Participating at my first branding tomorrow… Will be the designated person to vaccinate ( I’m a nurse) … this video was extremely helpful… ( my boyfriend ,the rancher ), I’m so very nervous, knowing animals and horses, and people are all thinking- not wanting to “ drop the ball “ in anyway… I will watch a couple more videos… and spend the rest of my time in prayer… That’s what I do before every shift… that’s what I’ll do before our branding 🙏🏻🙏🏻😇💕
"It's OK to stay out by yourself" ! The best line of this video, especially since Pat looks like he is holding back on laughing for a few minutes right after uttering that truth. Priceless ! Thanks for a very interesting video. Not boring at all.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience, Pat. I have been to a branding and got to help with the gather and in the branding pen from the ground. Two very interesting and fun days. And, yes ... It is work.
If words were currency, this video is worth it's time in Gold. This is something that's should be Taught in ffa/4H/AG in general. Like paw used to say "stick to the basics"
Thank you Pat. Always an enjoyable(&humorous) video from you. Coming from Pennsylvania most didn't expect myself & four cousins to grasp ranching in Montana. Self taught riding since we were tots, our experiences grew to include trail riding north country mountains, sorting, jump & dressage. Leaving our horses behind, we often traveled to help friends with Spring drives. After getting the buck out of their wintered horses, we moved hundreds & branded newbies. With expert instructions. I asked our boss why just us 'yankees' helping his usual crew... He replied he was fed up with 'hot dog cowboys' wasting time & stressing cattle. We finished early and sat down to a feast to celebrate. We gals are in our 60's now and still look forward to Springs drives. Sharing your video!
Great information Pat and Deb. I really liked how you pointed out early in the video that the crew boss should start the day by telling everyone what is going on and what and how he wants the process to take place. I've gone to so many garhers/brandings where the crew boss doesn't say a word and everyone goes out and does their own thing only to create a mess and make the boss mad. It doesn't' have to happen.
Thanks for that comment. For my research I spend a year on a ranch in Wyoming and went to a dozent brandings, shippings, gatherings and other things on various ranches in the region. One thing that made it very difficult for me to help and not get in the way was that it was never told beforehand what to do. Even at the many gatherings there was rarely a plan and so I was often in situations where I had to decide for myself what to do. As someone who was new to the area and didn't know the condition of the pastures and also had little idea of ranching, this was often very exhausting - mind reading pretty much sums up what I was trying to do there most of the time. I should have watched this great video before, I could have avoided many mistakes. However, to this day I wonder if that is just the way things are done on a ranch.
A friend of mine who is an excellent hand and his life is ranching cattle, told me having help from people who aren’t ranchers or cowboys themselves just makes their job working the cattle longer and harder, when the job could have been done in 3 hours, it’s now taken 5 hours because of uneducated help. If you get asked to help, take direction and use your best horse.
If you can listen and ask clarifying questions life is a lot easier, I don't cowboy everyday but I dang sure know when to ask and when to get the flip out the way.
There is a lot of wisdom in this video. I hope every cowboy or want to be cowboy can watch this. I'm not a cowboy anymore doctors orders no horseback but I am a stockman in charge of managing cattle. There are very few good cowboys left to do ranch work everyone wants to be rodeo star these days. I'm blessed to have found a few to help me work cattle.
Thanks Pat for another great video. I went to a branding at the CS Cattle Co in NM I did a great job of staying out of the way lol. Got to work the ground on a few calfs. The Davis family sure knew what they're doing, all work no talk. It was a great experience.
Excellent description slow & quiet is good not rodeoing the cows in at jog or lope . . . I have gathered with some great ranchers and also with those who bring their 3 yr old kids and dogs and kids on their saddle with rank horses that are petty high headed. they were invited friends of someone who had a fantasy of how it should be done - - - but had no experience - -- I never have figured why bring barking dogs??? Anyway thank you this is a very valuable video . . We do not have allot of cattle now and we joined up this spring with our friend who leased land from us - he had 37 pair 4 bulls we are down to 17 and 1 bull. We have a chute for cows and table chute for calves. Not elegant but the rhythm was lovely ~we all have a job Ear Tag, # vaccines, pour on, brander, & steer maker with 3 to push in corrals and went at an even pace (yes new to me nasal vaccine). But we all commented no one had a cross word and the cows and calves flowed and we all knew what we were suppose to do - - that helps. We had 7 of us 4 I had never met before but we have all done this work . . . it is a really nice day when we are done - Blessings Val
Some people don’t listen so you have to get their attention. Also if people aren’t good help and don’t want to learn how to be good help, it’s not a big loss if they don’t come back. Bottom line is branding is a job that has to be done in order for a rancher to make a living. It’s not intended to be a social event where the crew can do as they please. We haven’t run into any shortages of people who want to learn 😎
@@PatnDebPuckett I am happy that where you live it’s easy to find help but in certain parts of the country it’s not. We the ranchers rely on our friends and neighbors and often times high school age kids that are generous enough to come help wrestle calves and donate their time. I understand that branding is serious business but it is also a social event and it must be. If we want to keep this lifestyle alive it has to also be fun nobody wants to send their 16yo kid to a branding to do the least rewarding part of the whole operation just to be maimed by one of the guys on a horse. Unless we want to see all branding be done with a calf table you must treat everyone with respect even if they are trail riders from town, weekend warriors or “dinks”.
@@Tissues36022 First, it usually isn't the eager 16 year old football player that gets in the way and refuses to follow instructions. It's usually the guy who wants to play cowboy and drink all day. Also, I've never seen a person get "maimed" by having a calf drug over the top of them. The guy who gets maimed is more often the one on a horse that isn't broke wearing a tie down. But that's another story. Have you ever taken into consideration the safety of the people dragging calves? Sometimes their only recourse is to make it abundantly clear to some gunsel on the ground that he needs to stay out of the way. Bottom line is that most volunteer crews can be managed if everyone tries hard, is honest about their skills, and takes the job seriously. They get dirty, get to look back on a job well done, a good meal, and the knowledge that they've helped a rancher. But it doesn't mean that the rancher has to put up with bad help or people who want their ego stroked.
