Location: Jerez, Andalusia, Spain
A few days ago I got invited to herd cattle with Alfonso at his fathers farm. I have never done any work with cows before and neither have my horses. But it was definitely about time. I am a horse trainer inspired by the wild western ways, and working with cows is a big part of that. In Norway, where I am from, we dont have any real cowboys. Only farmers who keep their animals inside for most of the time. So this was a big day for me!
I came to the stable early around 08.45 and Alfonso was waiting for me. He told me I could either take one of his horses or one of my own. My horses are not exactly used to cows... but after we came to Spain they have gotten a bit better, at least they are not scared to death of cows anymore. I decided to ride my horse Jack. He is an American paint horse and is actually designed to work with cows.
We saddled up our horses and loaded them in the truck. It was really foggy outside, we could hardly see the sun rising up in the sky. I was getting exited and I felt that this was gonna be a true cowboy experience.
When we got there we met up with a few other workers and rode out to the cow field. Jack was getting very eager as he smelled the cows. While the other riders were walking nice and chilled, me and Jack were trotting sideways. It was the only way I could keep him from running off. The others seemed to think that Jack wasn't ready but I felt that this was gonna be no problem. When he saw the cows he started to sweat like a pig, but he still did what I told him to do.
We stayed in the back to begin with so Jack and I could watch the others and learn. It didn't take long until we got the hang of it. When Jack realized that he was the chaser and not the one being chased, his mental image of cows totally changed. He understood what we were doing and how he needed to move to make the cows move. It was so much fun and I think we did pretty good. Our mission was to move the cows from the field to the bull arena and back, so they could get vaccinated. We also moved a couple of huge bulls.
I felt that I was in my true element - Riding in my western saddle, on my american horse, herding cows. It felt good and it was amazing to experience how to actually use the horse for work. I really enjoyed it and honestly cant wait until next time. I am also so proud of my horse Jack. He faced his fear for cows and behaved like a true working horse. Hard to belive that he was unridable last year, he has come such a long way.
Here is a little GoPro video from the event! If you ever in your life get invited to herd cattle, say yes and enjoy the ride!
