Barrie Qualle mug

I went to a lot of brandings this spring and had a great time. This is not by accident. A lot of the tasks that are a part of a branding can put a damper on joy. I noticed that my dear friend Lisa Morgan was overdoing and though she enjoyed the activities, she was in danger of not having a good time. I took it upon myself to point out some of the finer points of how to enjoy the glamour of cowboying. Here are some pointers.

Dust can be a major downer. It gets in your eyes and makes your horse cough. It also gets your clean and starched clothes dirty and that shows up in the photos. For this reason it is critical to check the wind direction prior to the gather and be sure you are on the clean side of the herd. Never ride drag or flank unless you have a tailwind. Riding point is the safest even if you dont know where you are supposed to go. If you encounter a wind shift and find yourself on the dusty side, I usually crowd the herd in that direction until it is necessary to cut through the herd to the clean side and bring them back a little. Arriving late for the gather assures that you wont have to ride all the way to the corners of the field and wear your horse out.

If, God forbid, you have to process the cows before the branding, it is a good idea to make yourself scarce until all the distasteful jobs are handed out. That way you can just hop on your horse and bring cattle up for processing. Avoid at all costs being trapped into running the head gate on the squeeze chute. Claiming a shoulder injury usually works, but should this catastrophe land on you, letting a few cows escape capture usually results in your replacement at this distasteful position. Giving shots is also distasteful and you can stick yourself with a needle.

When the calf branding starts it is critical to be in the first group of ropers. The advantages are that you dont have to hunt for unbranded calves and you have your choice of the preferable calves to catch. You should start by roping the smaller calves so your horse will last longer. Rope heifers first so you dont spend a lot of time holding the calf while it is castrated. This saves your horse and you get to rope more. It is also easier on the bull calves to be processed last and not be wooled around for a longer time after they are cut. Be sure to not rope calves with horns for the same reasons. Waiting for a calf to be dehorned is a drag.

While you are roping observe the jobs the ground crew has and when you get tired of roping, ride over to someone that has a good job and tell them to get on and you will do their job. If through some misfortune you are stuck with a bad job, being slow or incompetent will usually cause someone else to replace you. This failing, you can ask someone else to do it while you go to the bathroom and then dont come back.

Most ranchers are good guys and totally competent at their neighbors branding. This can totally evaporate at their own party. They are nervous and worried and this can result in them micro-managing and becoming frustrated and doing a lot of unnecessary hollering and on occasion screaming. This is hard on everyone. I try to help by suggesting we have a beer while the others do the ground work. After a few beers they usually calm down and begin to enjoy their branding. It is essential to initiate this early in the day so you dont have to put up with them being obnoxious.

Remember, pride, honesty and hard work are often overrated.

Open Range columnist Barrie Qualle is a working (or is it shirking?) cowboy in Wallowa County.