My Top Hand

        

               A farmer has a variety of tools needed to do their job. Some are more important than others, there are some that are replaceable.

A Farm Dog is one of the most irreplaceable and important tools on a farm.

Kit Kat is our top hand, she is a red merle, Australian Shepard from working lines.

She was born into  life on a farm.

When Kat came to live with us as a pup, I was working at another ranch. She would get up with me and drive to work everyday. She spent a lot of time sleeping in a warm truck on cold mornings or being packed around in my coat. Once she was big enough, she started farm school. She has had all kinds of teachers and many lessons, leading her to greatness.

The Farmer is the one she plays with and who she loves the best. Her and I have a different bond than they do, we work together everyday. Sometimes we have a difference of opinion but we still find ourselves best friends by nightfall. She has never been far from my side.

Now a farm dog will have a variety of jobs. Working livestock is the most obvious one of course. But that job is often misunderstood. A working dog must show a pre-disposition to working. They need to want to follow, to chase and to guard. They need to be hard fast and loud, or slow, silent and gentle, depending on the livestock they are working. They need to have focus and incredible listening skills. They need to be trustworthy, honest, hardworking and be quick. There is a lifetime of  work ahead of them so they need to love their job.

She learned to be around horses without getting underfoot. She had a hard lesson going into a horse pen where she had a near miss getting trampled in the snow. It was a reminder that she should be close to me and not wandering where her nose took her.

Kat learned to work cattle slowly, the fastest way to work cattle is slowly. She spent time in the corrals with yearlings who are unpredictable. A mother cow with calf up close and personal, can be more dangerous than a bull and takes finesse to motivate She learned to be gentle while moving cows with calves to range, there is no aggression needed around calves.

She was learning when to follow, when to chase, and when to wait. Bulls, well they are big and depending on the time of year can be frightening; She learned to get through, over or under the fence faster than the Farmer when challenged by a ton of beef. She was learning self preservation. She later learned how to fight for us to protect us and to give us time to get over the fence. She had learned when it was time to be a warrior.

Different livestock takes different levels of attention and method. Which is partially developed by training and partially to their natural inclination and intuition.

Moving to our Farm has brought new livestock challenges for Kit Kat. Goats are in some ways like sheep but they will turn and fight with their horns if pushed to hard.

She had to learn to go softly, push them together and to encourage them from the back of the group keeping some distance. A Nanny with kids will turn and fight hard if crowded, as is her right and their horns are a real threat. Kat has gotten caught off guard and thankfully our goats are not mean. She has been bunted and been scared enough to learn the lesson of spatial awareness. Goat kids love her of course and she loves to lick them and watches over them. 

Pigs too are an interesting thing to work around and these are her biggest challenge.  Kat learned to work with horses by learning to go ahead on trails and flush out grouse and to be on watch for things ahead in the trail. This is not as easy as you would think, the lure of bunnies, squirrels and the various smells enticing a dog off the job, must be incredible.

She also learned to follow behind or to ride on a horse when called upon. Also to know when the horses pick up speed, she would have to as well and when it was time to move to the side of the trial and allow the horse to go by.

Working dogs spend time on their own farm, but also can be called to go to work on another with other working dogs. This can be an interesting time for a young dog. It is a learning experience and can often entail some hard lessons.

Socialization is important for the dogs, and they need to know when it is time to listen for your voice, amid a lot of commands and noise. Each adult working dog will have lessons to teach a young dog, these are invaluable and should be welcomed.

Even working dogs need a holiday now and then, they earn their keep and love time off. Some will just want a shady afternoon to themselves. Some will want to do whatever it is you do. Kat is no different, she loves a good swim and will willingly ride in a boat and nap under the bow. There cannot be all work and no play.

Herding is hard work, these dogs put on so many miles it is amazing. They will dehydrate and get heat stroke. Their paws get raw, they get injured, kicked, trampled and will never quit.

They will only stop when it is so bad that against every single instinct they have, will they come to you for help.

They are essential to the workforce. There is nothing you won't do to ensure they are going to be ok.
This is where the volume of their hard work is recognized. When you have to go out to the barnyard without your top hand, your partner.

That intelligent, precious face, right by your side looking at you with their whole being available to you at a moments notice. The loyalty, the hours of work, the miles of trail. The sheer amazing, selfless, brilliant creature that is a dog.  Right then, that moment you know that every vet bill, feed bill or amount of hair on all things, is worth it.

A working dog is not just a tool to a farmer. They are family and they are loved.
There is nothing in the world like a dog.

