River Ranch Diary, Feb. 26, 2004
I'm writing this midmorning as I wait for Dan and Jill to arrive to help with moving the buffalo herd from the River Pasture to one of the other pastures, either Sam's Barn Pasture or the South Pasture, sometimes called the Bale Pasture. Today looks to be a kind of special day for us in this process, not from the standpoint of moving the herd. That is pretty much old hat. Any of us can accomplish that with a good deal of ease. Today we will add horses into the mix. This addition will be a first for us with these horses; so a new learning curve and process will be underway.
Here's the way it is anticipated to work. Jill and Dan will saddle two of our horses. My doctor has temporarily grounded me from riding; so I and my brother will drive ahead of the herd to open gates and attempt to lead the buffalo, while Jill and Dan ride up behind the herd and encourage them to follow the pickup. At present the buffalo are within 200 yards of the appropriate gate and are strung out about a half mile down the draw that leads up to the gate. The pickup and the horses will have to approach the herd from opposite directions; so the estimated time of arrivals are critical. We don't want the truck to start the lead animals moving in the wrong direction.
From my vantage point in the pickup on the bluff, I could see the riders coming across the valley and starting up the draw. When I opened the gate, the herd began moving toward the opening, and I noticed more animals coming up through the draw; so we just drove slowly away from the gate and into the targeted pasture, Sam's Barn Pasture. About two minutes after the last buffalo came through the gate the riders came through also. I closed the gate behind them. The entire process worked more smoothly than any of us had anticipated.
It is now Saturday, February, 28th and I have since moved the herd into the North Pasture. That was yesterday. Today my brother and I checked the North Pasture fence, a mandatory activity I have assigned myself when the herd goes into a pasture. I do that as a matter of course because of what weather always seems to do to a fence, and as I have said elsewhere, I would rather check and repair the fence than go in search of a renegade herd either on someone else's property or somewhere in the open expanse of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, Badlands National Park, or Pine Ridge Reservation.
Just chalk up my fence checking and repair mandate to my terminal laziness.
I'm writing this midmorning as I wait for Dan and Jill to arrive to help with moving the buffalo herd from the River Pasture to one of the other pastures, either Sam's Barn Pasture or the South Pasture, sometimes called the Bale Pasture. Today looks to be a kind of special day for us in this process, not from the standpoint of moving the herd. That is pretty much old hat. Any of us can accomplish that with a good deal of ease. Today we will add horses into the mix. This addition will be a first for us with these horses; so a new learning curve and process will be underway.
Here's the way it is anticipated to work. Jill and Dan will saddle two of our horses. My doctor has temporarily grounded me from riding; so I and my brother will drive ahead of the herd to open gates and attempt to lead the buffalo, while Jill and Dan ride up behind the herd and encourage them to follow the pickup. At present the buffalo are within 200 yards of the appropriate gate and are strung out about a half mile down the draw that leads up to the gate. The pickup and the horses will have to approach the herd from opposite directions; so the estimated time of arrivals are critical. We don't want the truck to start the lead animals moving in the wrong direction.
From my vantage point in the pickup on the bluff, I could see the riders coming across the valley and starting up the draw. When I opened the gate, the herd began moving toward the opening, and I noticed more animals coming up through the draw; so we just drove slowly away from the gate and into the targeted pasture, Sam's Barn Pasture. About two minutes after the last buffalo came through the gate the riders came through also. I closed the gate behind them. The entire process worked more smoothly than any of us had anticipated.
It is now Saturday, February, 28th and I have since moved the herd into the North Pasture. That was yesterday. Today my brother and I checked the North Pasture fence, a mandatory activity I have assigned myself when the herd goes into a pasture. I do that as a matter of course because of what weather always seems to do to a fence, and as I have said elsewhere, I would rather check and repair the fence than go in search of a renegade herd either on someone else's property or somewhere in the open expanse of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, Badlands National Park, or Pine Ridge Reservation.
Just chalk up my fence checking and repair mandate to my terminal laziness.
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