Winter is sll in full swing in southwestern South
Dakota, but spring will be here soon. I love
the seasons we are blessed with as ranchers.
It never ceases to amaze me how each year
has its similaries, but when examining a bit closer there are
so many uniue things to discover. This reminds me of that old
saying about judging a book by its cover. I learned a long me
ago that it was best not to do that. The cover tells us only part
of the story. It’s up to us to open it up and delve a lile deeper
into the pages.
Aer growing up in the ranching industry, I’ve come to have a
great appreciaon for many female gures in ranching. They
truly are the glue that holds so many of our operaons
together and I believe they deserve a lile recognion.
Who am I referring to? I am talking about the cow, the mare
and the ranch wife.
When folks who don’t ranch or who aren’t involved in agriculture
see a cow, I know they don’t “really” see her. You see a cow... I
see ve generaons of dreams, desire, drive, and determinaon.
I see a beauful creature that never complains of the cold or
heat. She knows her purpose and she thrives in it. I see hearness,
strength, and grit like you’ve never seen before. I see an animal
that has formed our livelihood for generaons. She relies on us
and we rely on her. We can learn much from cows. Speak less,
listen more, be content, and no maer what.... go on
Perhaps you’ve never thought about a cow like that before. I
didn’t use to either, but the older I get the more appreciaon
I have for pure truths in this life. To me, this is a big one, but
it isn’t only for cows. Mares are similar to the aributes cows
have except they take things a step further. Mares are extremely
protecve of their young and they can denitely be ones to
watch out for. At mes, they can be uite headstrong, but I’ve
never met a pea-hearted mare. They will go strong for what
they are aer and they have a lot of tries. Yes, somemes they
kick or bite, however, if you know what you’re doing with a
mare you can likely get the best side of her to come out and
stay there. The cow and the mare have much in common with
another female on the ranch. She is one of the most important
of all—she is the ranch wife.
Ranch wives are such a uniue group of people. They can
literally be head to toe in mud and manure all day long helping
with the herd. ive them a few minutes and they can turn into
the most beauful thing you’ve ever seen. Their words are
full of wisdom, passion for this way of life and experience.
Rodeo LIFE 99