Is your dog your

   your best friend?

I'd Like to Check you for Ticks

               One of my first dates with the Farmer was fishing, on a warm, soft evening where he serenaded me with a loving rendition of Brad Paisley's song Ticks. That is the only, and I do mean only, favorable thing about ticks I can think of.

Tick season starts for us in January when the coldest month warms up a bit leading us in to February. By Valentines day the last thing you are thinking about is how much you love lice and ticks. You are deep into hating these winter creepy crawlies. Since most critters have been snuggled up tight all together, they have bugs by now too. Deworming on a regular schedule helps rid you of all internal parasites but for exterior pests,  here are some of my favorite tricks for Goats and Horses.

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For all our Goats, Pigs, Horses, Cows we use  5% Carbaryl, Dusting Powder during infestation.

We will also use this as a preventative on the animals housed with a known case of the bugs. Strip all bedding from houses and re-bed after treatment. Dusting powder has to be applied and disposed of according to the label, Use gloves, do not do on a windy day or do in a non windy area. Ensure to read the entire label and when in doubt check the info online.

I like to put on a fancy garbage bag, some sweet shoulder length rubber gloves with dish gloves over the top and a dust mask because I am a sensitive kind of girl. Eye protection, since I wear contact lenses and the thought of the powder stuck to my contacts sounds like a bad idea. I look like I am going into surgery. It is an attractive look.

If you are treating for lice Carbaryl Powder needs to be repeated in two weeks. So keep your hot outfit for the next application then dispose of properly.

~Goats~

Butter, Milk, Bella and Latte

They commonly really pile on together in the winter months and are housed together. There are particular animals who present with unthrifty appearance and those are generally the ones most affected. Start your search there to identify the pest your dealing with. Our goats have Cashmere blood so with their downy heavy coats it is near impossible to find  the ticks, so we normally deworm and dust. We are careful to catch each animal and we shroud their eyes and gently rub the dusting powder around the head. The rest of the body gets a vigorous rubbing down with handfuls of powder, working it in to the warmest regions. Avoid genitals and udders. I have an old child's hooded sweatshirt that I have the neck and hood cut off. This gets slipped over their nose in front of the horns protecting the eyes. This is a two person job, a mad horned goat in full winter weight is not always happy go lucky being vigorously rubbed in the "warm regions". Yet this also is a great time to have a good look over them since you are rubbing the de louse powder into their coat. If you have the forethought to bring out a clip board and make notes on the condition of each animal this is a great time to do so, or use a carpenters pencil from the farmers tool belt with the inside of a feed bag. Also take advantage to trim up the hooves.

Horses

Some of our horses have winter wear, some do not. During warmer winter weather we remove blankets and hang them liner side out, in the sunshine. This is a great time to spot wash them as well. When we do that we will mix up a spray bottle with sensitive skin laundry soap and water  in a spray bottle. Dilute well, you only want a small amount of soap. I use 2 tbsp. soap to 4 cups water. Spray down the areas that are the most soiled and use baby wipes or a nail brush depending on what your dealing with to clean it up. I have one who is amazing at pooping on his leg straps, I have a spare pair so that they can be washed and traded out often. Poopy leg straps can chafe the legs. Then spray the entire blanket down with This stuff: Absorbine Ultrashield EX. This is also my go to in the summer as well. This stuff claims to repel deer ticks as well as a myriad of other things. Now I think that treating the interior of the blanket with a tick repellant is a heck of a good idea. This has worked for us pretty well so far. CHECK to see if your horse is sensitive to the product before doing your blankets. Also when doing a groom on your guys it does not hurt to hit them with some of this stuff as well. Prevention is one line of defense but our next step is when you have the rotten ticks. Careful grooming of the horse will let you know if you have them. Odd bumps must be investigated. When finding a tick there is no better way than to learn to carry a pair of tweezers in your pocket and properly remove the sucker. You need to get the head of the tick and there are a pile of good videos out there of properly removing them. You want to grab the sucker as close to the skin as possible and remove. a pill bottle with some oil in it or a bit of dusting powder is a great place to put them. Unless you know you have killed it. If you find multiple ticks on your horse this is when you go to the dust. We will dust our horses when the warmer weather hits down their top and bottom lines. Then keep a continual grooming going. We will not spray with Absorbine when we have dusted. This program has helped us keep the ticks down. I do find them more on my dark horses and the older the horse the more they seem to have on our place.  

