winthrop brookhouse

Rustler is an 1800 pound bull who has decided that fighting with the bulls in the next ranch and maybe breeding an available cow is better than staying home. He is with 60 cows and 5 bulls on 700 acres of ranch with lots of canyons, woods and open prairie. The only way to get him back is on horse back. So Dave Reynolds, Rustler’s owner, and myself have our Spanish Mustang horses and are ready to go. I use my girl Ricky. She is fast, can stop on a dime, turn sharp at high speeds and loves doing this kind of work. For Rustler’s size he can still move at a good 20 miles an hour or more and is tricky in his maneuvers. We have to separate him from the other cattle and keep him headed home. First finding him in all that space takes about an hour of riding through forest and canyon. It is beautiful and lush this year because of all the rain and cool temperatures.

We finally find him on the Northwest corner of the ranch with the other cattle. Ricky and I circle around, while Dave and Crazy Legs move toward Rustler. All the cattle decide it is time to go and take off with Rustler in the herd. We slowly follow, working and cattle on the outsides away from Rustler and try to turn him. He senses the pressure and takes off at a lope. Ricky goes to a gallop and we try to race ahead to cut him off with Dave working the rear and other cattle to separate them more from Rustler. Ricky gets ahead of Rustler and we bring him down to a stop as he moves from side to side trying to evade. This is not galloping on flat land but going up and down ravines over fallen debris and trying to keep the other cattle from spooking to much so they do not encourage Rustler to really take off with them in tow. Crazy Legs moves in and we all weave in and out in the timeless dance of herding. Finally, the cattle have moved off and we have Rustler heading Southeast and toward his own pasture. It is heavily wooded here and I spend a lot of time ducking and staying close to Ricky’s neck as we continue to thwart Rustler’s attempts at returning to the other herd.

After about four hours Rustler is finally back with his own cows and calves. Ricky and Crazy Legs have a good sweat worked up, as do we, but are showing their pleasure at getting a good run and workout. The other herd did not get all agitated and Rustler herded fairly easy.

I find that doing this kind of work gives me the inspiration that I never found in city life. It is the reality of nature, it is how the world moves and for all the excitement it is harmony for the soul. A quiet dance with the universe as my partner.