Imogene
Member
- Location
- Middle Tennessee
Even in modern times, moving cattle on the western ranges can be pretty rough.
When I lived in SoCal, I had a neighbor who had migrated down from Montana with his two horses. He told of how, when he and his senior horse were young, they sometimes had to sleep in a cabin together during a blizzard. He said sharing a cabin with one’s horse was not uncommon during extreme weather conditions; the cattle stood a better chance of surviving those winter storms than a horse did.
It’s not a life for the weak, even today. Someone has to get on horse and bring the cattle down from the high ranges for the winter. Horses are still the preferred method as opposed to 4-wheelers for that job. I would have given it a go as late as in my early 60’s but a lot has changed in terms of health since then and I’m doing good just to get to the barn twice a day to feed.
When I lived in SoCal, I had a neighbor who had migrated down from Montana with his two horses. He told of how, when he and his senior horse were young, they sometimes had to sleep in a cabin together during a blizzard. He said sharing a cabin with one’s horse was not uncommon during extreme weather conditions; the cattle stood a better chance of surviving those winter storms than a horse did.
It’s not a life for the weak, even today. Someone has to get on horse and bring the cattle down from the high ranges for the winter. Horses are still the preferred method as opposed to 4-wheelers for that job. I would have given it a go as late as in my early 60’s but a lot has changed in terms of health since then and I’m doing good just to get to the barn twice a day to feed.
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