After the treatment of ticks, and the grooming of the dust through the coat, I will then do the task of cleaning our grooming gear for the spring. This entails putting all the brushes, hoof picks, rags, sponges all of it including caddy's to a good scrubbing. The horses new coats are starting to grow in by February so might as well get clean stuff to start shedding season.
I will use a metal comb to brush out all the brushes, then soak all the bristle brushes together for a few minutes in Unscented Laundry Detergent, a splash of fabric softener, and some white vinegar or an antifungal soap.. I will brush them together in the bucket to clean each other. If you have the water level high enough to keep your hands and brushes underwater you will not get as much blow back from the scrubbing them together. Don't' let them soak to long especially with wood handled or natural bristled brushes. Curry combs are especially nasty and you don't know it until you get into them being they are usually black. Rinse well. I lay all the brushes on their side on a towel and let them air dry. Oil scissors, use steel wool to get the rust off hoof picks, and shine up the caddy. The fabric softener helps with the static in your brushes, also oil any wooden handles and apply a

good silicon spray to natural bristle brushes to protect them as well.  Once this is done you will feel like a very good horse woman. So on the ball. It might even inspire you to start cleaning your tack...  

The dogs and cats get treated for ticks at this time of year as well, since we know they are on the livestock why take the chance  right.

Do you have any tick tricks?

Comic Relief

I talk about my dog Kat being my partner. She is a key part of my day to day work force. She is always a good listener and works hard. She is a significant and undeniable asset to me. But she does not provide one essential thing that the cats do…

Comic Relief.

              A barn cat has a major role on any farm. They are to keep the mice out of grain, from wreaking havoc in the tack room, nesting in engines or moving into the house. We have four cats and they do a job too. They are well fed making them superior killing machines. They do not just kill things to eat, they have tapped into the sadistic wild puma side of themselves and kill for sport. This sounds awful, but when it comes to expensive rawhide eating pack rats, or garden destructive bunnies well simply put IT’S ON. Now we have some old folks who are a bit retired who do more house patrol  and our two younger cats are on field and barn. So yes they have actual jobs yet as for job descriptions you decide.

Let's be serious cats cannot herd cows.  

Nor can they keep the deer out of the garden.  

 
But they are the stand up comedians of our place.
For morning chores I head out with Kat and my gang of cats, we storm the yard and go to work. During the day at any given time there will be a cat busy somewhere you look.

Sometimes it is Bird, who is Kit Kat's best friend. They are often caught in a solid cuddle in the evening.

Bird has assumed the job of making sure she keeps the pig pen covered. Making sure their feed is just right by ingesting some of the good bits out of their trough, she is prone to eating oats, corn and anything bread related she will fight off a full size market hog, for any tasty morsel that she believes is not pig worthy. She will also ensure that any little bird thinking that the water trough is a bird bath is on notice that this is not a place to spread your avian flu off you go, good thing she is too fat to fly from all her quality control in the pig sty.

Weasel aka Weeze is the silent killer, she is aged now and will find a spot and hold sentry kind of like the Queen's guard. You can talk to her or try to pet her and she is having none of that crap she is busy. She will stake out a cool spot in the summer and hold court and sure enough something will try to get by her and it's game over. Weeze has always been a bit lets say rotund. Last summer a skunk tried to make a home under the goat house and learned what a well fed house cat can sound like when it is under duress. In all honesty she was not really trying to deter the skunk, she was stuck under there but the skunk felt that it got told off and that was good enough for us.

Tuffy is  the head of the pride the ruler of the roost so to speak. He is the mighty overseer. In his younger more vicious days he took on a red fox with Bazinga and won. He is older and has diabetes, feline diabetes is not an easy thing. I will talk about it in another post, so let us not get into that. He still, despite his affliction will go outside and become wild cat. He hunts side by side with the black cat and you cannot get near him unless he comes to the house where he is once again a housecat. This did not always serve him well. When we moved to this ranch from another, he thought he would make the journey back to the last place and near died as a result. We were blessed to get him back and he was a changed cat for it. He remains a hunter and earns his keep.

           Bazinga is the youngest, this black cat has absolutely no clue he is not part dog part horse and all super hero.

He did not get the memo that cats are dignified creatures who do not behave in such a manner. He will climb you like a a tree for affection, he thinks he can come riding, has tried to take on every variety of livestock and wildlife. We are amazed all the time he makes it home to the house at night.  As a kitten he made a heroic leap to attack the strange beast that was the fan atop our woodstove. He received third degree burns on all four of his paws. We had to doctor his poor feet for months. He recovered and to this day loves his feet rubbed. His favorite place to sleep is in a chair right close to the woodstove. He is a lesson in fearlessness.

