Life on the Ranch: Branding

 We found out that a branding was happening, so I packed up and took the kids to it. We had missed some previous ones because I was out of town, and I enjoy seeing the cowboys in action.

Brandings usually occur when the cattle are moved off the winter range. The calves were born in March and need to be marked so that they can legally be sold next winter. It's possible to just process the calves through a chute, as I wrote about in 2009. However, the cowboys much prefer the old-fashioned method, which involves roping the calves, separating them from the rest, and then processing them. The roping allows the cowboys to hone their skills and also provides a social function, as friends and neighbors often come to help.

We watched some excellent young cowboys rope calves and bring them back.

Sometimes it can be tricky to keep the calf down, especially if the special gadget to keep them confined doesn't get attached. Once they're down, they're vaccinated and have their ears cut. Instead of branding with a red-hot iron, ear cutting is what the ranch uses (but the whole get-together is still often called branding). If it's a male calf, a rubber band is applied to his delicate parts to cut off blood flow (in effect castrating it, but without Rocky Mountain oysters flying all over).


Here's an overview of what the process looks like: the cowboy and horse pull the calf into position, while other cowboys move in to do all the tasks necessary.


Cowgirls are very much a part of the whole operation.


It takes a lot of skill and communication to make sure that the calf is held at just the right tension.


This little cowboy was one of the best ropers out there. He made it look easy. Yet when I try to lasso something that's not even moving, I have a hard time.

Now, for some of the details.

The lasso.

The spur, stirrup, and chap fringe.

The wannabe cowboy (aka Desert Boy).

Chaps are just way too cool.

Getting new eartags ready. These have insecticides on them to help keep the flies from bothering the cows.

My nephew. The mountains in the background are something we almost take for granted. 

The high desert of the Great Basin is such a breathtaking place.

It's time to rope!

The lasso goes out...

And makes contact! The calf is pulled.

A beautiful horse.

 One thing the photos don't quite show is how hot and dusty it can all be. My camera was coated with a dust layer (of course lying on the ground may have contributed to that!). When you're right up there with the animals, it's even dustier.

A well-warranted drink break. But only if you're wearing chaps.

 Lasso up...

Nice try!

This one's a keeper. This cowboy was a great roper, even with a broken arm.

The kids got worn out fast, but I was still glad to have the chance to watch for awhile. The skill these cowboys show is amazing, something that takes years to hone.

And if you'd like to see even more photos of ranch life, A Handful of Dust Documentary has some terrific ones.

Desert Destination: Antelope Island

 We visited Antelope Island over Memorial Day weekend, and it blew away my expectations. Anyone visiting the Salt Lake City area should take a trip out here. Antelope Island is one of ten islands in the Great Salt Lake, and it's the largest, covering about 42 square miles.

 To reach it you cross a seven-mile causeway. During really low water years, the island becomes a peninsula. During really high water years (like in the early 80's), the road was inundated and the island closed for many years until funding could be found to rebuild.

 Once we got to the island, we went to the visitor center and checked out some interesting exhibits, picked up a junior ranger booklet, and watched the park film. Then we decided to head out and check out a trail.

We chose the Buffalo Point Trail, 0.3 miles long but a little steep and rocky. The kids thought we were hiking to the moon, they weren't very cooperative.

For those a little more enthusiastic about hiking, Antelope Island has about 20 miles of trails. It also has trail runs! I might have to come back for one of those! Some of the trails are open to horseback riding and mountain biking. (Another good reason to return!)

 The views were great. The Great Salt Lake is so large you can almost feel like you're at the ocean. And the high salt content (about 25% at times) makes it even smell a little like the ocean, although it's too salty for fish to survive in the lake.

 Birdwatching is a major attraction on Antelope Island. We had closeup views of some chukar. (Here's a bird list for Antelope Island.)

 At the top of the trail were some really cool rocks, Cambrian Tintic Quartzite. These rocks are old (550 million years old), but there are even older rocks on the island. Precambrian rocks (Farmington Canyon Complex, 1.7 billion years old) are found in the park, and they're as old as the rocks at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. (You can download a geology map of the island here.)

 It was a little windy, but oh, so beautiful. Sitting up there on the rocks, looking out over the Great Salt Lake made me feel quite serene. It's a little piece of peace so close to the hustle and bustle of the Wasatch Front.

 We saw quite a few bison as we drove and stopped to take a few photos. The island was settled in the late 1840s, with the LDS Church controlling the ranch, which ran cattle and sheep on the island, until 1870. Then John Dooly, Sr. purchased the island. He set up the Island Improvement Company, which ran the ranches and managed the island for almost a century, from 1884 until 1981.  The State of Utah purchased the northern part of the island in 1969 and the southern part, including the historic Fielding Garr Ranch, in 1881, and removed the cattle and sheep. (Source)

Twelve bison were taken to Antelope Island in 1893 (or 1897--I saw both dates listed). This was the start of a herd that became the largest in the United States for a time (despite an attempt to hunt them all in 1926). Today, with a herd of 550-700 bison, it's one of the largest publicly owned bison herds in the nation.

Every October, they hold a bison roundup--and they let the public participate! If you'd like to round up bison, you can, with your own horse or a concessionaire horse (check out the Antelope Island State Park website for details).  Sounds like fun!

By the way, if you're like us and wonder how could animals survive on a desert island surrounded by water that is too salty to drink, there are several freshwater springs on the island that wildlife use. Other wildlife on the island include mule deer, pronghorn (the 'antelope' for which the island is named), bighorn sheep, bobcats, and porcupine.

We couldn't stay long, but we'll be back, just like the California gulls. Antelope Island has a couple campgrounds, and that would be a great way to experience the island. There's also swimming in summer and showers to rinse off the salt and sand.

