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Tales from the O-NO Ranch 11-1-10

Mad Jack Hanks
Wellington, Colo.

I went out this morning just before daylight to feed the ponies and then I was going to be off to the cement pond for my weekly swim. The wind was out of the west in what seemed to be hurricane force. It almost blew my pockets off my pants.

Livestock for the most part don’t seem to function normally in a high wind. They seem to be irritated to say the least. The ponies were milling in circles as I entered the feed room. Then they seem to forget where their usual spot at the feed bunk was. They began to kick at each other, bite and just act like spoiled kids. I had a light on a small portion in the corral but it didn’t seem to calm them at all. I waded into the bunch screaming commands and I might even have tossed a profanity in their direction. I’m sure I did as the wind had me somewhat provoked as well. They eventually found their place at the table and I got them fed and was off to swim.

Wind can sure be a good thing if you need to melt some big snow drifts and it can be a bad thing if you are fighting a forest fire. Ask any firefighter about wind. I never enjoyed working cattle in the wind or trying to get a handle on a young horse when the wind was excessive. It just don’t work for me!



There was that one time up at Amarillo when I was out prowling pastures by myself and came across this steer with a really bad case of the pinkeye. The wind had to be gusting upwards of 50 mph or so. The ole steer was up on the side of a small hill and I slipped up behind him hoping to get the wind to my back when I went to rope him. When he saw me he quit the country and off down the hill he flew. He made a small circle as I was about to rope and we were running into the wind. My horse stumbled or stepped in a hole just as I was tossing my loop and he turned a flip. My loop came back over my head and we crashed and burned. My pony rolled over me in the deep sand and I was not hurt. He found his legs and shook off the sand and began to graze as I began to unwind the rope off of me. I was tied hard and fast to the saddle horn and I was really sweet talkin’ that hoss as I found my legs and managed to get loose from the rope. This was a good solid old ranch horse and if it had been a colt he might have taken off as soon as he found his feet and I wouldn’t be writing this column today.

I don’t like wind! I like breezes. There is a big difference between a breeze and wind. I live in windy country and knew it was windy when I moved out here so I reckon I ought to quit griping about it. I sometimes just can’t help it and today is my day to gripe about the wind.



I hope Halloween was fun for you and yours. I would like for you to stay tuned, check yer cinch on occasion and I’ll c. ya.


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