03/12/08 Wild or gentle

Sometimes when you have doubts about your own thinking or direction you decide to take, it feels good to find someone else who thinks the same way. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back after the break to tell you what I was thinking. For the last few years I've been thinking we need to get rid of the wilder, meaner cows in our bunch. At first I justified my thoughts by saying we don't need these cows around since our kids really like to help feed and help with the cows at calving time. But, actually being a little more honest with myself I got to wondering if I was a little less brave and then there was the distinct possibility I just couldn't move as fast as I once could when I wasn't on a horse. Those are sort of humbling thoughts and make you wonder if you're worthy enough to even wear a cowboy hat. But then I read a story in Working Ranch magazine by Tim O'Byrne and I felt one hundred percent better. It was an article telling all the good reasons to sell those wild, nasty tempered cows and gentle the rest of your cowherd. There it all was in print  someone else had some of my same thoughts. Mr. O'Bryne's reasons made me feel better also  cattle that respect cowboys, horses, dogs and fences are a pleasure to work with and you sure don't want to send a bunch of wild calves to a feedlot that can't be handled easily. There, see I'm not really a coward. Gentle cattle are more economical and are safer for other people to work with. Tomorrow I'll tell you some of Tim O'Byrne's thoughts on training a cowherd to handle properly. I'm Jeff Keane. Working Ranch January/February 2008