulling of the rope at the right time in order to be able to turn the calf on it’s side. If it all goes well, the calf falls on it’s side with it’s front left leg in the air. That’s when the tail guy (or girl) grabs the leg, hop on top of the calf, and hold on tight. Does this sound like a three-ringed circus yet?

Here’s Cowboy Haden roping the calf and dragging it to the ground crew.

This ground crew consists of the tail guy, Braden, and the rope guy, Dylan.

Once they turn the calf on it’s side, it is ready to be worked.

Hannah and Henry usually give shots, and Cate and I fill in when they are gone. Giving shots can also be a tricky job, especially when the medicine bottle of wormer has a leak. If you are the lucky one to give the wormer shot, then you have also won a free bath… in wormer. That’s only one of the reasons we now have designated ranching clothes. 🙂

Here we have the head girl, Cowgirl Fayth, the brand guy, Cowboy Doug, the tail girl, me, and the rope guy, Dylan.

Here’s Cate, the tail girl, working with the rope guy, Cowboy Blake.

Once the calves are worked, then the mama cows are worked. They run through the chute and receive their shots of wormer and multi-min to keep them healthy and happy.

Here Hannah and Audrey keep the mama cows in line… literally. 🙂

Shoutout to @FaythHolloway for these amazing pictures!

Here’s Cowboy George giving the mama cows their wormer.

The gear: ear tags and chalk to mark the doctored cows.

At the end of the day though, all four of us come home with a multitude of stories and smiling ear to ear because of all the fun we have had. We are really grateful to be able to work outside and alongside the cowboys and cowgirls who let us in on the fun and teach us at the same time.