Raging bull

We all loaded up to go pick out our steers for fair. It was a big decision that couldn't be made ahead of time. There were so many things to consider. The price of grain, and price of beef fluctuate throughout the year. You always want grain to be low, and at fair time you want price of beef to be high. You have to feed them well so they finish out in time. The grade of meat they are is determined during the ultra sound at the start of the fair. It sees how much marbling is in the meat, the layer of fat on the animal, and the weight are all used to give it a grade. If you are Grade 'A ' you are more likely to at least break even if grain was high all year. Of course the goal is to come out ahead so that by the time the kids are nineteen they have money in the bank. Cierra liked to buy them smaller to save money upfront, then feed them well in hopes they would finish out good. Corbin liked to buy big, he'd feed them well and not have to worry how they finish. What counts in the end is how much they weigh, what grade of meat and what they bring at the auction per pound.

For the last couple years we had gotten steers from Dennis. We liked him, and he used to hang out with my dad which basically makes him family. Dennis spent time with his cattle, he handled all the calves. He named all the moms, they would eat from his hand. They were all well tempered, especially for being Black Angus. We even met and pet the Bull. He was the biggest beast I have ever seen. His shoulders went up to my neck, I'm not sure if I could have fit my arms around his neck. I wasn't about to try. Dennis would take us out into the pen and we could watch them walk around. We would discuss how some were too leggy for fair, or too narrow in the front. They weren't easily spooked. They would be within 10 feet of us, which is good, being they didn't know us. The kids would ultimately pick out their own, understanding the known risks of the market. I would pick out one for the family to eat. It would also be the back up in case something went wrong.

This year was going to be a little different. Dennis didn't have enough steers this year so we couldn't pick from his herd. We had to call around and finally found Chris. What a difference that was. We drive out and this friendly guy greets us in the driveway. He said he has two steers in the barn now that are going to the same fair we are. We of course peeked in on the competition. Then he pointed out to the pasture and said pick what you want. As the kids and I approached, the cattle all ran to one corner. The kids and I look at each other, as the cattle start to turn to face us. Now if you have ever been around cattle you know the look. Usually their ears are moving around as they chew their cud. Means they are at ease, if you start moving in closer they will start walking away. But these ones, they were straight up crazy. They stared, ears are perked, if you move closer they lower their head. Means they will charge you, kick you, and/or trample you. I put my hand on my youngest sons shoulder. He looked up at me and I said " hey bud, I'm gonna need you to get behind me and slowly get on my back.". I was trying not to sound alarmed. They weren't charging us yet, but we were definitely making them uncomfortable. Doesn't mean they are going to charge for sure. The older two kids looked at me. Cierra is giving me the, are you serious right now, look. Corbin looked at me, I can tell he is trying to gage me. I'm just standing and watching the herd. Only about ten looked threatening, the others would of course trample us but only to keep up with the herd. I told the kids " lets take a couple steps back". They watched me as i backed up about three or four feet. They did the same. The tension seemed to go away. Chris caught up to us and asked if we had any picked out yet. The kids again looked at me as if to ask if we were still considering getting them. I said " we haven't yet, they have been on alert and not moving." Then the kids proceeded to look for their next project steers. He walked towards them and lifted an arm and like a flock of birds they all moved in one direction. Then we walked that way and he held up the other arm and they all ran the opposite way. The kids picked out a couple and I picked out one. He said " I should have them ready to go in about a week, if something comes up I'll let you know". The kids and I leave with our empty trailer. We were trying to decide why we had to come back. I thought maybe he just vaccinated them as he sold them. I wasn't sure yet at that point. Well the next weekend he calls and asks us to do it the next weekend. We show up and he guides me to back the trailer into the barn. The calves we purchased were there so loading wasn't a huge issue. We kept them in the trailer for the night so they could get used to the smells and sounds of our place before we unloaded them. I like to put rope halters on them so I can tie them up a couple days. They each get their own food and water, and it helps train them to not pull the kids around. It basically teaches them not to pull and fight, the rope pinches their chins when they do. If they stop pulling it stops pinching. I opened the door to the trailer and climbed in. Corbin shuts it like he always does and hands me a rope halter. I'm in mid turn and Cierras' steers head hits my leg. Huge charlie horse. Then he comes at me again, this time he goes lower trying to pick me off my feet. My head hits the top of the trailer. I land back on my feet he comes at me again. I jump to the side and grab his head in a head lock put my fingers in his mouth and start twisting his neck. He falls on his side. The kids are outside yelling " Mom!, Mom!, Mom!" now he and I are on the ground I'm out of breath he is still shocked. I keep his head and neck twisted. I yell for someone to throw me another halter, I must have dropped mine. I get it on his head the kids can't open the door to come in. Me and this thing are at the end by the large door. The other two steers are up front next to the man door and I can only assume they are just as crazy. I start releasing the pressure on him and he starts flailing his legs. I know as soon as I let go if I'm not up as fast as him this will hurt. I can hear the kids half worried, half impressed. I hang onto him so he helps me onto my feet, i get him tied to a beam in the trailer. He is not happy, I didn't intend to tie him in here but the attack kind of made me leary of walking him anywhere. There isn't anything that can hurt him, but in order for them to learn to respect the rope they need to be able to thrash, jump and flail. I also can't halter the other two with him there. I go to get out he turns to kick at me. Now I'm right next to the biggest one. I start talking to him, he backed away. This tells me he isn't crazy, he is just scared. That, I can deal with, it will still hurt me, but won't try to kill me. There are dividers in the trailer that separate the front and back, so I exit and one of the kids release the latch. I was able to reach it from the outside and pull it close enough to latch. The kids and I set up a barrier so if he gets away from me he can't get out of the barn.

We open the big door and he is standing on the edge of the back of the trailer. When I try to get near him he kicks at me. I had Cierra reach in and untie him from outside the trailer and then toss me the rope inside over top of him. I get the end of it and wrap it around my hand, he jumps off the trailer and is bucking all around. I get to the fence and wrap the rope so I can maintain some control. I work my way over to his post and tie him there. The kids can get to the steers without having to get in with them. The other two steers weren't nearly as hard as this first one. The biggest one held still after I got ahold of his head. Once they were all tied up we could see what we were up against for personalities. Cierras' steer proved to be a spawn of satan aka..the raging bull. While in cleaning the pen he would wait until you turn your back and then charge you. A couple times the other two steers stepped in to protect me. Cierra and I had to straighten him out with a board. She turned her back and as he went to ram her I hit him with the board. That was the last time he attempted to ram either of us. Corbins' steer in the end became the gentle giant. Once he got used to us he was great. Mine also finished out nicely he was a little playful, but not mean.

At the fair we met the kids that got the other two steers. Turns out the reason the steers were penned up when we saw them is because he had to lure them into the barn because he couldn't get close to them without getting hurt. The reason we had to wait the extra week to get ours is because when they tried loading up theirs one escaped and was loose for four days before having to be tranquilized enough to be captured. Chris had to fix his barn so no more steers could escape.