Last Saturday I got the chance to ride my mare Daisy to help move our cows from one pasture to another. It wasn’t a really long drive, but I got butterflies in my stomach all over again at the thought of taking Daisy on a cattle drive. It was only her second time working cattle, and I wasn’t sure how she would do, especially since she was the only horse we were taking, and our only other help was a four-wheeler.
It was a nice hot summer day, the cows were reluctant to leave their shade, but at Daisy’s approach they moved out pretty nicely. Daisy was happy to drive them, she is a natural with cattle work, and it was lucky we had her, because when we got them out of the gate from their pasture they ran right into the ten-foot tall standing corn. She went right into the cornfield after them, and they all came out the other side, where the four-wheeler was waiting to turn them up the hill towards the other pasture. It was maybe a half-mile drive, so it didn’t take long, and everything went smoothly after we got them out of the corn.
It made me so happy to have such a successful ride on Daisy, as I have not put the time on her that I would have liked to, and I am still kind of unsure of how she will behave when I’m riding her. But she handled like a pro, and it gave me a thrill because she is better and better each time I ride her.
Here are some photos from our day:
Riding up to the top of the hill to start the cattle work.
Moving up to turn the cattle towards the gate….yes, that’s us behind that big weed; the cattle were kind of spreading out at this point and we had to hurry to turn them.
Coming out of the cornfield after pushing the cattle on through.
Pushing the cows over a terrace and down towards their new pasture.
Riding along a terrace under the summer sun.
Job done, riding back towards the trailer to head home.
