Ideas to catch "wild" cows

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Sounds to me, he shouldn't be convincing the 85 year old dad to sell his last cows. Let him enjoy his cow for the rest of his life. Thats messed up taking the dad's cow. Karma will get that boy for doing his dad like that.... come back and tell us when it happens.
 
So 2 weeks ago he caught half the herd in the lean to. He decided to sell the half he had that day, so he called a hauler and another neighbor and I went to help him load. Took about an hour to load 8 head, the bull with the sore foot was the hardest to get loaded at the end.

Started out a little rough as the neighbor who was trying to sell them went down the alley to open a gate at the end to allow critters in to it. He screwed up though and instead of staying in the alley behind the 24 foot panel for protection he stepped out into the lean to, to open the gate, which exposed him to the cows/bulls. He is very lucky to not have gotten hurt, as one of the bulls threw him into the air feet higher than the 6' panel. Luckily the bulls and cows just kept on there circling routine and he hurried out after he got back to his feet. He never did anymore to help load the rest.

Once that situation was over the other neighbor was standing on a panel just thinking by banging a stick and making noise they would go down the alley into the trailer. He had no intentions of going into the pen after what he just saw. There were no gates in the lean to to help push them into the alley or even to take away the running are they had. So I put two corral panels into the lean to and chained one end to the 24 foot panels so it had something to pivot on and cautiously made my way in using the corral panels as the barrier between me and the critters. Used the 2 corral panels to slowly take away the space they had and some of the cows finally started to go down the alley, till all that was left was a sore footed bull that wanted no part of going. It took about 20 minutes to finally get him to go down the alley and into the trailer. The neighbor that hadn't gotten thrown in the air finally came in to help with the last bull thinking that a zapper would do the trick, didn't even phase him. Finally got him to go down the alley by me walking on the outside of the alley so he could see me and keep trying to "get" me, never took his eyes off me after I got in the lean to behind the corral panels.

All in all it went ok other than the neighbor who is getting rid of them getting thrown by the bull, he's very lucky. Now he is down to 8 left and as of yesterday he has 3 bales of hay. These last 8 only go in at night and he has yet to catch them in there. The 2 neighbors decided that they should put a skidsteer in the lean to so that when they catch them they can use that to push towards the alley. I can see it helping and hurting us at the same time. I think they're just scared that I'll have my tendon surgery before he gets the other ones caught. :)

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. The whole situation sucks as I believe with a relatively small amount of forethought it would have already been done. Instead here he is over 3 months into this and still fighting the same battle.
 
Chevy I agree that he shouldn't be telling his dad what to do as well. However his dad had a stroke 2 years ago and hasn't been really taking care of the cows anyway. The son has been doing all the feeding and checking on them for the last 2 years and never wanted anything to do with them from the start. He sold his dairy cows 15 years ago and had no intention of having cows again.
 
Y'all are nuts. This is probably the best, most accurate depiction of real cowboys.... and especially horsemen....ever outside of a documentary. It is worth watching just to get to see and hear the godfather ( Buster) in his cameo. And Metallic Cat is not the only top cutting horse that has been on there, though he is without question the best there is or has been. And to top it off. the music that is selected for the show sets it apart from anything I have seen in decades. No pop or hip-hop crap, and no bro-country BS either. Whiskey Meyers, The Steel Woods, Blackberry Smoke, Sturgil Simpson...the best of the best of today's REAL outlaw country and southern rock. I don't see how anyone could have ever written a fictional series like this, and been more accurate in the details. It is the details... Buster, MC, the music, the scenes from NRHA, NRCHA and NCJA events ..that have made this into what will be an all-time classic.
 
Don't feed the cows for a few days and they will be more eager to go in for the hay bale. Put the bale in the pen in the morning and if they haven't gone in close the pen at night keeping them out. Open it the next morning To let them in. Hunger will overwhelm their caution.
 
Y'all are nuts. This is probably the best, most accurate depiction of real cowboys.... and especially horsemen....ever outside of a documentary. It is worth watching just to get to see and hear the godfather ( Buster) in his cameo. And Metallic Cat is not the only top cutting horse that has been on there, though he is without question the best there is or has been. And to top it off. the music that is selected for the show sets it apart from anything I have seen in decades. No pop or hip-hop crap, and no bro-country BS either. Whiskey Meyers, The Steel Woods, Blackberry Smoke, Sturgil Simpson...the best of the best of today's REAL outlaw country and southern rock. I don't see how anyone could have ever written a fictional series like this, and been more accurate in the details. It is the details... Buster, MC, the music, the scenes from NRHA, NRCHA and NCJA events ..that have made this into what will be an all-time classic.
was good to hear Buster talk but sad to see him in a wheel chair
 
was good to hear Buster talk but sad to see him in a wheel chair
It is sad, but Buster is 94 now. He outlived Matlock Rose and Pine Johnson. He is the last of the legendary Texas horsemen that developed the cutting horse and the cutting horse industry into the greatest equine sport there is. When he and Matlocck kand Pine came along in the 40;s, til up in the 60's, thesse horsemen and these horses both actually worked cattle during the week. I remember talking to Matlock in Augusta at the futurity in the 70's. He said all week, he and Pine workjed Jesse James and Poco Bueno like any ranch gelding all week, moving and roping cattle, etc. he said on Friday and Saturday nights, they would RIDE them into town to rodeos, where they;d enter calf roping on them. Then on Sundays, they;d gather at their ranch or one of the other ranches, and they'd have jackpot cutting competitions. I couldn;t see the 8 figure NCHA champions being used like this today, nor could I see the top trainers today, working as a ranch hand all week.

