This weekend I took Frank to a cutting horse trainer friend of mine. I met him about 16 years ago when he bought a horse from me. This man used bison heifers to train reined cow horses on rail work. A dang bison is faster than most horses, and can turn on a dime..planting their front legs and whirling their butt around at a full gallop. You got a horse that can stop and turn one of them without losing it, then a cow is no problem. He has 6-8 at a time in training, works each one about 45 minutes a day. He said he could work them all with one bison and the bison never wears out. He has a racing bred-filly that will be 2 yrs old in March, that he intends to send to a racing trainer this spring. I have a pony cart that I modified about 30 years ago...put longer shafts and put 21-inch alloy dirt bike front wheels on it. Often I would go ahead and start with even long yearlings, hitching them and working them with it. Doesn't hurt them like riding them would, Hell, my grandkids can pull me all over the pace in it.. So, I carried Frank down there, and the cart to loan him, and about 200 lbs of my special conditioning blend of feed...enough for Frank and his filly for a month or so.
I got down there and we unloaded the cart, feed and Frank, and we looked at his filly, and I asked him was he going to put Frank on the bison. He told me not exactly,, that he had been breeding something better that he uses now. He said they were in the pasture that was off one end of his arena and wanted to know if I'd like to check them out. I said sure... let me saddle up Frank and lets go see them. He said no need..stay right there and watch this. He went in the office and came out with one of those drones and a console, We walked over to the pasture gate, and he sat it down and opened up the console thing. Looked like a lap top with two toggle controllers like a computer game uses, with a small screen. He let it take off toward the back of the pasture where there was a pole barn on a slight hill. He said they were probably behind the barn at a pond. He sent it up over the barn and said "There they are". You could see them on the screen. Well he got behind them and dropped it down, and said "There's the one I want", and sent it right up to that cow's nose, and she snorted, backed up and shook her head. He messed with her a minute until she started coming at it. He then would back it up, and she'd run up to it, like she was trying to get it. Then he started slowly flying back to where we were, with her chasing it! They hadn't gone but a few yards and here came the rest of them..about 15. Damndest thing I ever saw...they chased it right in to the arena holding pens. By the time they came over the hill past the pole barn, they were all at a dead run. He said when he first got it, he used it to herd them with, but soon they got used to it and wouldn't move from it. He noticed that one heifer that would try to get it and chase it around. So, he started using it like that rather than herding them with it!
People, these were the ugliest, scariest looking bovines I have ever seen, and I went on safari twice after Cape buffalo. Imagine a cow that looked like some horned bucking bulls you see. Every color that Longhorns come in, with a bison head and Brahma ears! Even capes and some beard that weren't as thick and full like a bison, but you could see it. They were 1/2 bison, 1/4 longhorn and 1/4 Brahma. He had developed them using LH x Brahma bulls on his bison heifers. He said he wanted the speed of a LH, the stamina of the bison, and the heat tolerance of the Brahma. He sat his drone down in the middle of the corral, and they all stood in a circle around it, snorting and pawing dirt. Once one touched it, he took it straight up and came out of the pen. They was running after it, looking up and kicking and jumping like frolicking colts! LOL. I asked him if they ever tried to gore a horse he was training, and said watch this. He opened the gate, and went up to the lead one that had first tried to get the drone, and damned if she didn't come over for him to rub her head! He said he could connect his desk top to it, wirelessly, and watch what was stored on that console on his PC or smart TV. He said he'd get his daughter to take some video off it, save it in a mp4 file, and email it to me. When he does, I will try to post them on here.
When they get too big or too old or injured, he grinds them up...and his steer calves...and sells it at his friend's butcher shop as " extra lean bison burger". I brought some home to try and will let y'all know how it tastes. I forgot to ask him why he uses only heifers and cows for the training and not his steers, but I will tonight when I call him.
I got down there and we unloaded the cart, feed and Frank, and we looked at his filly, and I asked him was he going to put Frank on the bison. He told me not exactly,, that he had been breeding something better that he uses now. He said they were in the pasture that was off one end of his arena and wanted to know if I'd like to check them out. I said sure... let me saddle up Frank and lets go see them. He said no need..stay right there and watch this. He went in the office and came out with one of those drones and a console, We walked over to the pasture gate, and he sat it down and opened up the console thing. Looked like a lap top with two toggle controllers like a computer game uses, with a small screen. He let it take off toward the back of the pasture where there was a pole barn on a slight hill. He said they were probably behind the barn at a pond. He sent it up over the barn and said "There they are". You could see them on the screen. Well he got behind them and dropped it down, and said "There's the one I want", and sent it right up to that cow's nose, and she snorted, backed up and shook her head. He messed with her a minute until she started coming at it. He then would back it up, and she'd run up to it, like she was trying to get it. Then he started slowly flying back to where we were, with her chasing it! They hadn't gone but a few yards and here came the rest of them..about 15. Damndest thing I ever saw...they chased it right in to the arena holding pens. By the time they came over the hill past the pole barn, they were all at a dead run. He said when he first got it, he used it to herd them with, but soon they got used to it and wouldn't move from it. He noticed that one heifer that would try to get it and chase it around. So, he started using it like that rather than herding them with it!
People, these were the ugliest, scariest looking bovines I have ever seen, and I went on safari twice after Cape buffalo. Imagine a cow that looked like some horned bucking bulls you see. Every color that Longhorns come in, with a bison head and Brahma ears! Even capes and some beard that weren't as thick and full like a bison, but you could see it. They were 1/2 bison, 1/4 longhorn and 1/4 Brahma. He had developed them using LH x Brahma bulls on his bison heifers. He said he wanted the speed of a LH, the stamina of the bison, and the heat tolerance of the Brahma. He sat his drone down in the middle of the corral, and they all stood in a circle around it, snorting and pawing dirt. Once one touched it, he took it straight up and came out of the pen. They was running after it, looking up and kicking and jumping like frolicking colts! LOL. I asked him if they ever tried to gore a horse he was training, and said watch this. He opened the gate, and went up to the lead one that had first tried to get the drone, and damned if she didn't come over for him to rub her head! He said he could connect his desk top to it, wirelessly, and watch what was stored on that console on his PC or smart TV. He said he'd get his daughter to take some video off it, save it in a mp4 file, and email it to me. When he does, I will try to post them on here.
When they get too big or too old or injured, he grinds them up...and his steer calves...and sells it at his friend's butcher shop as " extra lean bison burger". I brought some home to try and will let y'all know how it tastes. I forgot to ask him why he uses only heifers and cows for the training and not his steers, but I will tonight when I call him.
