Oh man do I have a lot to report on for the last two days.
Yesterday was kind of a chill day for the most part. We got up and fed our calves, then we headed to Granny's for breakfast where Zach made us breakfast. He made us eggs, bacon, and toast. After that we went to the barn, moved some panels around, watered down the arena, and worked on roping. After that we had lunch at Granny's, mac and cheese with hot dogs and bacon, where both Melissa and I fell asleep on Granny's couch. Next thing we knew it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon; we slept about an hour and a half. We headed down to the barn where everyone was getting ready to go bring the mares in to sort them. The boys set up the panels in the pasture while Melissa, Kelsey, and I took the ranger to go get the mares. We had a bit of trouble finding them since one of the gates into a different pasture wasn't supposed to be open. We finally got the colts and fillies sorted from the mares and took them back to the barns. Then Melissa and I fed our calves before we all headed to Whitlock Bay Supper Club. I had a delicious hamburger steak.
Today was probably the most eventful and busiest day thus far. We attended a neighbor's branding, Bob and Jesse. We were up at the normal time and fed our calves before we headed down to the barn. Melissa got the saddle horses in and we tacked up. We loaded Chachi, Avie, Dino, and Nukem (Tony's father) into the trailer and headed out. It started to rain a little bit, so we were set back about a half hour or so. Jenn, Melissa, Burt, and I then headed out with everyone else who showed up to help gather the heard. At first it was a little rough riding Chachi, but after some time getting him focused on me and not the other horses running around, we had a smooth ride from there. I worked on bending him around and moving his hind quarters. Once I had his attention, Jenn said it would be best to do small serpentines to keep his mind on me. After we did quite a bit of that, he was finally able to listen to me without much distraction. I could even get him to walk out more and use my legs to guide him more than my reins, which was a great feeling.
Once we got all the cows and calves into the pen, they were sorted from each other. Then the fun part began. We branded about 240 calves in the first batch that we did. I watched for the first quarter, and then I jumped in to help. Burt and everyone else there showed me how to catch the calf being dragged in and to keep it down on the ground and continued to give me pointers throughout the day. Most of the calves were pretty big, so it was a struggle at times to keep them on the ground, but I didn't lose a single one today. By the time four o'clock came around, we were finally done with that first batch. We headed to Bob and Jesse's house to eat lunch. They had chili, lasagna, candy bar apple salad, fruit, cake, and ice cream. It's safe to say that we all ate a little too much.
After we ate, we headed out again to brand the heifer calves. There were only about 75 of them to brand so it didn't take too long at all. We finished the last calf around seven.
We got back to the barn around 7:15 and unloaded our horses. After untacking them, feeding our calves, and feeding the horses we rode, we are finally ready to go to bed.
Wake up call tomorrow is at 5:30am to be at another branding by 7am mountain time. So here's hoping for a good night's rest, even though it is already 9:30.
Yesterday was kind of a chill day for the most part. We got up and fed our calves, then we headed to Granny's for breakfast where Zach made us breakfast. He made us eggs, bacon, and toast. After that we went to the barn, moved some panels around, watered down the arena, and worked on roping. After that we had lunch at Granny's, mac and cheese with hot dogs and bacon, where both Melissa and I fell asleep on Granny's couch. Next thing we knew it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon; we slept about an hour and a half. We headed down to the barn where everyone was getting ready to go bring the mares in to sort them. The boys set up the panels in the pasture while Melissa, Kelsey, and I took the ranger to go get the mares. We had a bit of trouble finding them since one of the gates into a different pasture wasn't supposed to be open. We finally got the colts and fillies sorted from the mares and took them back to the barns. Then Melissa and I fed our calves before we all headed to Whitlock Bay Supper Club. I had a delicious hamburger steak.
Today was probably the most eventful and busiest day thus far. We attended a neighbor's branding, Bob and Jesse. We were up at the normal time and fed our calves before we headed down to the barn. Melissa got the saddle horses in and we tacked up. We loaded Chachi, Avie, Dino, and Nukem (Tony's father) into the trailer and headed out. It started to rain a little bit, so we were set back about a half hour or so. Jenn, Melissa, Burt, and I then headed out with everyone else who showed up to help gather the heard. At first it was a little rough riding Chachi, but after some time getting him focused on me and not the other horses running around, we had a smooth ride from there. I worked on bending him around and moving his hind quarters. Once I had his attention, Jenn said it would be best to do small serpentines to keep his mind on me. After we did quite a bit of that, he was finally able to listen to me without much distraction. I could even get him to walk out more and use my legs to guide him more than my reins, which was a great feeling.
Once we got all the cows and calves into the pen, they were sorted from each other. Then the fun part began. We branded about 240 calves in the first batch that we did. I watched for the first quarter, and then I jumped in to help. Burt and everyone else there showed me how to catch the calf being dragged in and to keep it down on the ground and continued to give me pointers throughout the day. Most of the calves were pretty big, so it was a struggle at times to keep them on the ground, but I didn't lose a single one today. By the time four o'clock came around, we were finally done with that first batch. We headed to Bob and Jesse's house to eat lunch. They had chili, lasagna, candy bar apple salad, fruit, cake, and ice cream. It's safe to say that we all ate a little too much.
After we ate, we headed out again to brand the heifer calves. There were only about 75 of them to brand so it didn't take too long at all. We finished the last calf around seven.
We got back to the barn around 7:15 and unloaded our horses. After untacking them, feeding our calves, and feeding the horses we rode, we are finally ready to go to bed.
Wake up call tomorrow is at 5:30am to be at another branding by 7am mountain time. So here's hoping for a good night's rest, even though it is already 9:30.