I was tagging calves for an outfit, brush and scrub oak country. Usually I was by myself but I had a guy along that day, he is a arrowhead hunter for Caltrans, a wanabe cowboy. My dogs held up a bunch of cows in some trees and rocks. I roped a calf and started to tie-off, he said he would get down and tag the calf, so I pulled the little guy up close to a small oak, figured he could just reach around and tag him. Momma was a little pissed at what we were doing to junior lol. Ole Daryl reached around and tagged junior, momma blew snot, Daryl ran, momma ran and knocked Daryl down. Most cows will run over you and keep going, not this ole girl lol, she stopped on Daryl and commensed to beat him about the head and shoulders and I am laughing so hard it took me a second or two to push my horse into her to get her off of him. He was pretty beat up but nothing broke. I asked him if he learned anything. Told him he shouldn't have run and if he had kept the tree between her and him the oak would have taken the punishment lol. Good part is Daryl made a pretty fair cowboy.
my dad told me a story one time when i asked him why he quite cowboying. Him and an uncle owned a ranch in the bloody basin area of arizona in the 20's, ranch still there. He said he roped an ol range cow one day that went around one side of a tree where him and the horse went around the other, got pretty tangled up. He said he didn't know if he should shoot the cow or the horse first. Determined he had to have a better way of making a living so went back to the railroad.
I could mention the first time i tried branding and castrating calves. And the guy on the horse holding the calf let the slack out just as i was attempting to toss him. And be being stupid enough to hold on as he sling shotted me into the railroad tie corral. I was seeing birdies for quite a while.
