The Day Before the Storm
- February 6, 2025
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- Anna Foulger
Posted in: Featured, Horse Care, Ranch Life
The day before a winter storm blows in, the cowboy (my husband), the toddler, baby and I load up into the feed pick. Feeding extra before a storm is very important for our cattle, a cow that is eating is a warm cow. After loading up, we head up to the barn to fill the feed wagon with hay cubes. We feed a mix of hay cubes and hay through the winter, this helps us keep the cows fat through the winter and calving. The bull calves are first to be fed as we whirl down to fill their bunks.
Snow is already starting to fall as the old, grey ranch horse sneaks out the gate and up to the neighbor’s house. Rolling my eyes, we finish feeding the bull calves, leaving the old horse to be caught after the rest of the cows are fed. All the heifer calves are waiting at the gate for us as we truck along counting hay bales and making a mental note that three bales will need to be brought up and put out for the calves around the yard. These calves are easy to keep happy through the cold since they don’t have babies in them, and they are close to the house.
Heading up the road to our pastures further away, we grab two bales of good hay, we will be back for more after we unroll these. Moving quickly to try to beat the impending snow, we let out a line of cake and unroll the two bales, racing back for a third. The cowboy’s grandad was a big believer in putting out more feed than you would think you need, especially before a storm like this, his legacy lives on through our current feed program.
There is one more group of old cows across the road to feed. These are the oldest cows of our herd; they are the tried and true mamas who produce good calves and are hearty enough to withstand any conditions. Opening the gate, we go look through the cattle to see if any are bagging up early. Everyone is looking really good, so we start to feed, checking each cow as we pass them. This is something we do daily to insure the best health for all our cattle. Unrolling extra hay bales we head to the group of broodmares to make them happy for this cold spurt.
Horse and cattle keep themselves warm the same way, by eating. We load up the broodmares with a bale of hay, hay cubes, grain and mineral. All part of a solid feeding program with these mares. Back at the house we head over to the neighbor’s fence to get that old, grey horse and put him back where he belongs. Now back inside to start a fire and huddle in for the winter storm.
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Posted in: Featured, Horse Care, Ranch Life
About Anna Foulger
Hey there! My name is Anna Foulger, I am a young mom of soon to be two; a toddler daughter and little boy on the way! Me and my husband ranch in Eastern Montana with his family and we love every minute! My background is in...