7-28-19 I got invited to a cattle roundup on the Elkins Ranch, about 50 miles west of here. I had always wanted to see it done. Reason: they use no horses - instead, home-made dune buggies get the job done.
Mike Elkins, who kindly extended the invitation, remembers why the change was made ten or so years ago. The cattle were spoiled and wild. Ten cowboys couldn't pen a couple hundred head in a 4000 acre pasture. So one-by-one, the buggies replaced the horses. Skeptics have to see to believe. I am now a strong convert. Of course, not all rangeland lends itself to such a method - too rough, too brushy, too inhospitable for vehicles. But the Elkins Ranch, which dates back 100+ years, is perfect for the rigs.
The ranch personnel each have a buggy, but friends who also built their own using Volkswagen frames and motors, are always eager to come help, using the roundup as an excuse to get to drive their steeds. On the second day, there were eleven different rigs at work to gather the 100+ pairs of cows and calves since it is now weaning time. Bulls were gathered, as well, but they don't always stay with the cows now that breeding season is far behind us.
Most of the cows willingly followed the feed wagon. A few renegades hanging toward the back of the herd tried to escape. A wild chase to try to turn them left your friendly photographer (me) hanging on for dear life, unable to turn loose his death-grip on the hand-hold to employ the use of his camera.
The dune buggy hands know exactly what to do in such a situation. The lead buggy in the chase heads the cow and halts her escape. A cow doesn't live that can out-run one of those speed wagons. Or out-stop, either. But the cow can turn quicker. So there will be a second buggy immediately on her tail, to get right in her face once again. After another turn on her part, there will be yet another buggy to thwart her every move. Before long, she gives up and eagerly returns to the herd and on to the corrals.
The malingering bulls were brought in by three buggies - one on each side and one behind. Bulls quickly learn there is no route for escape. Their only peace is to move in the direction dictated by the three buggies. They even once put a bull in a trailer in the middle of a large pasture by such methods. Unbelievable.
So that I don't have to go to the trouble to label each and every photo, here are some things to know: in the large group photo, Mike Elkins is on the extreme right. Giving the injections to the cattle in the chute are Chad and Mark, his sons. They have one, old longhorn cow on the ranch. The ranch brand is a "Q," but if you turn it upside-down, Mike says it is an apple. Clever, eh?
Also, Chad Elkins had some helicopter photos taken on a roundup last year. The over-head view clearly shows how to control cattle with the dune buggies. Thanks, Chad, for sending your photos to use on this website.
In addition to weaning the calves, cull cows were identified and removed from the herd. Problems were addressed, as well. A couple of cows had their horns growing into the side of their head. Quick work with a portable reciprocating saw gave them each instant relief from their continual headache. Amazingly, neither cow offered thanks to their benefactors.
I am indebted to Mike Elkins plus Chad and Mark, and their wives who put out some of the best food you ever ate. I tried to hire them to cook at the hunting camp, but had no takers.
In the photos below, you will see a limousine buggy, used only to drive groups of family or friends around to see the sights on the ranch. It is too long to head a cow.
No doubt, the old legendary cattleman, Charles Goodnight, who brought the first cattle into the Texas panhandle back in the 1880s, would not believe such a sight as those dune buggies. But things will get even more progressive in the coming couple of years. Mike has acquired a big drone with a quality camera to help locate the scattered cattle on the vast ranch. When that day comes, the buggies will be able to cease their sweeping and prowling to go straight to the part of the pasture where cattle are to be found. What a deal, eh? Do we live in modern times, or what?
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