Working on a Ranch Is Difficult but Rewarding

Working on a Ranch is Difficult but Rewarding

As a ranch owner, I have found the work to be difficult and the hours long. For instance, one night we had a foal born in the middle of winter. This was a long restless night of waiting and watching. Mother-nature has no time limit and neither does a mare ready to foal. With winter set in we had to make sure this new foal about to be born was dried and cared for as soon as possible. You push through the cold frigid night; only to have the mare foal the next morning. Seeing the foal was a blessing and such a joy to see. A ranchers' life consist of long hard work but it's so rewarding. Seeing the newborn foal by my mares' side was well worth the wait.

For one thing, ranchers don't have set hours to work daily. Ranching is not a 9 to 5 job. During calf season you spend countless hours tagging and watching all your heifers give birth. Once tagged shortly thereafter comes branding. Then you gather up local ranchers for a 3 day cow camp, roping, separating cow and calf, and smelling burnt flesh from branding. As a rancher your job is never done. Chores can't wait for long. The minute you do something will go wrong. Mending fence, clearing irrigation ditches, working on pivots, and tending to the animals leaves little room for play.

Depending on what sort of ranch work you do, your days will start early. If it's a working horse and cattle ranch, much of your day will be filled sitting in the saddle. With this kind of ranch you usually bale your own hay to feed and sell. This is another hard task! Usually feeding your animals will take a good part of your morning up. Expect 5 a.m. or earlier to be up in time to feed all the animals. This will eat up about 2 hours of your morning. Then you will work different horses throughout the day.

In addition, for all appearance purposes, ranch work is