Thursday, May 21, 2009
Branding
Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep....(Exo 9:3).
One of our favorite "chores" is branding. Friends and neighbors come to help, and we get to have a part social, part recreational day while getting the needed work done.
Branding starts with gathering all the cows and calves, and then sorting the calves away from the cows. Sorting is fun work when it's done horseback. We run the cows through the chute and vaccinate them. Then the branding fire is started up, cinches checked, ropes uncoiled and swung, and the branding begins.
Branding is important, not only for the brand, which is the only legal identification for cattle, but also for the vaccines that the calves get. Waiting too long to brand can result in some sickness in calves that haven't been vaccinated yet. This year we kept having to put branding off due to wet, snowy, and rainy weather. You can't brand a calf if it is wet! Fortunately we haven't had much sickness in the calves, so the delay didn't seem to hurt. We finally got a beautiful, sunny day.
Since we had waited a while to brand, some of the calves were pretty big. Heading and heeling worked well for the bigger calves, and reduced the amount of help needed on the ground. Calves that were smaller were heeled. Two "wrestlers" on the ground were needed for the calves that were heeled. Each calf got two vaccines and any other individual attention it needed, along with its permanent brand.
Good horsemanship on the part of the ropers is important. That means watching the calf carefully and slipping your dally if it starts to choke. Being able to move your horse in any direction willingly is also important, for the welfare of the calves, but also to avoid a collision with the ground crew.
There is really much more to good horsemanship at a branding than you might imagine. Stockmanship by the ground crew is critical. Making sure that each calf gets all of the shots it needs, and that they are administered correctly, is important. Being able to work quickly so that the calves are not restrained any longer than necessary is also part of the ground crew's job.
Proper branding etiquette involves each roper also taking a turn "wrestling" or being part of the ground crew. That way everyone who wants to gets a chance to do the fun job, and improve their horsemanship skills and their horse.
Branding is fun, and would be impossible without neighbors and friends being willing to help! This makes me think of Paul's instructions to us about working together and helping one another.
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another (Rom 12:10). That there should be no schism in the body; but the members should have the same care one for another (1Co 12:25). Nothing through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others (Php 2:3-4).
One of our favorite "chores" is branding. Friends and neighbors come to help, and we get to have a part social, part recreational day while getting the needed work done.
Branding starts with gathering all the cows and calves, and then sorting the calves away from the cows. Sorting is fun work when it's done horseback. We run the cows through the chute and vaccinate them. Then the branding fire is started up, cinches checked, ropes uncoiled and swung, and the branding begins.
Branding is important, not only for the brand, which is the only legal identification for cattle, but also for the vaccines that the calves get. Waiting too long to brand can result in some sickness in calves that haven't been vaccinated yet. This year we kept having to put branding off due to wet, snowy, and rainy weather. You can't brand a calf if it is wet! Fortunately we haven't had much sickness in the calves, so the delay didn't seem to hurt. We finally got a beautiful, sunny day.
Since we had waited a while to brand, some of the calves were pretty big. Heading and heeling worked well for the bigger calves, and reduced the amount of help needed on the ground. Calves that were smaller were heeled. Two "wrestlers" on the ground were needed for the calves that were heeled. Each calf got two vaccines and any other individual attention it needed, along with its permanent brand.
Good horsemanship on the part of the ropers is important. That means watching the calf carefully and slipping your dally if it starts to choke. Being able to move your horse in any direction willingly is also important, for the welfare of the calves, but also to avoid a collision with the ground crew.
There is really much more to good horsemanship at a branding than you might imagine. Stockmanship by the ground crew is critical. Making sure that each calf gets all of the shots it needs, and that they are administered correctly, is important. Being able to work quickly so that the calves are not restrained any longer than necessary is also part of the ground crew's job.
Proper branding etiquette involves each roper also taking a turn "wrestling" or being part of the ground crew. That way everyone who wants to gets a chance to do the fun job, and improve their horsemanship skills and their horse.Branding is fun, and would be impossible without neighbors and friends being willing to help! This makes me think of Paul's instructions to us about working together and helping one another.
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another (Rom 12:10). That there should be no schism in the body; but the members should have the same care one for another (1Co 12:25). Nothing through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others (Php 2:3-4).
Labels: branding, God, horsemanship, Jan
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