If you do visit, remember insect repellent. This can be a buggy place!


To see posts about other great spots to visit in northern Utah, check out:
Golden Spike National Historic Site
Hill Aerospace Museum
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
Utah State Railroad Museum

A Quick Horse Ride

We've had a lot of activity at the ranch lately, as it's time to ship some of the one-year old calves. They weigh about 800 pounds now. Wow! I am always amazed by how fast they grow. And a little grateful we don't grow that fast. I sure enjoy having little kids around for multiple years!

We headed down to see some of the activity surrounding moving the calves, and the kids were fascinated with the horses. Who wouldn't be? Seeing a bona fide cowboy galloping is the quintessential image of the West.

As we were wandering about, I noticed some metal artwork that captured the Wild West flavor. Hanging on the scale building was a cowboy roping.


I took two photos because it stretched around the corner and one part was in the shade and another part in the sun. But then I tried to capture the whole thing.


I'm not sure who put it up, but it sure is clever. And what cowboy wouldn't like to be able to lasso all those cows that are just out of sight!


Next we were very lucky to have Tierannie share her horse with us. Desert Girl took the first ride. She wasn't too certain about being up on a horse, but she really wanted to do it. It was interesting reading all the expressions going across her face.

She held on tight and enjoyed being up so high.

Then it was Desert Boy's turn. He sure was ready!

His most exciting part was when he got to hold the reins. Tierannie gave him a two-minute rundown on how to ride a horse, and Matthew declared that now he was a cowboy because he knew how to control a horse.

My little cowboy. He even was wearing his cowboy boots for the occasion.

As soon as he got down (all by himself, just like a real cowboy!) he declared he wanted his own horse. I guess he and his friend Ava now have something more to talk about!

High School Rodeo

My nephew was planning to ride in his high school rodeo, and I knew this was an event I couldn't miss. I had never even heard of high school rodeo until I moved out here, although looking at the National High School Rodeo webpage, apparently it does exist in the state I grew up in.

Let me just say that if my high school had had rodeo, it would definitely have given school sports an entirely different flavor! This is a wild and unpredictable sport, as you'll see below. And it's one that is a horse lover's dream. It was impressive all the ways that the horses had been trained, and how well the young adults rode them.

I've only been to one rodeo in my life before, and never to a high school one, so I was impressed with how big the event was. People from all over the state were there, with a huge array of horse trailers and trucks. There was a large arena and a smaller arena so they could run events concurrently.

The first event was barrel racing. The basic premise of this event is ride around three barrels without knocking them down and then back across the finish line. The best time was in 17.something seconds. The times are recorded to the thousandths, with many times very close.

Many of the riders made it look deceptively easy.

It's not easy to make a tight turn around a barrel when you're trying to move as fast as possible. A barrel knocked down is a five second penalty.

After every few riders, the tractor came in to rake the arena.

I had the kids with me, and Desert Boy quickly decided he was more interested in playing in the grandstands. He made a new friend and they played a variety of games.

It was nice to keep him somewhat entertained.

An ambulance was posted at the rodeo and unfortunately had to make a couple trips to the hospital. The events had to wait until a different ambulance came to take its place.

Soon it was time for bull riding.

If I was the mother of a bull rider, I don't think I could watch. I had a hard enough time as it was.

Here's a thousand plus pounds of mad bull charging out of the gate, with a lanky teenage holding on for everything he's got, trying to stay on that magic eight seconds.

The first couple riders got hung up on the bull and didn't get a clean getaway. Another bull charged its rider after it had thrown him and horned him in the bum in retribution for the boy having the audacity to even try riding him. Ouch.

Meanwhile, in the smaller arena a goat tying competition was going on. A girl rode her horse as fast as she could, dismounted while it was still running, then tied the goats legs as fast as she could. It was all over in about ten seconds, they were fast! The jumping off the horse part obviously took a lot of coordination.

We met up with some family and Emma stole the show for awhile.

She just can't help but be cute! You can see by her bulging belly that she's enjoying eating.

Clay and his dad left with their gear so that Clay could get ready to compete.

In the big arena they were steer wrestling. That means ride your horse fast next to a running steer, jump off and tackle it, and turn its neck so that it falls to the ground.

Hmm, sounds fun, doesn't it?

Team roping was next, an event that might be a little more practical than some of the others.

Then there were three riders who competed on bareback, trying to stay on an unsaddled horse for eight seconds.

That horse doesn't look too happy to have a ride on him. Amazingly, two of the three riders stayed on for eight seconds.

Eight seconds might not sound like long, but on a bucking, angry animal, it must feel like eight hours.

I was continually amazed how the horses were so good at having all four hooves off the ground at the same time.

In the small arena it was time for poles, where you weave your horse between the poles as fast as you can.

Then it was time for Clay's event, saddle bronc. These horses looked just as mad as the big bulls.

They wanted no part of having a rider on them.

The riders were having a hard time staying on them.

And some of the dismounts were spectacular.

We watched Clay getting ready with his dad's help. Clay is smart enough to wear extra padding and a helmet so that he doesn't get too many extra bruises. When you know you're going to be falling off a tall animal sooner or later, you've got to think of a good exit strategy.

I'm not exactly sure what they're doing here, but I wonder if Clay ever thinks, 'Why am I doing this?' If it's to make his mom worried, it's working!

The rider and horse behind Gate 5 were supposed to go next, but that horse started bucking before they even opened the gate, so they had Clay go next.

He puts on his helmet...
...gets on the horse...
...and he's out in the arena!
He didn't make it the eight seconds, but the most important part was that he wasn't one of the ones needing an ambulance ride, he was able to get up and walk away.

He's competing again today. Good luck, Clay!