CATTLEMEN VERSUS PEOPLE WHO HAVE CATTLE

CATTLEMEN VERSUS PEOPLE WHO HAVE CATTLE

            Published January 21, 2011 in Intermountain Farm and Ranch

            According to the Bible, Palestinian shepherds were noted for their protection of their sheep at the time of Jesus. In times of danger, the true shepherd was willing to give his life for his sheep. He would go in with the sheep and fight for their welfare. The hireling, or shepherd, on the other hand valued his own personal safety above that of the sheep and would usually run from any danger.

            In John 10:4 it states:

            “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.”

            So, perhaps in working with cattle there would be a difference between a cattleman and “people with cattle”. They both build and repair fences, feed and water their animals even treat sick animals. But, as with the shepherd, the cattleman’s animals know him.

            My husband, Boyd knows his animals. He has a small red book that he carries with him so if there is a question about one of his animals he can quickly find the information. He can find birthdates of his calves faster than birthdates of his own kids. I watch Boyd walk daily through his herd of cows – speaking softly or not speaking at all, moving slowly and calmly. The cows recognize him. They “know” him; they “know his voice”. They remain calm in his presence. Even when the cows act rebellious, find a weak spot in a fence and get out, Boyd doesn’t rush them, doesn’t unnecessarily push them, but calmly directs them back to their pasture. Now there are times that he has to shout, even use a hot-shot or stick, but those times are few and far between. And through his example, our sons work with the cattle in the same way.

Boyd, Seth, and Kira in the calving shed

            Not long ago we had an accidental death of a heifer. Boyd and our son Derrald were upset about it because of the suffering the animal experienced. They talked at length about what they could have done to prevent this and what changes they needed to make so it doesn’t happen again. They did not walk away with a shrug of the shoulders and the comment, “well you lose some anyway.” No, they were the true cattlemen, sorrowing over the untimely and unnecessary death of one of their own.

            There are many in our area who work with animals in a compassionate and humane ways. Mark and Wendy Pratt are good examples of this. They run cattle east of Firth into the dry land area. On October 13, 2010, Wendy wrote the following in her blog:

            “We moved the cows to their fall pastures on the last two weekends. First the cows and calves on an uncomfortably hot day, over the mountain to Meadow Creek country. We do our best to practice low-stress cattle handling, but we found ourselves reverting to old methods as we pushed them begrudgingly up the steep incline.”

Yes, there are times when a hot-shot or whip needs to be used, but not every time the cattle are moved to another pasture, or even from corral to pasture or when loading cattle onto a truck. Sometimes you need to shout as they move as a group, usually to be heard more than from anger. But in observing – the cattleman tries not to stress his animals – the “people with cattle” don’t appear to think of the animal but of getting the job done, and even the monetary gain to be made when the cattle are sold. There are a lot of good cattlemen in our area, and a few “people with cattle”. It is difficult to watch the treatment of cattle under the care of the latter group. And you can usually tell by the way the cattle act if they are being taken care of by a cattleman or “people with cattle”.

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