I love that line the cutting horse trainer told Jimmy on the episode with Buster . " There are 3 Gods in Texas: The Almighjty Himself, Buster Welch, and George Strait. You just met one of them". :)
 
It is sad, but Buster is 94 now. He outlived Matlock Rose and Pine Johnson. He is the last of the legendary Texas horsemen that developed the cutting horse and the cutting horse industry into the greatest equine sport there is. When he and Matlocck kand Pine came along in the 40;s, til up in the 60's, thesse horsemen and these horses both actually worked cattle during the week. I remember talking to Matlock in Augusta at the futurity in the 70's. He said all week, he and Pine workjed Jesse James and Poco Bueno like any ranch gelding all week, moving and roping cattle, etc. he said on Friday and Saturday nights, they would RIDE them into town to rodeos, where they;d enter calf roping on them. Then on Sundays, they;d gather at their ranch or one of the other ranches, and they'd have jackpot cutting competitions. I couldn;t see the 8 figure NCHA champions being used like this today, nor could I see the top trainers today, working as a ranch hand all week.

I love that line the cutting horse trainer told Jimmy on the episode with Buster . " There are 3 Gods in Texas: The Almighjty Himself, Buster Welch, and George Strait. You just met one of them". :)
They all grow older unfortunately and Buster has outlived them all. It's just a little tough seeing him in a wheel chair when my memories of him are on horseback. I knew Matlock better than all of them. He was my hero and stopping to see him and talk was always a treat and an adventure. I used to be able to stop even more when he moved to Van TX. When I stopped his conversation usually started with "are you in a big hurry today" and since he was so much like my granddad I never could tell him no. So I'd ask him what he needed me to help him do and it was usually something like tippin horns, so you'd ask him how many he needed done and he's say "awe not too many, maybe 30 or 40" so after you'd agree there was usually no one around so he'd go into the herd and heel them and drag them out and I'd have to jump on their head and tip them. Matlock always liked my youngest boy and when I'd take him there he would usually ride him round in the gator or on a horse and my boy John Adam just loved him. One cold winter day I was headed over to Whitesboro to pick up a 4 yo cutting mare I had left with someone to sell and he didn't get it done and I told John where I was going and if he wanted to go with me we could stop and see Mr Matlock and I couldn't get that boy in the truck fast enough As we were headed west on I-20 and was just 1 exit away from Matlock's I got a call on the phone and the guy that was selling my mare called me and said he got her sold so I didn't need to come. The weather that day had started to turn off even colder and had begun to rain so I told John Adam since it was so cold and nasty that day we would just come see Mr Matlock in a week or so when it was nicer and we could stay longer and he could "help" Mr Matlock better, so we turned the truck around and went home. 20 minutes after we got into the house the phone rang and it was a firnd of mine telling me that matlock had just passed away an hour ago. It wasa hard lesson learned for me that day, I missed talking to my friend during his last few minutes and so did my boy. I'll never not take time for someone that's special again. Life's too short
 
They all grow older unfortunately and Buster has outlived them all. It's just a little tough seeing him in a wheel chair when my memories of him are on horseback. I knew Matlock better than all of them. He was my hero and stopping to see him and talk was always a treat and an adventure. I used to be able to stop even more when he moved to Van TX. When I stopped his conversation usually started with "are you in a big hurry today" and since he was so much like my granddad I never could tell him no. So I'd ask him what he needed me to help him do and it was usually something like tippin horns, so you'd ask him how many he needed done and he's say "awe not too many, maybe 30 or 40" so after you'd agree there was usually no one around so he'd go into the herd and heel them and drag them out and I'd have to jump on their head and tip them. Matlock always liked my youngest boy and when I'd take him there he would usually ride him round in the gator or on a horse and my boy John Adam just loved him. One cold winter day I was headed over to Whitesboro to pick up a 4 yo cutting mare I had left with someone to sell and he didn't get it done and I told John where I was going and if he wanted to go with me we could stop and see Mr Matlock and I couldn't get that boy in the truck fast enough As we were headed west on I-20 and was just 1 exit away from Matlock's I got a call on the phone and the guy that was selling my mare called me and said he got her sold so I didn't need to come. The weather that day had started to turn off even colder and had begun to rain so I told John Adam since it was so cold and nasty that day we would just come see Mr Matlock in a week or so when it was nicer and we could stay longer and he could "help" Mr Matlock better, so we turned the truck around and went home. 20 minutes after we got into the house the phone rang and it was a firnd of mine telling me that matlock had just passed away an hour ago. It wasa hard lesson learned for me that day, I missed talking to my friend during his last few minutes and so did my boy. I'll never not take time for someone that's special again. Life's too short
 
Thanks for sharing that. I wish I had known him better. I just got to talk to him that time in Augusta at the Futurity, but I was at the Rose Ranch sale in 79 when he showed Peppy San bridleless. I dread when we lose Buster and Martha Josey.. the last 2 true western horseman left alive.
 
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