Plenty of times where there has only been 3 of us to brand 15-20 head. We usually have either my step-dad or my buddy's dad with us, "Senior Hands". We have them head most everything. While Jose and I heel. Whoever doesn't catch on the heels gets to work the ground. Senior hand stays a horse back never working the ground. I know it makes me try a little harder on the heels! Lol
In my 73+ years I have never had the opportunity to work on a cattle ranch, but consider myself a cowboy in dress and heart. I have read books and watched you and others to educate myself on the cowboy life. I do have a couple of dink questions though. What is the best rope length for roping? I have a 35ft rope I have practiced with for many years catching my saw horses. Another question is, what is rim firing? Watched this portion of the video over and over but could not get the grasp of the term. You and Deb are greatly appreciated for what you do to bring the cowboy life to those of us that are unable to fully participate in it. May GOD Bless you both.
Pat uses a 60 foot rope. Rimfired is when the rope gets under the horse’s tail and that generally results in the horse bucking if he hasn’t been exposed to it before.
Thanks if I ever get to do this and help a ranch I now know what to do and what not to do. First I will ask what they want me to do and we’re they want me and don’t want me.
I thoroughly enjoyed this Pat. You forgot the guy that is not saddled up and ready when he arrives and everyone has to wait on him. 🙂And the calf wrassler that gets in front of the calf and turns him back. I suppose you remember the day of the horn scoops on Herefords. Keep up the good work my friend.
I really appreciate your videos. I grew up on a ranch but things were not done "cowboy." The ranch I work on does things more cowboy and I have had to learn in a hurry. Your videos have been very helpful and I hope to someday make a good hand. I've had some good teachers here as well that have taught me the things you just discussed. I laughed a few times because I've seen or done the dink things you mention.
HAHA Pat Puckett keeping it real!!! I am so grateful I had the honor to be trained by this man! Although I'm sure he could point out a few mistakes! haha
That was awesome I've done it a few years and I was really good help I would always tell the boss that I was not very but ask them to show me how they want it done and it always work really good
when we have a good crew, and alot of times have 2 per calf wrestling, whoever is packing the pail for calf nuts also has a younger kid with a crayon to mark the top of or even a little to the opposite side of the brand so the roper can see whose done. as well the marker is the last person to touch the calf before we let it go.
Great info! You'd think after all the years irons have been burning everyone would figure out the rules and best ways to do this. I guess a lot dont know any better.
I can get about fifty head done per day just with the family helping, getting them to talk to me again when we are done usually takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks!!! Haha.
Very interesting, especially for me, as I still have little experience. Having a sense of where to be and what to do takes a lot of practice, not to mention good and patient teachers. This video has the potential to come across as hostile to newcomers, but I don't think that is the intention. We all have to learn. Would I be correct in saying, if I read between the lines, that this is the same as many things; the newcomer has to be willing to be taught and remember the lessons as quickly as possible? I've found Cowboys much more willing to educate me when I've ditched the ego and been willing to learn. Fair statement? Thanks for the videos. I learn something every time. And as others have said not boring or redundant at all!
There are alot of people who think that if they wear a cowboy hat and own a fancy trailer, that they can say they’re a cowboy. They like the “look” but haven’t put in the time and dropped their ego enough to learn anything. Cowboys who have spent their lives perfecting their craft take offense at those kinds of people who think they can buy it. What I’ve found is that if you are straight up and tell them that you don’t have any idea what you’re doing, most cowboys will go out of their way to teach you. The best thing you can do if you are invited to a branding or any other activity on a ranch is to show up early, bring your best horse, be quiet, and watch what everyone else is doing. You’ll learn a lot by just doing those things. For example, if you pull in and everyone’s horse is tied to their trailers and they’re setting up the fire and the medicine, ask how you can help out. If everyone is getting on their horses and preparing to trot out, unload your already saddled horse and get on. It’s pretty simple stuff. But just don’t be that Know-It-All with the brand new gear that thinks nobody will notice his lack of skill. Humbleness and eagerness to learn will take you a long way.
I would think the "guest" to the left of you should be grateful for that opportunity. A fellow paying attention could probably gain three months of learning in that single day.
Clear instructions prevent a lot of problems.. Last big branding I was at, 700 pairs, we used three Nord Forks right by the fire so 3 ropers could drag and hold three calves at a time without help from any other roper while other ropers caught three more.. good ground crew knew what they were doing with tagging and inoculating and branding, so we branded a lot of calves in one day. I can't rope to save my life so I helped bring the herd in close the night before and worked gates the day of... Ya gotta know your own skill set, or you end up in the way.. Those Nord Forks are worth their weight .. That black horse Pat is riding at minute 30 is the very image of one of mine.. nice horse(s).
Boy howdy. Back in the bad days I didn't know what a one-day branding was. Guess I was lucky. We all stayed over. For a week. Wyoming's weird like that.
If I could hit the thumbs up button on this one 100 times I would. You’re so right. After watching several of your videos probably all of them, and sharing dozens of them for sure. It does not surprise me you know of Bud Williams.
Outstanding video!!!! One thing that is a big gripe of mine is the gunzels riding across you. That just grinds my teeth and everybody I work with. That and thinking everybody has to ride double. By that I mean they think they have to be riding beside the guy next to them like a trail ride. Ol Lee Von Heater will short out on them. There are times when its alright to cross a man. There's been several times I'd be on a pisshead colt and everybody knows it. The guy next to me on the drive with ringgy cattle will cut you because he knows that colt will probably throw a fit and cause a wreck. You ask the man you're cutting "May I" and he'll tell you yes or no. It's respect and courtesy to ride across a man is disrespect its saying he isn't good enough hand to take care of his country. I have seen gunzels roped of their horse for doing it after being told not to. I don't generally take a colt to a neighbors cow work but there have been times I've had to. Before you do you ask the cowboss (respect again). Works at my camp I'll use that coltbut not when I'm neighboring. I have been taught my whole life (62yo) THE SCHOOL HOUSE IS AT YOUR HOUSE.
