Mirror KB Articles
about horses & horse care

Just as it was all over the pacific northwest, summer here at the Mirror KB was dryer ‘n a dead cow. Fact is it was so bad here that we came right close to haulin’ buckets of water out to the Fisher River just to keep it flowin’. On top of our worries over water it was so hot we could have used one of the metal fence posts as a brandin’ iron.

Seein’ as how the pastures were short of feed stuff this summer the cows were on the look out for greener pastures. From May on through September the only green grass on the place was along the fence lines. This was merely due to the fact that while we worked under the hot sun to fix all holes where the cows kept slippin’ through, the grass was well quenched by our sweat.

One evenin’ not long ago we were just sittin' down to dinner when we spied the cows breakin' out a their pasture. Faster'n a bronc can swallow his head, they were makin' a trail right for the Alfalfa hay stacked in the barnyard. By the time we got out there the cows were all lined out feedin' off'n the huge stack of hay an’ looked for all the world like a pile a pups nursin’ their mama.

Well, we took out after 'em crackin' our whips, but them cows were stuck to that hay like a tick to a dog’s ear. When we did get 'em to move their feet we only managed to herd 'em from one side of the hay stack to the other. Now we may not be real swift up under our hats but it didn't take us too dang long to realize we was just goin' round in circles.

After plenty of cuttin’ an’ cussin’ we finally drove the bull, who instigates most of the break-outs, into the corral. That accomplished we tackled the rest of the herd. With one of us on the east side of the stack, the other on the west side we hazed the cows toward the north end of the stack. When the cows on the east side of the stack an' the cows on the west side merged together they tried to swap sides but we just continued snappin' the whips at their heels an' pushed 'em on toward their pasture gate.

That alfalfa sure is like candy to ‘em. Even though they have plenty of grass hay in their feeder to pad their bellies those cows were bawlin’ up somethin’ awful. Since the bull is now in the corral we opened up one of the alfalfa bales an' pitched some into the corral feeder for him, so he's happy. We suspect them ol’ cows are more’n likely plannin’ another break, but they have to go work out the details first since the bull ain’t out there with ‘em runnin’ the show.