          When you are in a dark barn reaching out to grab a square bale and you grab two handfuls of cat. The moment of sheer panic thinking "what was that"  only to feel the purring and smack of a paw for man handling their business reminds you that you are very thankful they are there doing their job. Sleeping on the hay, keeping the unpleasant things from doing so.
It never ceases to amaze me that they are willing and able to work with us no matter what we are doing or what the temperature is. The dog will do it by loyalty, but the cats, well it must be for a whole other reason we have yet to comprehend.

                                          Or when they bring a snake into the house and you see it slither out from under your couch, as you are folding laundry. You do the sprint across the back of the couch hurdle the kitchen table, to dive out the front door. They have reminded you to not only to fix the screen door but that you still can move like a gymnast! Or when they get sprayed by a skunk you think hey at least this time it was not the horse or the dog. When you climb up into the tractor and there is a fuzzy little seat warmer, who rides around with you then promptly goes back to sleep on the seat when you get out with a wink  and a "I'll wait for you right here". Then there are the times you see them doing Serengeti cat in the hayfield and you can almost hear the narration in their head “ the majestic jaguar stalks his prey."

  

"The grasshopper is a formidable foe for the jaguar” Yah that goes through your head and you can only laugh.

Or when they think that a stand off with a coyote will be like the road runner and coyote show. When they realize the only option is up the tree but they overshoot the mark, you know the one that said you can climb down from here but after this point your screwed, yah then you get to find out you can still climb a tree too.

The animals have a way of changing  a crap day. Sounds so silly but a cat truly never wants anything much from you, which can be a major asset on a farm where everything relies on you and depends on you to ensure it’s existence. The cats have got life covered, they are hard working little creatures who deserve a warm dry place with some food and a cuddle. Seems so little for what they give to us. If you continue to provide them with entertainment they will do the same.


What is the most interesting thing your cat has done or has brought you as a gift, just to see your reaction?

Load Up

                  Being from the country you learn to drive. It’s long distance to get anywhere, town is an hour away.  You could have friends from school who are from the other side of town and they are an hour from town making them, two hours from you. And you both live on dirt roads so that is a thing. You learn that a freshly graded road can be dangerous to drive on but so too can washboard, potholes and frost heaves also real things. The trip can also be made more interesting with the weather.

                   Canadian weather driving:  mud that stuff pulls you around and you get stuck there is no bottom to this stuff. Snow, is not just white mud. If you have never driven in a snow storm, it is kind of like in space movies when they do the warp drive and the stars are rushing by and everything's a blur yah that is a snowstorm. Slush, now you have mud mixed with snow and throw in some ice not always fun. Hydroplaning due to excessive rain hammering down in a veil you cannot see through  or freezing rain that is a good time, like being on an ice rink with crocs on. Fog oh we don’t have anything on Britain I am sure but the moose and deer can hide in that like you cannot imagine. Yup that is right you also need to watch for the wildlife and not so wildlife,  in the country there are also going to be cows on the road or horses, sheep sometimes goats and if there is a pig call the neighbors. Yes we Canadians figure we can drive.

             I remember when my best friend got her license and a little blue car. She and I would drive around our back roads, listening to music and feeling so carefree.  A good country girl, she could drive fast, change a tire and get us anywhere safe. Sitting in her passenger seat the  feeling of freedom was amazing. Arm out the window, singing along to the radio, every turn a new adventure. Ah yah bliss. When I learned to drive and had all the responsibility, not as much of a feeling of bliss. I felt in charge, important to be trusted on the road. The ability to go anywhere and being in control of my own destiny, was pretty great

           Then like any good horsewoman I learned to hook-up a horse trailer. Now I had the same feeling as the first day with my license, tempered with being in charge all wrapped up with more responsibility of having a live animal in the trailer. The real feeling, less bliss more stressed. But, the excitement of being hooked up and headed somewhere with your horse, on the road together on an adventure oh yah now this was really something.

             Not to mention the painstaking hours it took to initially get ready. First off the horse needs to look good, better groom and clip and shine up your pony. Not like you are going to a show this first time around, just going to go and ride anywhere that is not in your own backyard. The horse is clean, blanketed with shipping boots, maybe a tail guard, head bumper, fancy halter covered in fleece. With more clothes on than you have ever seen professionals use. You pack the front tack with everything you need. Then pause, did you remember both bell boots? Tear it all apart then to get it all jammed back in, to turn around and realize that the saddle is still on the barn floor. And here you go again, to get everything heaved out and back in and then some more totally necessary, while completely not important stuff in the truck.  You load the horse and YOU ARE READY TO GO!