I am decent with cows and decent with horses. I never quite had the confidence to marry the two. With our operations, corral work is done on foot quiet and slow. I have seen "real cowboys" cause nothing but wrecks on horses in the corral. We tip the calves in a chute. I think that makes us dinks. I have been to many brandings where the calves are roped and drug to the fire. I like that but it is still on the bucket list of skills to develop. 51 from Alberta, Canada. Typical brandings here are 75 to 150 calves.
My friends in the Nebraska Sandhills have allowed me to "help" at two of their brandings. Those two days are some of my best memories. branding. Sure enough, just as Pat said, these ranchers had 300 brood cows!
I didn't want to watch this video because I knew it would bring up some embarrassing memories of dink things I had done in the past...but I watched it anyhow and sure enough I am reminded of my dinkhood. Hahaha! Some of us had to learn the hard way! Thanks for the excellent video!
Homework required to "help" at a branding: watch this video. The link should be included with the invite, on a sticky note, or something. Haha, good stuff.
Very informative - would be awesome to have the opportunity to turn the advice into reality - in the meantime, watching will do - thanks for the huge effort to put this video together:) thank you!
Thank you sir. I have cowboyed all my life. Daddy sure sounded a lot like you but we drug calves to the fire by heels. Then had flankers to hold a front leg and sit behind with a foot and hand. We better have that heel rope off almost as our butt hit the ground. That was what big stout kids were for, if they knew enough to do it right. I’ve helped brand with Nord Forks once in Kansas. Thought I was gonna have a nervous come apart. Lol. Sorry help makes me really tired. One sorry hand is like losing 3 good ones. Thanks so much. I’m 69 and still have my bedroll together. Old women can still be good help if they stay with it.
Thank you for this educational video. I wish that I could ride right along with. I grow up in the wrong part of the country. Yes I did live on a farm with cattle and horses. But not like you.
Imagine working wild Brahman X cattle that only see a cowboy twice a year, swimming your horse across salt marsh coups (low water crossing between shell ridges called cheniers, alligators swimming along with you at hip level. Local-made big-star-raul stainless steel spurs worn on green LaCrosse rubber knee boots. Every cowboy has a homemade wooden handled palmetta fround flyswatter used to knock the Green Head flies off their horses and themselves. The Green head fly is the meanest horsefly in the world and attacks in great swarms at daylight. So do the mosquitoes. Every saddle is locally made with big swells and deeps cantle seats with no padding to rot in the coastal dampness. Everybody carries a local made bull whip. Cows are pushed out of the marsh to levys and onto the state highway were they have learned to follow the cowboys rather than be driven. Or they and the horses can swim across many bayous. Or loaded on barges. The law in Cameron Parish give cattle the right of way. Traffic stops as the cattle flow around cars and trucks on an unstoppable migration to summer pasture or back for winter. Cows and calves are parted in huge corrals and left apart all night long. In the morning a line of riders line up side by side across the middle of the pen the cow are in holding the momma on one side of the pen. One or two calves are let in to be claimed by its momma. That pair is cut from the pen into a small working pen where the calf is mugged by hand by muddy boys on foot fighting off the momma as the calf is worked and given the ear mark or brand of its owner. Along the Louisiana coast, thousands of head are ranged together by several owners. The only way to identify the calf's owner is by its momma. The boys who mug these calves are fearless and talented. Some calves are 4 or 5 hundred wt. The boys grabs one ear and runs with the other hand runs his thumb in the back corner of the calf's mouth, twists his head and falls backward on the ground pulling the calf down on top of him while at the same time his partner helps tail the calf down. This can go on for days. The crew is well feed with boiled crawfish, blue crabs, rice and gravy, and all the beer you can drink. Women and girls usually drive the trucks and load and count if trailers are needed. Creole ponies are small and unshod. They have big feet and are light so as not to bog down in the mud. I made the mistake of bringing my young roping horse down there to help. The black mud ruined my good saddle and I almost killed that colt. The Cameron Parish Cowboy is the toughest breed you will ever come up against. Their high school football team was almost unbeatable.
The summer of 1957 Gulf Hurricane Audrey, poorly forecasted, came ashore at Cameron La and 300 people were drowned by the tidal wave. Many storms have taken their toll on these brave people's way of life. Saltwater intrusion kills the grass and the animals go mad from thirst. Recent, back to back storms Hurricane Laura and Delta have caused many of these people to move north. The cattle remain but times and methods change. Few old timers remain to tell of moving large herds along the Gulf of Mexico beaches and sleeping on the beach at night.
Realistically I am never going to have the opportunity to be involved in a branding operation on a ranch as I am now a 66 year old woman from New Zealand, but I do admit this has been a fantasy scenario since I played cowboys and Indians at the age of 6. BTW, I usually choose to be an Indian due to the attraction of using a bow and arrow. Thanks so much for this video giving me some insight into what is involved as it gave me an awareness of the substantial skills and teamwork at play. Wouldn't movies and television be so much richer and more interesting if we actually got to understand the skills and knowledge of ranch life?
YES it's WORK .. BUT IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO EITHER ASK OR GET THE HELL OUTA THE WAY SO YOU DO NOT GET KILLED or GET SOMEONE ELSE HURT ? AND THEN too there is a LOT to be said for GOOD MANNERS .. Thanks, Pat for some REALLY GOOD ADVICE
I agree that a lot of etiquette has gone out the window! I can’t stand people not staying in their hole or when they start dragging to drag to the wrong side of the fire! I understand that things are done different in different parts of the country but there is no way that heading and heeling is faster than dragging and flanking! And don’t even get started on using forks those are for the birds!
I sure learned some things and I'm sure glad to know I knew some good things. I work my own cattle and I get so frustrated when them city folks want to play cowboy. They laugh at stupid stuff and call the cattle stupid or dumb when they are just being cows and calves. I hope some day I can ride and help with a branding and I pray I don't do stupid stuff. But I guess I better learn how to rope because I sure don't want to be stuck in the corner!
