Got to the end of my feed route this morning and met up with the foreman who was finishing his route. He said he had a dr appointment that he had to run too (I hauled ass carrying him to the emergency room bout two weeks ago with a heart attack happening) and he’d seen a heifer in the lake pasture that didn’t come to the feed line he’d seen cross country getting up and down. He figured she was having trouble calving and needed help. He mentioned again that he had to go to the doctor and I told him I’d handle the heifer. Well, I didn’t know my wife had run to Tulsa so she wasn’t here to help me so I enlisted the 3 daughters. Half the time these heifers need roped and drug in the trailer to get em to the pens and that’s sure more fun with two capable of ropin but there was just me n the girls. All three of em can sure nuff ride but none of em has ever roped anything horseback especially a 900-1000 pound heifer in a bad mood. I decided this might be the day my eldest Josie (14yo) has to learn on the fly. I told her to go catch the roan horse. She looked at me funny cuz she’s never rode him. My middle daughter rides him cuz he’s bombproof but ain’t lazy and he’s seen everything ranchin there is to see. I’ve rode him in numerous cattle battles and even in a wreck or two and he takes it like a champ. I don’t use him much anymore cuz he has times that he gets crippled up just out of the blue so he’s been retired to kid duty. It cracks me up cuz usually he’s teaching them kids to get in the right spot. He’s bout like a border collie packin a monkey. Clara my 4yo asked me the plan. I told her that her n Lyla (10yo) was gonna haul Jos, the horses n I out to pasture and then we would try to pen that heifer. Clara said maybe we should change the plan and 3 of us ride cuz Lyla don’t need help driving the truck and trailer to the corral from the pasture. I told Clara I needed her to ride in the truck and make sure Lyla watches for my hand signals in case we wound up ropin the heifer and needed em to bring the trailer so we could drag her in. We got hauled to pasture and when we unloaded I hung a catch rope on Josie’s saddle and tied a tie rope thru the gullet of her saddle. When I started cinching old inner tube bands around her saddle horn I looked at her and I could tell it was starting to register in her mind why I had her saddle the horse I did and what all the gear I was putting on her saddle was about. We stepped on our horses and hit a trot for about a 1/4 mile and found the heifer. The heifer popped her head up and to my surprise headed in the direction of the pens which were bout another 1/2 mile away. We made it past the draws, creeks and ponds without her even thinking of duckin off. This was mostly all being done at a quick walk with an occasional trot mixed in. We came to the last obstacle, a rocky hill, and I thought she might twist off at that point so I asked Jos, “you know which end to throw and which one to hang onto right? She said she did. The heifer just headed straight in the pens. We closed the gate and motioned for our other help to cmon. Jos said, “I can finally breathe”. I laughed cuz I know she was plum nervous I'd have to rope that heifer and she’d be expected to rope a leg or two. We got the heifer in the chute and I sent Jos to fetch the pullers from the truck. Heck, I didn’t need no pullers and I don’t know why this heifer quit pushing in the pasture but it didn’t take too much effort to pull the calf. She had pushed both front feet and dang near his nose out. He was dead though. We set a pen to keep her in and I opened the chute to let her out. As she got up on her hind end she prolapsed. Darn it, I said. Lol. Lyla said, what the world is that? I said this heifer just made her insides into outsides in an inside out form. I sent Jos to the barn for prolapse thread and needle. I had the prolapse all rolled back inside the heifer and was keepin my arm in her so she couldn’t push it back out. Josie got back with the equipment and we managed to get the heifers female anatomy sewn shut. We then let her out and she looked happier. Yep the girls learned many things today. I’m gonna include some graphic images below. I know @Timmy59 will appreciate it. Sadly I didn’t get a picture of the prolapse. I thought I did but idk.
