The new four letter word around this outfit is … SNOW! With about 10 days of thawing in the last two months, the &*%# is still hock deep to a tall horse. The plowed trails the cows have been living on and eating in are now muck bordered by berms of melting &*%#. Most of the cows are calving cheek by jowl, with curious cows investigating their every move and sound. Like them, I’d be cranky and want to fight, too! Unfortunately, when a brave cow ventures across the frozen wasteland she can’t find anyplace to drop her calf but in a &*%#bank.
We’ve discovered a new gait on our horses. It’s the &*%# trot, which is a high step that breaks the crust on the upward stroke, a downward plunge through the soft under &*%#, a slight delay as the subcrust breaks before the hoof sinks into soft under under &*%#. The rhythm reminds me of a four year old playing a jack-in-the-box. The horses seem to prefer it to their other gaits, maybe because a lope is simply a high lunge they can’t keep up for long and they can’t seem to keep up enough momentum if they slow to a walk.
Better to ride than walk, however. I got stuck in the &*%# the other day – not in a vehicle but on foot. My left foot plunged crotch deep and my right thigh deep…and there I was until I tipped forward and belly crawled. Sonny said he thought about coming to my aid but decided it was more fun to watch than participate!
We have a great the trail to bring cows with problems to the corrals. It’s not hard to keep them headed in the right direction- after a few steps in the &*%# they’re eager to turn back to the trail.
We know we’re not alone in this. Though tempers are a bit frayed, we try to remember that the most important thing we can do is to take care of each other…it will all work out in the end.
Sandy Snider Stahl 