My Time on the Drift - Day 12

Sunday, July 3

With enough help on the final day, we were able to push the cattle to our upper allotment and back ride for any cattle that were missed. I had lofty goals of locating a large group of missing cattle for our neighbor but unfortunately didn't succeed. However, we found 5 pairs and 2 bulls, so all was not lost. It was a beautiful day and I was able to look into some neighboring allotments that we don't ride often. The country up there is so beautiful and I plan to go back and look without an agenda. We are always going up country with a busy plan in place and I'd like to just tour and enjoy the scenery with France and the kids.

Luckily, the cattle made it to the upper allotment without too many problems but I am again reminded that we need to have some emergency plans in place. On this day, in particular, my Mom's horse, Pink, stepped on a branch that ended up stabbing the mare in the flank area. Thankfully Mom was okay, but her horse needed a vet immediately to get the wound to stop bleeding and cleaned up. France had to ride several miles out to the trailer before he got enough service to call the vet. What if one of us got in a wreck? While 15 minutes is fast to ride out, we may need that time to have help on the way. We always plan for a worst-case scenario when it comes to moving the cattle, but maybe it's time we think about our safety too. The mountains are rugged and unforgiving and anything can happen. I'm thankful that our time moving to the mountain has been safe, but it would be naive to think that nothing will happen.

In the coming days, we will check to make sure no cattle were missed and the herd is healthy on the mountain and at home. We leave our first-calf heifers home to get a better breed up and give them the best chance to be good mothers. Now it's time for a quick break before we start haying. Anyone else need a nap?