And yet another way to load a bull...

[WyomingRancher]

This morning I got a call from my rodeo stock contractor friends. Apparently a two year old bull got in with their cows, and they were afraid to stir the cows up gathering him. They are calving now, and these cattle are like elk... they are only handled about twice a year, and survice year around on grass, and lick tubs in the wintertime. My friends didn't want to get any baby calves ran over, but needed to get the bull out... I guess they didn't want to start calving in March next spring .

The game plan was for them to herd them to the corner, and me shoot the bull out the pickup window with my tranquilizing pistol. We call this a "Wyoming Drive By Shooting" .


They couldn't easily get the cows by the pickup, and so Hal took my pistol and shot off his horse.


After the tranquilizer kicked in, they put two ropes on him... my kind of roping!


Out for the count... this is a nice way to be around ALL bulls .




The ropes were ran through the trailer, ready for the bull to wake .


This is as close as I ever want to get to this son of "Vertical Limit". My friends raised his dad, and I guess he has a nasty reputation in the PBR .


Finally waking up enough to load.


All in a day's work, and barely broke a sweat .


The cows didn't seem too upset.


It was fun visiting my old stomping grounds today, but I sure don't miss these cows! I'll take my lazy, not-as-intelligent girls any day of the week over these calculating, mean and nasty things . Handling these cattle do make you have to think though!

[Soapweed]

Thanks for the good story complete with colorful illustrations.

[WyomingRancher]

You're welcome . I was thinking about all of the great furniture I could make out of those colorful hides . Some of the horns would be fun to decorate with too. Probably if I had to deal with these cows much, more of them would be hanging on the wall and covering furniture than out grazing .

[Jerry H]

great pic's
and a good way of handling those kind of bulls also
what part of wyoming is that
i have worked up there some and i have a friend who raises buckin bulls that lives in saratoga
i worked there on the overland trail ranch for him and up at big piney
and around pinedale and the hoback (sp)
anyhow i enjoyed the pic's
until later
jerry

[Northern Rancher]

We had to tranq one last year by running her down in a jeep and poking her with a syringe-the tranq gun wasn't working lol. Nice looking rodeo cows I must admit-were gonna sell our little bunch and just raise broncs from now on.

[WyomingRancher]

[DiamondSCattleCo]

"over these calculating, mean and nasty things"

I sure don't miss working out in other peoples herds. There are a few herds around here that are heads up and watching every single move you make. I've never been real concerned when working animals, but when there are a couple hundred sets of eyes just burning holes in yer back, you can't help but to be a little edgy There was a herd of old fashioned Black Angus cows that used to hit the pasture every year. Dirty, nasty SOBs. You'd ride by a bush and out would pop a little black devil trying to take your horse out from under you.

Rod

[Hooks]

worked for a gal a few years back that raised bucking bulls.........one day settin salt out, had a youngster decide he didn't like the color of the pick-up truck (or somethin) and he re-arranged the right side door 3 times before I could get the heck outa Dodge ...........one of many wrecks at her place,,,,,,,,,,,,figure it'd be safer ownin a pitbull dog than buckin bulls

[WyomingRancher]

Yep, these brahma crosses can get a little testy, and they are very smart. When I worked for these stock contractors twelve years ago, I was always more comfortable handling their bulls than the cows.

At that time they had a few cows they purchased off of an exotic animal breeder which were half water buffalo. These were the UGLIEST things you've ever seen... sloped backed like a bison, colored brindle, with wide noses, upturned horns and bulging eyes. Anyhow, these things were more dangerous than the regular rodeo cows. One almost killed the vet when he was bleeding her, he walked too close to her head, and she opened his entire belly up. They could also jump four feet, flat footed . Needless to say they never stayed in the corral for long, and you had to make sure you knew where they were at all times .

My favorite story is the time one of them tried to jump out of a six foot, pipe corral. She took a run at it, fell short, and smashed her nose on the top pipe. From that point on she had a permanent scoop in her nose where she hit the pipe, and breathed a little harder . This same cow also wore a rope permanently around her horns... can't quite remember that story . When it was time to cull them, I think they just had the hunters shoot them. They never did produce a bucker, just a lot of headaches .

[Jassy]

[Shortgrass]

I don't have that testy of stock, but that tranquilizer gun has me thinkin. What a handy way to treat a foot rot or anything else even with quiet cattle. A good way to keep em that way. Are they pretty pricey? Where do you get one?

[Northern Rancher]

A couple big outfits I've A'I'ed for have gone to using them for treating bigger bulls-those ton plus exotics can be a handful at the end of a rope in the willows. I guess they figure a tranq dart is cheaper than crippled up men or horses. Don't dart a bull by big water though-some guys drowned one when he passed out halfway across the Carrot River lol.