So let me travel back in time a bit and tell you about my first experience of sorting cattle in a small pen on horseback. I will preface this with you having to understand the relationship I have with my big brother. Growing up we were VERY close and still are…but as anybody with a sibling knows---you can fight to the death of you one minute and fight with someone else defending that sibling in the next.
There is just the two of us in my family—and although he is about 5 years my elder—I was expected to do whatever he was doing. Which most of the time I thought was pretty cool---but he has always had a way of getting me to do stuff that I didn’t really want to do.
I had helped sort cattle many of times before, but was usually on foot holding a gate or pretending I was a fence. Until that day!!! Boy genius, aka my brother…needed help sorting cattle. For some reason he kept telling me that I needed to be on horseback…which I thought was odd—because,afterall, we all knew what my job usually was. But whatever----doofy little sister would do what she was told. Lesson in life #??? If boy genius is very specific about wanting you to do something…there is a reason behind it!! So here I go----he and I are both horseback on separate horses driving the cattle from the pasture into the pen where we have an alleyway and chute attached. We get them pushed in and I go to crawl off…he says “wouldn’t do that if I were you” .....”why”…..”you’ll see”. Ok whatever…..we get the gates swung, he dismounts, and goes around to the head of the chute…I get a group pushed down the alley….and we continue on for a few more rounds….all the while I’m still on top of the horse. There’s only a few more head left so I’m thinking ok—not sure why I had to be horseback the whole time, I could have done the same thing by walking around them----and then I found out……there was one that did not like people! As long as he was with a group of friends, he was fine…..it sure is a good thing my horse knew what to expect because HOLY CRAP---I got the poo scared out of me when he came at the horse and me. He apparently didn’t want to go down the alley way and the horse and I were the only things standing in his way to flee in the opposite direction. As I said—the horse was great—me----- not so much. Neither of us was hurt and in the end—the steer did end up going down the alley way to get his black leg shots and implants. At my request—I was allowed to brand him that day too!
Moral of the story, when big brother tells you to do something---it’s probably in your best interest to do it.
Happy sorting, stay safe! Julie
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