          You get there. You are so happy everything went fine on the trip despite looking in the rear view mirror, to see if everything is ok back there that you don’t remember the road at all. You are there, you jump your horse out and he looks like a million bucks, once you get his wardrobe that cost near as much off him. You tack up, mentally giving yourself a major high five for having everything you needed plus extras. As you swing your leg over you have never felt more independent and accomplished. This is an amazing feeling.

Your ride does not have to be the best, your horse could deposit you in the dirt, it won’t matter because nothing can take away that you just managed to get there, to get dumped in someone else's dirt. But thankfully there were some great moments of your ride and you finally managed to get that time in an arena to really get a work in. It feels different somewhere else, your horse is different somewhere else.  

           Proudly you come back to your trailer and you put all your gear away while giving your horse a hay bag that you also remembered to grab out of the barn last minute. You both are relaxed and happy, you chat with a friend casually, happy to see each other there at the arena. All the while you are not expressing on the outside how amazing this day, this ride has truly felt. You load your horse into the trailer secretly relieved he has behaved and this time did not give you the NO face at the trailer door. You do a walk around and check to make sure everything is fine like you were taught to do. You jump into that driver's seat and turn the radio up, ease your sunglasses on and roll the window down and head for home. Thinking about all the events, clinics and places you can go, the adventures all beginning.

 

              As you pull into your yard smiling your head off and hearing your horse banging around in the back as his friends whinny hello, you catch yourself still smiling, feeling elated. You are not thinking about the gear you have to drag from the trailer or the balled up sweaty horse blanket and shipping boots covered in manure  you did not put back on or the incredible pile of steaming dung that five horses could not have made that he left in the trailer or the trashed hay bag you lovingly left for him on the way home. No, you are still walking on air, leading your partner back to the paddock and watching him roll in the dirt  and sauntering over to his pals.

You are remembering that feeling of being a teenager rocking out in a car feeling free strong and alive. As the sun sets on this incredible day you think to yourself.

Lucky me.

Where did you and your horse go on your first trip?

The Art Of Try

               Being a farmer can be hard lonely work, usually when you find yourself deep in the weeds, alone, needing a third hand and an extra foot while taking a deep breath praying for more strength. That's when you feel the most alone, when you need help, anyone's help. You would pay the dog to stop looking at you like that and just dang well hold this. But that is what brings us to the art of the try..

Trying is an easy concept. When I was a kid you did your best and if you still did not win then you might not have worked hard enough to be the best. Now, on being a farmer, I bust my butt to work as hard as the day is long, and sometimes that just isn't enough. I feel at the end of the day that I have no more to give.

Farming will teach you that no matter how you feel about it you will get up the next day, you will continue to try to do your best work. You will try with all you have, and you will learn to push further. Because that is what it takes

If you just cannot see past how to get a job done without help, and a mare is having problems giving birth, that calf won't stand to nurse, the tractor just wont turn over or that barbed wire gate is never getting long enough to close no matter how fast the critters are running in. You don't get to leave it. The choice is not to just say I tried.

YOU stick your arm where it doesn't belong to reach the foal, you grunt push holler and lug that calf to the barn, you hold a torch under the oil pan, you whip off your shirt and tie that gate closed and you get the job done.

This is more than a job. This is your life, being responsible for life. Whether it grows in the dirt or eats what grows from the dirt, protecting promoting and producing the life of what you have committed to farming is your life. Weekends, holidays heck what is a Stat? Sick, tired, hurting all over you drag yourself up out of your bed to face the day. You are living a dream for some and when you are deep in the weeds holding on by a thread, thinking I just have no more to give.

Draw on the fact that you my friend have try.

You have tried the simple way, the short cut, the way that common sense told you to. Then there is the hard way, the long way, the way that makes no sense. You have tried it another way, you have tried to ask for advice, for help and tried to work out any process in which to make it possible. You will try to find the money, the courage, the strength. You will find you will try to be in five places at once, and you will try to be the best you have ever been. Because you need to know that you have tried.

And when you are a farmer and all options have been exhausted and you’re simply just so worn out from trying so damn hard

That my fellow farmers is simply when you…

Try Harder.