Little Travel Stories: Ranch Week, Part 2

Before I get into what you're all dying to know about - cows - here are a few pictures of the ranch.

My lodge room was cozy and peaceful.

Every morning I woke up to this beautiful view.

The first few days I worked on horsemanship. For me this meant learning the correct way to ask my horse to move. Eden, one of the wranglers, was our excellent instructor. Lessons took place both indoors and out.

On Wednesday we combined the lesson with a trail ride. The views from the top were spectacular.

You can just glimpse the snowy peaks of the Cabinet Wilderness in the distance.

After three days, Rocket got a break - meet Roanie, another very patient horse.

Before mounting up, I snapped a selfie. He was not impressed.

On Thursday I had my first experience with cows. We tried our hand at sorting: two people slowly make their way into the middle of the herd and gently encourage one cow to move out of the bunch. All the other riders form a wall around the herd, to prevent them from following. It's important to be able to sort quickly and quietly - for instance, if a sickly cow needs doctoring. It is much harder than it looks. The steers are so sensitive to the horses - they react to the slightest movement. All it takes is a look at the hip or eye and the cow will move.

It was also amazing to watch the horses. Roanie is VERY serious about cows. As soon as we got into the corral, his attitude changed. He was the boss of those cows, and let them know it.

One of the exercises we practiced in horsemanship was leg yielding, or asking the horse to step sideways. I've never been very good at this. Opening and closing a gate while mounted is a fundamental farm skill, and leg yielding is key to getting your horse positioned correctly next to the gate. One of my goals for the week was to learn the leg yield.

In cow sorting, you often have to step sideways to fill a hole in the wall of horses that is containing the herd. This is probably more down to Roanie than me, but he was yielding over like a professional when we were part of the wall. I was so proud. One of the best things this week was seeing the practical applications of skills like leg yielding. When I began riding, I was taught how to do these things, but not why.

We spent an enjoyable afternoon with the cattle. With a little persistence - I'm looking at you, Blue 33 - we were all able to successfully sort out a cow.