Monday, October 7, 2019

Grrr!


“Your cows are out!” are chilling words for any stock grower.

Last night on Weld County Road just West of 49 Parkway, we came across some cows in the road.

About ¼ mile further on, we spotted a driveway occupied by people unloading horses. When we told them of the cows in the road, one said they were their neighbors and proceeded to give us directions to the neighbor. I had a van full of people and a deadline to meet.

   “Do you know your neighbor’s number”, I asked? Receiving an affirmative, I asked him to call them.

Asshole! A real rancher would re-saddle his horse, bring the cows to his corral, and then call his neighbor. My father would have done it and would have kicked my ass if I hadn’t. And yes, my father and our neighbor didn’t like each other.

Just another old virtue slipping away.

10 comments:

Brig said...

Yes sir, we would have gathered them, and called the neighbor, and our neighbors would have done the same for us.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

People with money playing, IMO. Horse operation - probably have never worked cattle.

LL said...

It's not an absolute rule, but the farther from civilization that one gets, the more likely that people are to be civilized in America.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

LL
Excellent point.

Sisty said...

I would get phone calls to "come get your damn horses". One day the call came and I told the neighbor "my horses are in the front yard". There was a long silence and then he said "come get somebody's damn horses". Well, of course I did and took them to their rightful home. Both WSF & I knew better than to let someone's livestock be in danger when we had an opportunity to help out. We did it more for the animals than their respective owners.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Sisty
We had public service horses. Every spring, just after the snow melted, they would wander through town aerated people's soft lawns with their hoofs.

Old NFO said...

Sad to say, that's the norm today, rather than the exception... Dammit...

LSP said...

LL makes a good point, then again, things can get bizarrely off-hook in the country. And good point, probably never worked cattle so they passed the buck. Of course I'd have rode off and broken a leg... so.

drjim said...

I've heard the same about the "Recreational Horse People", and their lack of understanding of the ways out here.

I'm sure they wouldn't have a clue about handling cows, and they probably don't want to learn.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

LSP
Working cattle is fa easier than herding cats.

drjim
Very few people make a living off horses. Many ranchers don't even keep them. An ATV and a good dog can get the job done.

Old NFO
Yeppers!