Ranching 101: The Brand

To everything, there is a season.

This is branding season.

Raised a city gal, ranching has been a learning process for me. Important events are planned around the busy seasons (calving, branding, haying, shipping). The very first branding Spencer took me to, as his girlfriend, I really didn't know what to expect. This was not only my first family branding, but my first branding EVER. I had nothing to compare it to and no prior knowledge or experience to draw upon. And Spencer wasn't much for sharing branding stories with me, so I braced myself for just about anything.


As we pulled up, the sound was deafening. Hundreds of cows bawling for their calves, and in general in distress because they weren't out grazing the grassy open pasture, but stuck in a corral. They knew what was up. I took the safest spot I could find, on the back of a pickup, and watched as the propane started up. Before I could ask any questions, off went my {unknowingly} cowboy boyfriend on his horse, armed with his cowboy hat and rope, leaving me to observe.


I watched in amazement the work that proceeded. Hundreds of calves were branded and vaccinated within hours. The noisy environment did not allow for much communication, but everyone knew their job. No one was hurt by a wayward cow, bucked off a horse, or kicked by a calf. It just flowed. And then, the cows and calves were let out of the corral, the propane was turned off, and lunch was had as everyone congregated in the shade by the side of the pickup.


Sure I had millions of questions brewing in my head {Why are you saving the castrated calf nuts? How do you pick which side to brand on? How do you time when you rope? What are you vaccinating against?} But I was speechless. The whole way home I replayed the day in my head. The way my boyfriend rode so effortlessly on his horse - who knew?, the warm feeling of community, as neighboring ranchers helped out to get the branding done, the happiness of the mama and babies as they were reunited and munching on grass, and how wonderfully welcoming his family was to me as I sat and watched them work. What a wonderful day.


I soon learned answers to many of my questions, as I attended 3 more brandings that summer. By the end I had an important job of keeping count of the number of steer and heifer calves. And I learned that those castrated nuts turn into "calf fries" which my future father in law insisted I try, but I luckily had to drive back to the city to work {I hear they are delightful}.


I still have many questions. But I do keep learning. Branding is not for fun, it is essential to mark the cows with your own state certified brand in order to sell them {ours is ZN). And until science comes up with an easier way, that is how we will do things around here. There are so many different ways to brand, and so many different variables, from using wrestlers to using a chute, from giving sub cutaneous vaccines to cutting the perfect ear tag. What remains constant is the community of hard workers that I am surrounded by. They just keep plugging away, rain or shine, to get the job done.


And you'll all be so proud to find out that I've earned the job as a vaccinator. That is, when I'm not pregnant and toting around a toddler. But as I've been warned many times before from seasoned ranch wives, it's best to limit what you can learn, or you'll be volunteered, and often. So for now, I'm a vaccinator, taking this season off to tend to the kiddos and make lunches. And I like that very much.

And, I'm even taking a break from the pictures. {Thanks to my mom for the shots from last year's brandings!} I am busy enough making sure that Ella isn't in the pathway of a horse, or getting into vaccines, or playing by the extremely hot branding irons. The girl loves a branding though, and loves watching the calves, watching her Daddy rope, and sharing snacks with the many dogs. She usually will sneak in a little horse ride too, which makes her very happy.