I'm so glad you're hitting on this one because as a woman we have kind of an uphill swing to begin with when you go to a brandy that you've been invited to mind you and there's all the men that look the part and half of them shouldn't be in that pain let alone on a horse I've only experienced two pins in my life that the Cowboys would absolutely not let the Trail Rider the neighbor down the road the weekend warrior the whatever you want in a man it isn't to be rude or disrespectful towards anyone it's just the lack of knowledge and a lack of you shouldn't be there I have seen some things as I'm sure you have and lots of people that are going to read this and identify with on both ends and it is in a play-day it isn't the local Gymkhana people get hurt or die because other people don't have the lack of knowledge or the ability to set a boundary and say no you're not going in that gate that best used to be ground crew in somebody will walk you through so I'm glad you're hitting on this one because it's like everybody supposed to be a winner and you can't say no cuz it's just not the saying or you're the big a****** we're at now they don't even swing a rope there's a lot of grass and I reminisce back to the westside of the desert and the west coast and go I missed the brandings on one hand and on the other I don't thank you Pat for having a platform be able to say what is because if I said it you know what I'd be and I do and I am and I'm sure I've been called all kinds of things but I'll guarantee you this nobody left my place in an ambulance
I can appreciate everything that was said here however what wasn’t covered was the root cause of the whole situation, the problem sure isn’t the poor people that were invited it’s the person who invited. It seems to me as a rule you shouldn’t work for ranches that invite people to a branding. What I heard here is that if you get invited it’s best to not bring your horse and trailer. Just show up in your flip flops and cargo shorts watch from a distance
It has to do with not having the confidence and leadership to allow your horse to do the right thing without constant pressure and control. For example, always riding with tension on the reins. Giving the horse mixed signals like kicking with your feet and pulling on the reins at the same time.
Possibly someone can help me here. He said a few times that a cow or calf will or is "selling out" I'm struggling to get the meaning from the context. Any help?
I'd have to re-watch it as I don't recall exactly what he was referring to, but when a critter 'sells out ' they have decided they no longer like where they're at or the company they're in..so they pack their bags and leave for a better locale..like the peaceful pasture they were gathered out of. Cattle have an instinct to go back where they last were happy and comfortable, or if they've been sorted, back to where they last saw their calf (or mother)
In the style of branding in this particular video, the owner liked to use a small corral and put little grabs of 15-20 calves in the corral at a time. It’s a social event so 3-4 ropers rotated out each time those calves were done. I think we branded around 150 head that day after gathering the pasture. As you’re probably aware, different ranchers do things differently.
"The kind of people that we get to be around are Trail Riders and Ranchers". I'm of the age that I'm not interested in being around Trail Riders, and of the temperament that I don't do well Wrangling Dudes. Pat gets to the most important thing at about three minutes into this video. All you have to do is watch folks pull up. The one that parks his Outfit cross-ways to where it should be is guaranteed to be your biggest problem. Within 30 seconds of when he steps out and puts both feet on the ground, you'll know everything you need to know. By the time he unloads his six dogs and four coolers of beer, you know you are going to be in for a very long day................
Moral of the story; break your cattle to come to cake/the four wheeler, build working pens with a sweep and do it yourself with the help of family and leave your buddies at home
@@PatnDebPuckett if they aren’t old enough to want the cake they typically go where momma goes or at least bump to her when bumped if they are old enough they want the cake too
@@PatnDebPuckett don’t get me wrong I prefer the horse to a 4wheeler but a lot of outfits around here get through more cattle with less hands using the modern method heck my neighbor refuses to own a horse and runs 1000 head just him his boy and two feed guys
@@timroelofsen4954 we’ve worked 4 wheeler cattle. They learn quickly that a 4 wheeler can’t turn back. And they are also shocked when they get worked horseback and discover that the horse can turn back! Also, if you have the kind of rough country we have, I haven’t seen a 4 wheeler that can go up a rocky ridge or across a ravine.
"You're either helping or in the way." 😂😂😂 That is a universal truth that hurts more people's feelings than anything. Thank you for that reminder.
Participating at my first branding tomorrow…
Will be the designated person to vaccinate ( I’m a nurse) … this video was extremely helpful…
( my boyfriend ,the rancher ), I’m so very nervous, knowing animals and horses, and people are all thinking- not wanting to “ drop the ball “ in anyway…
I will watch a couple more videos… and spend the rest of my time in prayer…
That’s what I do before every shift… that’s what I’ll do before our branding 🙏🏻🙏🏻😇💕
"It's OK to stay out by yourself" ! The best line of this video, especially since Pat looks like he is holding back on laughing for a few minutes right after uttering that truth. Priceless ! Thanks for a very interesting video. Not boring at all.
Amen
Thanks and you're so right. 👍
Thank you 🙏
“Goes into the non profit category”. I love you Pat 😂
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience, Pat. I have been to a branding and got to help with the gather and in the branding pen from the ground. Two very interesting and fun days. And, yes ... It is work.
If words were currency, this video is worth it's time in Gold.
This is something that's should be Taught in ffa/4H/AG in general. Like paw used to say "stick to the basics"
Thank you Pat. Always an enjoyable(&humorous) video from you. Coming from Pennsylvania most didn't expect myself & four cousins to grasp ranching in Montana. Self taught riding since we were tots, our experiences grew to include trail riding north country mountains, sorting, jump & dressage. Leaving our horses behind, we often traveled to help friends with Spring drives. After getting the buck out of their wintered horses, we moved hundreds & branded newbies. With expert instructions. I asked our boss why just us 'yankees' helping his usual crew... He replied he was fed up with 'hot dog cowboys' wasting time & stressing cattle.
We finished early and sat down to a feast to celebrate. We gals are in our 60's now and still look forward to Springs drives.
Sharing your video!
Great information Pat and Deb. I really liked how you pointed out early in the video that the crew boss should start the day by telling everyone what is going on and what and how he wants the process to take place. I've gone to so many garhers/brandings where the crew boss doesn't say a word and everyone goes out and does their own thing only to create a mess and make the boss mad. It doesn't' have to happen.
