Sunday, December 11, 2011

Winter Cattle Drive 2011

Just when I thought 2011 was going to be a write off in terms of horse events, the year closed out with our annual cattle drive. The last couple of years, we have moved cows very late - last year was December 23rd. Gord and I decided to take quads because with the snow fall last night, Gord knows I would have been a nervous wreck hauling horses on such trecherous roads.

As soon as we arrived I regretted my decision to bring a quad as I enviously watched folks unloading their horses and saddling up. Our friend Lyle introduced me to his new horse, a Morgan named Casino that he bought from Bates Bar J Ranch. He was a sweet looking little horse and and so I half jokingly asked Lyle if he would be interested in trading. To my delight - he said, "sure", and so I got to ride a horse after all. Casino was a bit spirited as we headed out to round up the cows but once we hit the trail, he settled in very nicely.

Typically I wouldn't be comfortable riding a strange horse on the spur of the moment but I felt very comfortable riding Casino. The boots I was wearing were too big for the stirrups and therefore unsafe, so I ended up riding without stirrups most of the way. By the end of the ride, it felt like I had been using Suzanne Summer's thigh master for 4 hours.

The spring and fall/winter cattle drives in Water Valley are a highlight for me every year but this year in particular being so dismal in terms of the amount of saddle time; made me appreciate them even more.

This will undoutedly be my last entry for 2011 so Gord, me and all our critters wish you a wonderful Christmas and hopefully we'll cross paths with you in 2012!