I was fortunate enough to be able to photograph Ken Piller's cattle round up and branding this year for the second time. It is quite the site to see men and women on horseback moving a cattle herd from the top of the Qu'Appelle Valley to the bottom where corrals had been erected to allow them to process this years calves.
This is like stepping back in time and some of the things done would make PETA members unhappy. But this is a traditional event that has been carried out on ranches for countless years. So if you are concerned about any of the images showing things that might be thought of as cruel, please skip today's BLOG entry.
This young man is the Heeler. He goes into the coral with the calves now separated from their mothers and ropes a calf by both of its back feet. The calf is then pulled out of the coral where a device called a Nord Fork is placed around the calve's neck. Between the Nord Fork and the Heeler putting a little tension on his rope, the calf is immobilized so that it may be processed.
Once the calf is being securely held, it will be vaccinated, branded, tagged on its ear and if it is a bull calf, it may be castrated which means it will grow to be a steer intended for our dinner plates. Sounds awful, but once you actually see this being done, there is little too it. This little girl is nine years old and is about to vaccinate this calf.
Here the ear tag is being placed with a small plastic gun that looks like one used for piercing someones ear (only much bigger of course).
And at the end of the day, the spurs get hung up and everyone settles in for a nice dinner before heading home. A long tough day is done and several hundred calves have been processed and and are returned to the pasture with their mothers.
A fascinating day and I'm grateful Ken and his friends let me come out and see the round up.
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