Agreed. It's always fun getting hollered at for not being a mind reader.
Thanks for that comment. For my research I spend a year on a ranch in Wyoming and went to a dozent brandings, shippings, gatherings and other things on various ranches in the region. One thing that made it very difficult for me to help and not get in the way was that it was never told beforehand what to do. Even at the many gatherings there was rarely a plan and so I was often in situations where I had to decide for myself what to do. As someone who was new to the area and didn't know the condition of the pastures and also had little idea of ranching, this was often very exhausting - mind reading pretty much sums up what I was trying to do there most of the time. I should have watched this great video before, I could have avoided many mistakes. However, to this day I wonder if that is just the way things are done on a ranch.
I sure hope you're putting all this cowboy wisdom down in a book, not just videos. Generations of wisdom preserved in a book.
A friend of mine who is an excellent hand and his life is ranching cattle, told me having help from people who aren’t ranchers or cowboys themselves just makes their job working the cattle longer and harder, when the job could have been done in 3 hours, it’s now taken 5 hours because of uneducated help. If you get asked to help, take direction and use your best horse.
If you can listen and ask clarifying questions life is a lot easier, I don't cowboy everyday but I dang sure know when to ask and when to get the flip out the way.
"Brandin a dead calf kinda goes into the non profit category" hahah. Yep correct. Loved that line.
he’s such a funny kind of funny. makes it so easy to listen to and learn from
Good man, knows his business. You know he's been there done that. Would love to work with him. When I work, if I can't do it horseback I don't do it.
Awesome video. Not boring, not redundant. Loved it. Thanks Pat
There is a lot of wisdom in this video. I hope every cowboy or want to be cowboy can watch this. I'm not a cowboy anymore doctors orders no horseback but I am a stockman in charge of managing cattle. There are very few good cowboys left to do ranch work everyone wants to be rodeo star these days. I'm blessed to have found a few to help me work cattle.
Some of the best advise I've heard in year's !!!
Pat it was not boring or redundant. I found it very informative thanks for taking the time to do it.
Thanks Pat for another great video. I went to a branding at the CS Cattle Co in NM I did a great job of staying out of the way lol. Got to work the ground on a few calfs. The Davis family sure knew what they're doing, all work no talk. It was a great experience.
Excellent description slow & quiet is good not rodeoing the cows in at jog or lope . . . I have gathered with some great ranchers and also with those who bring their 3 yr old kids and dogs and kids on their saddle with rank horses that are petty high headed. they were invited friends of someone who had a fantasy of how it should be done - - - but had no experience - -- I never have figured why bring barking dogs???
Anyway thank you this is a very valuable video . . We do not have allot of cattle now and we joined up this spring with our friend who leased land from us - he had 37 pair 4 bulls we are down to 17 and 1 bull. We have a chute for cows and table chute for calves. Not elegant but the rhythm was lovely ~we all have a job Ear Tag, # vaccines, pour on, brander, & steer maker with 3 to push in corrals and went at an even pace (yes new to me nasal vaccine). But we all commented no one had a cross word and the cows and calves flowed and we all knew what we were suppose to do - - that helps. We had 7 of us 4 I had never met before but we have all done this work . . . it is a really nice day when we are done - Blessings Val
Thanks Mr. Puckett that was great. If you ever get to Montana I would love to hear more great cowboy logic. We don’t have many left.
Intentionally dragging calves over top of your help sounds like a great way to ensure that your ground crew never comes back. Interesting strategy.
Some people don’t listen so you have to get their attention. Also if people aren’t good help and don’t want to learn how to be good help, it’s not a big loss if they don’t come back. Bottom line is branding is a job that has to be done in order for a rancher to make a living. It’s not intended to be a social event where the crew can do as they please. We haven’t run into any shortages of people who want to learn 😎
@@PatnDebPuckett I am happy that where you live it’s easy to find help but in certain parts of the country it’s not. We the ranchers rely on our friends and neighbors and often times high school age kids that are generous enough to come help wrestle calves and donate their time. I understand that branding is serious business but it is also a social event and it must be. If we want to keep this lifestyle alive it has to also be fun nobody wants to send their 16yo kid to a branding to do the least rewarding part of the whole operation just to be maimed by one of the guys on a horse. Unless we want to see all branding be done with a calf table you must treat everyone with respect even if they are trail riders from town, weekend warriors or “dinks”.
@@Tissues36022 First, it usually isn't the eager 16 year old football player that gets in the way and refuses to follow instructions. It's usually the guy who wants to play cowboy and drink all day. Also, I've never seen a person get "maimed" by having a calf drug over the top of them. The guy who gets maimed is more often the one on a horse that isn't broke wearing a tie down. But that's another story. Have you ever taken into consideration the safety of the people dragging calves? Sometimes their only recourse is to make it abundantly clear to some gunsel on the ground that he needs to stay out of the way. Bottom line is that most volunteer crews can be managed if everyone tries hard, is honest about their skills, and takes the job seriously. They get dirty, get to look back on a job well done, a good meal, and the knowledge that they've helped a rancher. But it doesn't mean that the rancher has to put up with bad help or people who want their ego stroked.
Plenty of times where there has only been 3 of us to brand 15-20 head. We usually have either my step-dad or my buddy's dad with us, "Senior Hands". We have them head most everything. While Jose and I heel. Whoever doesn't catch on the heels gets to work the ground. Senior hand stays a horse back never working the ground. I know it makes me try a little harder on the heels! Lol
Thanks just wished more people would watch and soak up the information have a good evening
I learned more about round up and branding today than I have for my 71 prior years.
In my 73+ years I have never had the opportunity to work on a cattle ranch, but consider myself a cowboy in dress and heart. I have read books and watched you and others to educate myself on the cowboy life. I do have a couple of dink questions though. What is the best rope length for roping? I have a 35ft rope I have practiced with for many years catching my saw horses. Another question is, what is rim firing? Watched this portion of the video over and over but could not get the grasp of the term. You and Deb are greatly appreciated for what you do to bring the cowboy life to those of us that are unable to fully participate in it. May GOD Bless you both.
