Transitions

It has been close to a year since my last entry regarding the progress, or lack thereof, of our livestock. In February 2007, I left my job as Case Manager to stay at home and tend to the farm. While I was nervous about the financial adjustment we would have to make without my small yet consistent income, I was so excited for my new and more fitting role in life. I would have the opportunity to tend to our home, our marriage, and our farm. I felt a sense of pride to help ease some of the chores Danny was sharing with me and make his life easier.

Another milestone in February was the arrival of our two new horses! Sunday stayed in the barn for most of the months of December and January. She was lonely and had no desire to graze about, even in the sunshine. While it was sad to see her constant grief, it was good for her physically because she gained much needed weight. In late January, Danny and I went to a horse barn in Tennessee, recommended by our friend Jamie, to see what was for sale. The price of horses was down so we felt we should take advantage of it and purchase a new horse. We decided to get a gelding to have temperament nicer than the mares to which we were accustomed. I wanted a young horse with lots of physical stamina, for I love to run while riding.
After looking at each horse, I came across a 4-year old, registered quarter horse gelding. The farmhands would get the horses of interest out and ride each in the round pen, as well as allowing Danny and me to have a test ride. The stalls at this barn were tall and dark and the horse had been in his stall for a couple weeks, so we were quite impressed at the calmness when he was brought out and saddled. He never budged! Shadow would have been crazy coming out of a dark stall! He was dark red, never my favorite color, with two white stockings on his hind legs. He was muscular and built much like Shadow; his mane even fell to the left side, just as hers did. I rode him in the round pen and realized that this was the first time I had ridden a horse that Danny did not know the history of prior to my mounting. We decided he would be a good choice, for he fit all the criteria I had listed, although it didn’t matter to me whether the horse was registered or not.

Meanwhile, Danny was attracted to a big bay gelding, with a body build similar to Sunday’s. He had high withers and a long body, but a big head. His mane and forelocks had been clipped implying that he was a pretty calm horse. We never even got him out for the test ride! About ten years old, we decided perhaps having two younger horses would be a good idea so we could save Sunday for special rides. The horse trader, Mac, cut us a deal on buying two horses and we arranged to pick them up in the following week or two.

On February 4, 2007, we brought home the two new members of the family, much to Sunday’s joy! It snowed that day and with our two-wheel drive truck, we were forced to walk the horses up our road to their new home. Seeing my new horse against the white snow made me realize how beautiful of a red color he was, actually matching the color of our barn and fence. Sunday seemed to enjoy her own transition from living with mares to having a couple guys she could boss around. Soon after their arrival, she was grazing again and running through the pasture, full of life. It was exciting to see her spirit rejuvenated and to imagine all the rides that we had before us.

The timing of my conversion from case manager to farm girl was perfect, for Caroline was due to have her second calf in early spring. As usual, in addition to the morning and evening feedings, I had been hiking each day to the top corner of the property to check on Caroline during the day and ensure that she was not having any calving problems. On Wednesday morning, March 28, 2007, the cows were not at the barn, an absolute sign that something was going on. I quickly fed the horses and then headed up the trail to check on my mean mama. Of course, Caroline had chosen one of the highest points on the property. It was around 8:30am when I arrived at the top to see Caroline going into labor. She was sitting down and standing up repeatedly. In order to keep her attention off me, I hid, with Scout, in a thicket of briars to watch the birth. I whispered to Scout that we would finally have something exciting and happy to write about in my livestock story! A bonus to my story would be that in the stillness of the morn, we saw a big buck run through the trees and over the fence, an oddity since we rarely see wildlife. After 45 minutes of shivering in the briar patch and anticipating the arrival of the new little one, Caroline gave birth.
I immediately realized something was peculiar about the calf. Even from a distance, I could tell it was unusually small. Caroline licked and cleaned this calf, constantly nudging it and trying to make it stand up. I watched in reverence of Caroline’s basic instincts with her newborn. My stubborn mind would not allow my heart to succumb to the feeling that she would not be able to rouse this little one. Following the course of nature, Caroline expelled and cleaned her afterbirth. Once the placenta and birth site was cleaned, Caroline tried once more, but unsuccessfully, to revive her calf. After her last attempt, she turned her back on her dead calf and headed to the barn, never again looking back.

I joined the herd on their journey down to the barn, feeding them grain and hay as usual. When Caroline was occupied with her food, I got an empty feed sack from the barn and hiked back up to the stillborn calf. I didn’t want any dogs or other creatures, especially the cows, associating with this dead animal.

I was amazed at what I saw when I went to collect the calf. It was a creature like I had never seen, severely deformed and underdeveloped. I could determine that the calf would have been a heifer, but what a bovine disaster this was! She had legs only eight inches long, a nose that never developed, and a protruding lower jaw that enabled her underdeveloped snout to collapse into, making the calf look similar to a pit-bull puppy. I was so angry that this could happen. How could it happen, after Caroline had a first-born as beautiful as Daisy? We were finally supposed to have a happy story! I cried and screamed and stomped around, then conceded to placing the tiny calf into the feed sack for Danny to see when he arrived home.

Caroline coped just fine, showing confusion for only one day and quickly returning to her mean self! There was no transitioning for the cows, remaining a herd of four. Danny and I took the loss sadly, wondering if we could have done something to prevent the deformity, if our bull was not the stud we thought him to be, etc. I had the theory that Caroline’s fast dashes down the mountain to come eat played a significant part in the calf’s development; Danny had the theory that Daisy’s incessant, and RedRock’s at times, nursing contributed to the immaturity. Another incident to draw Danny and me closer, we leaned on each other and grew together from the experience, crediting occasional bad luck in the cow business and the cruel act of nature as the reasoning for the incident.