Pat uses a 60 foot rope. Rimfired is when the rope gets under the horse’s tail and that generally results in the horse bucking if he hasn’t been exposed to it before.
This is so helpful thank you. Wish I could learn from a wise educator like Pat
Hit the nail on the head there Pat!
Great video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge Mr.Pat. Many of us appreciate it.
LOL! You didn't lose your hat in San Diego, it's right behind you. Thank God!! That's the coolest hat.
No, not one second of it was boring! Thanks!
Thanks if I ever get to do this and help a ranch I now know what to do and what not to do. First I will ask what they want me to do and we’re they want me and don’t want me.
Best sit down ever
This was not in the least bit boring. None of your videos are. Thanks for the great lessons.
A lot of good information. Thank you.
I thoroughly enjoyed this Pat. You forgot the guy that is not saddled up and ready when he arrives and everyone has to wait on him. 🙂And the calf wrassler that gets in front of the calf and turns him back. I suppose you remember the day of the horn scoops on Herefords. Keep up the good work my friend.
Hello 👋 how are you doing today
First branding tomorrow. Very nervous, slowly but surely growing my fingers so I can call myself a hand. Thank you for the advice!
I really appreciate your videos. I grew up on a ranch but things were not done "cowboy." The ranch I work on does things more cowboy and I have had to learn in a hurry. Your videos have been very helpful and I hope to someday make a good hand. I've had some good teachers here as well that have taught me the things you just discussed. I laughed a few times because I've seen or done the dink things you mention.
HAHA Pat Puckett keeping it real!!! I am so grateful I had the honor to be trained by this man! Although I'm sure he could point out a few mistakes! haha
Great video, seen bout everything you've talked about. Some days ya just gotta shake your head.
Not boring or redundant. It would be nice if more of the terms were explained. Thank you.
That was awesome I've done it a few years and I was really good help I would always tell the boss that I was not very but ask them to show me how they want it done and it always work really good
Well said my man keep it going nfo is gr8 been there seen it thank you god bless you
My sympathies about the winds! Here too! Thanks for the info!
when we have a good crew, and alot of times have 2 per calf wrestling, whoever is packing the pail for calf nuts also has a younger kid with a crayon to mark the top of or even a little to the opposite side of the brand so the roper can see whose done. as well the marker is the last person to touch the calf before we let it go.
Great info! You'd think after all the years irons have been burning everyone would figure out the rules and best ways to do this. I guess a lot dont know any better.
Hey Pat I live in South Carolina I found your hat. Lol
I can get about fifty head done per day just with the family helping, getting them to talk to me again when we are done usually takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks!!! Haha.
Very interesting, especially for me, as I still have little experience. Having a sense of where to be and what to do takes a lot of practice, not to mention good and patient teachers. This video has the potential to come across as hostile to newcomers, but I don't think that is the intention. We all have to learn. Would I be correct in saying, if I read between the lines, that this is the same as many things; the newcomer has to be willing to be taught and remember the lessons as quickly as possible? I've found Cowboys much more willing to educate me when I've ditched the ego and been willing to learn. Fair statement? Thanks for the videos. I learn something every time. And as others have said not boring or redundant at all!
There are alot of people who think that if they wear a cowboy hat and own a fancy trailer, that they can say they’re a cowboy. They like the “look” but haven’t put in the time and dropped their ego enough to learn anything. Cowboys who have spent their lives perfecting their craft take offense at those kinds of people who think they can buy it. What I’ve found is that if you are straight up and tell them that you don’t have any idea what you’re doing, most cowboys will go out of their way to teach you. The best thing you can do if you are invited to a branding or any other activity on a ranch is to show up early, bring your best horse, be quiet, and watch what everyone else is doing. You’ll learn a lot by just doing those things. For example, if you pull in and everyone’s horse is tied to their trailers and they’re setting up the fire and the medicine, ask how you can help out. If everyone is getting on their horses and preparing to trot out, unload your already saddled horse and get on. It’s pretty simple stuff. But just don’t be that Know-It-All with the brand new gear that thinks nobody will notice his lack of skill. Humbleness and eagerness to learn will take you a long way.
@@PatnDebPuckett appreciate you taking the time to respond! Thank you!
Truly appreciate your efforts sharing your experiences.
I would think the "guest" to the left of you should be grateful for that opportunity. A fellow paying attention could probably gain three months of learning in that single day.
Thank you for all the info. I think you did an excellent job.
Clear instructions prevent a lot of problems.. Last big branding I was at, 700 pairs, we used three Nord Forks right by the fire so 3 ropers could drag and hold three calves at a time without help from any other roper while other ropers caught three more.. good ground crew knew what they were doing with tagging and inoculating and branding, so we branded a lot of calves in one day. I can't rope to save my life so I helped bring the herd in close the night before and worked gates the day of... Ya gotta know your own skill set, or you end up in the way.. Those Nord Forks are worth their weight .. That black horse Pat is riding at minute 30 is the very image of one of mine.. nice horse(s).
Never boring and great education ✅
Boy howdy. Back in the bad days I didn't know what a one-day branding was. Guess I was lucky. We all stayed over. For a week. Wyoming's weird like that.
If I could hit the thumbs up button on this one 100 times I would. You’re so right. After watching several of your videos probably all of them, and sharing dozens of them for sure. It does not surprise me you know of Bud Williams.
Golden advice love it
Painted Desert Ranch has a nice branding setup. Maybe discuss the Nordfork next time. Great talk.
Fascinating thanks for the lesson Sir
Legend pat great advice i like the be quite part i was at a branding with martin black last October and it was quite like you say
Outstanding video!!!! One thing that is a big gripe of mine is the gunzels riding across you. That just grinds my teeth and everybody I work with. That and thinking everybody has to ride double. By that I mean they think they have to be riding beside the guy next to them like a trail ride. Ol Lee Von Heater will short out on them. There are times when its alright to cross a man. There's been several times I'd be on a pisshead colt and everybody knows it. The guy next to me on the drive with ringgy cattle will cut you because he knows that colt will probably throw a fit and cause a wreck. You ask the man you're cutting "May I" and he'll tell you yes or no. It's respect and courtesy to ride across a man is disrespect its saying he isn't good enough hand to take care of his country. I have seen gunzels roped of their horse for doing it after being told not to. I don't generally take a colt to a neighbors cow work but there have been times I've had to. Before you do you ask the cowboss (respect again). Works at my camp I'll use that coltbut not when I'm neighboring. I have been taught my whole life (62yo) THE SCHOOL HOUSE IS AT YOUR HOUSE.
I am decent with cows and decent with horses. I never quite had the confidence to marry the two. With our operations, corral work is done on foot quiet and slow. I have seen "real cowboys" cause nothing but wrecks on horses in the corral. We tip the calves in a chute. I think that makes us dinks. I have been to many brandings where the calves are roped and drug to the fire. I like that but it is still on the bucket list of skills to develop. 51 from Alberta, Canada. Typical brandings here are 75 to 150 calves.
My friends in the Nebraska Sandhills have allowed me to "help" at two of their brandings. Those two days are some of my best memories. branding. Sure enough, just as Pat said, these ranchers had 300 brood cows!
I didn't want to watch this video because I knew it would bring up some embarrassing memories of dink things I had done in the past...but I watched it anyhow and sure enough I am reminded of my dinkhood. Hahaha! Some of us had to learn the hard way! Thanks for the excellent video!
Homework required to "help" at a branding: watch this video. The link should be included with the invite, on a sticky note, or something. Haha, good stuff.
Very informative - would be awesome to have the opportunity to turn the advice into reality - in the meantime, watching will do - thanks for the huge effort to put this video together:) thank you!
Thank you sir. I have cowboyed all my life. Daddy sure sounded a lot like you but we drug calves to the fire by heels. Then had flankers to hold a front leg and sit behind with a foot and hand. We better have that heel rope off almost as our butt hit the ground. That was what big stout kids were for, if they knew enough to do it right. I’ve helped brand with Nord Forks once in Kansas. Thought I was gonna have a nervous come apart. Lol. Sorry help makes me really tired. One sorry hand is like losing 3 good ones. Thanks so much. I’m 69 and still have my bedroll together. Old women can still be good help if they stay with it.
We kept heifer ear marks and bull bags in one spot. Then we knew how many bull and heifer calves we branded.
Thanks you so much for this!
Thank you for this educational video. I wish that I could ride right along with. I grow up in the wrong part of the country. Yes I did live on a farm with cattle and horses. But not like you.
Hello how are you doing today
Any complete beginner series?
Fascinating.
Thanks for telling it how it is
Loved this
Interesting and wonderful explanation
Imagine working wild Brahman X cattle that only see a cowboy twice a year, swimming your horse across salt marsh coups (low water crossing between shell ridges called cheniers, alligators swimming along with you at hip level. Local-made big-star-raul stainless steel spurs worn on green LaCrosse rubber knee boots. Every cowboy has a homemade wooden handled palmetta fround flyswatter used to knock the Green Head flies off their horses and themselves. The Green head fly is the meanest horsefly in the world and attacks in great swarms at daylight. So do the mosquitoes. Every saddle is locally made with big swells and deeps cantle seats with no padding to rot in the coastal dampness. Everybody carries a local made bull whip. Cows are pushed out of the marsh to levys and onto the state highway were they have learned to follow the cowboys rather than be driven. Or they and the horses can swim across many bayous. Or loaded on barges. The law in Cameron Parish give cattle the right of way. Traffic stops as the cattle flow around cars and trucks on an unstoppable migration to summer pasture or back for winter. Cows and calves are parted in huge corrals and left apart all night long. In the morning a line of riders line up side by side across the middle of the pen the cow are in holding the momma on one side of the pen. One or two calves are let in to be claimed by its momma. That pair is cut from the pen into a small working pen where the calf is mugged by hand by muddy boys on foot fighting off the momma as the calf is worked and given the ear mark or brand of its owner. Along the Louisiana coast, thousands of head are ranged together by several owners. The only way to identify the calf's owner is by its momma. The boys who mug these calves are fearless and talented. Some calves are 4 or 5 hundred wt. The boys grabs one ear and runs with the other hand runs his thumb in the back corner of the calf's mouth, twists his head and falls backward on the ground pulling the calf down on top of him while at the same time his partner helps tail the calf down. This can go on for days. The crew is well feed with boiled crawfish, blue crabs, rice and gravy, and all the beer you can drink. Women and girls usually drive the trucks and load and count if trailers are needed. Creole ponies are small and unshod. They have big feet and are light so as not to bog down in the mud. I made the mistake of bringing my young roping horse down there to help. The black mud ruined my good saddle and I almost killed that colt. The Cameron Parish Cowboy is the toughest breed you will ever come up against. Their high school football team was almost unbeatable.
The summer of 1957 Gulf Hurricane Audrey, poorly forecasted, came ashore at Cameron La and 300 people were drowned by the tidal wave. Many storms have taken their toll on these brave people's way of life. Saltwater intrusion kills the grass and the animals go mad from thirst. Recent, back to back storms Hurricane Laura and Delta have caused many of these people to move north. The cattle remain but times and methods change. Few old timers remain to tell of moving large herds along the Gulf of Mexico beaches and sleeping on the beach at night.
What a cool story! Thank you for that. I believe we’ll stay where we’re at 😆
Realistically I am never going to have the opportunity to be involved in a branding operation on a ranch as I am now a 66 year old woman from New Zealand, but I do admit this has been a fantasy scenario since I played cowboys and Indians at the age of 6. BTW, I usually choose to be an Indian due to the attraction of using a bow and arrow.
Thanks so much for this video giving me some insight into what is involved as it gave me an awareness of the substantial skills and teamwork at play. Wouldn't movies and television be so much richer and more interesting if we actually got to understand the skills and knowledge of ranch life?
Have to say it, great hair!
Hey not many people talk about greybull. That's my home town
Early in the morning, incidentally 😆😆😆
You missed one thing, the guy that thinks he has a good dog or a pup in training . Been there done that. Enjoy your point of view. Thanks 😊
Never take your dog to a branding unless the man you are working for asks you to. Lol
YES it's WORK .. BUT IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO EITHER ASK OR GET THE HELL OUTA THE WAY SO YOU DO NOT GET KILLED or GET SOMEONE ELSE HURT ?
AND THEN too there is a LOT to be said for GOOD MANNERS .. Thanks, Pat for some REALLY GOOD ADVICE
I agree that a lot of etiquette has gone out the window! I can’t stand people not staying in their hole or when they start dragging to drag to the wrong side of the fire! I understand that things are done different in different parts of the country but there is no way that heading and heeling is faster than dragging and flanking! And don’t even get started on using forks those are for the birds!
That's modern day ranching !
Thank you.
Thank'S
let's get this to the ranch owners
I sure learned some things and I'm sure glad to know I knew some good things. I work my own cattle and I get so frustrated when them city folks want to play cowboy. They laugh at stupid stuff and call the cattle stupid or dumb when they are just being cows and calves. I hope some day I can ride and help with a branding and I pray I don't do stupid stuff. But I guess I better learn how to rope because I sure don't want to be stuck in the corner!
I'm so glad you're hitting on this one because as a woman we have kind of an uphill swing to begin with when you go to a brandy that you've been invited to mind you and there's all the men that look the part and half of them shouldn't be in that pain let alone on a horse I've only experienced two pins in my life that the Cowboys would absolutely not let the Trail Rider the neighbor down the road the weekend warrior the whatever you want in a man it isn't to be rude or disrespectful towards anyone it's just the lack of knowledge and a lack of you shouldn't be there I have seen some things as I'm sure you have and lots of people that are going to read this and identify with on both ends and it is in a play-day it isn't the local Gymkhana people get hurt or die because other people don't have the lack of knowledge or the ability to set a boundary and say no you're not going in that gate that best used to be ground crew in somebody will walk you through so I'm glad you're hitting on this one because it's like everybody supposed to be a winner and you can't say no cuz it's just not the saying or you're the big a****** we're at now they don't even swing a rope there's a lot of grass and I reminisce back to the westside of the desert and the west coast and go I missed the brandings on one hand and on the other I don't thank you Pat for having a platform be able to say what is because if I said it you know what I'd be and I do and I am and I'm sure I've been called all kinds of things but I'll guarantee you this nobody left my place in an ambulance
I can appreciate everything that was said here however what wasn’t covered was the root cause of the whole situation, the problem sure isn’t the poor people that were invited it’s the person who invited. It seems to me as a rule you shouldn’t work for ranches that invite people to a branding. What I heard here is that if you get invited it’s best to not bring your horse and trailer. Just show up in your flip flops and cargo shorts watch from a distance
What does it mean “steal a ride” or working the horse
It has to do with not having the confidence and leadership to allow your horse to do the right thing without constant pressure and control. For example, always riding with tension on the reins. Giving the horse mixed signals like kicking with your feet and pulling on the reins at the same time.
Possibly someone can help me here. He said a few times that a cow or calf will or is "selling out" I'm struggling to get the meaning from the context. Any help?
I'd have to re-watch it as I don't recall exactly what he was referring to, but when a critter 'sells out ' they have decided they no longer like where they're at or the company they're in..so they pack their bags and leave for a better locale..like the peaceful pasture they were gathered out of. Cattle have an instinct to go back where they last were happy and comfortable, or if they've been sorted, back to where they last saw their calf (or mother)
@@jeffshimek5477 works for me!
I don’t know the term rimfire other than as a firearms reference. Can anyone explain?
When a rope gets under your horse's tail.
I never seen that many people with so few cattle. ....Times r changing I guess.
In the style of branding in this particular video, the owner liked to use a small corral and put little grabs of 15-20 calves in the corral at a time. It’s a social event so 3-4 ropers rotated out each time those calves were done. I think we branded around 150 head that day after gathering the pasture. As you’re probably aware, different ranchers do things differently.
Exellent.
I would really enjoy coming to work for you someday to be piad in knowledge
Gold
"The kind of people that we get to be around are Trail Riders and Ranchers". I'm of the age that I'm not interested in being around Trail Riders, and of the temperament that I don't do well Wrangling Dudes. Pat gets to the most important thing at about three minutes into this video. All you have to do is watch folks pull up. The one that parks his Outfit cross-ways to where it should be is guaranteed to be your biggest problem. Within 30 seconds of when he steps out and puts both feet on the ground, you'll know everything you need to know. By the time he unloads his six dogs and four coolers of beer, you know you are going to be in for a very long day................
Moral of the story; break your cattle to come to cake/the four wheeler, build working pens with a sweep and do it yourself with the help of family and leave your buddies at home
I guess you missed the part where we need the cows to come in WITH their children. Not just run to the cake wagon to collect their commodities…
@@PatnDebPuckett if they aren’t old enough to want the cake they typically go where momma goes or at least bump to her when bumped if they are old enough they want the cake too
@@PatnDebPuckett don’t get me wrong I prefer the horse to a 4wheeler but a lot of outfits around here get through more cattle with less hands using the modern method heck my neighbor refuses to own a horse and runs 1000 head just him his boy and two feed guys
@@timroelofsen4954 we’ve worked 4 wheeler cattle. They learn quickly that a 4 wheeler can’t turn back. And they are also shocked when they get worked horseback and discover that the horse can turn back! Also, if you have the kind of rough country we have, I haven’t seen a 4 wheeler that can go up a rocky ridge or across a ravine.
I also believe that people don’t like horses because they’ve lost the ability to make good ones.
best thing is to let them do what they like and then convince them it was their idea, at least that what we do with the Bison, do go ropin them
Should be required Watching before going to a branding
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