Processed and settled steers we weaned yesterday. Then worked with heifers by moving them from pen to pen and put them through lead up to chute to help prepare for processing tomorrow.
We had a great visit with the guys while eating our Bento Box lunch. These calves are very different in temperament than they we last year. These calves had lots of movement, but it wasn’t panic movement like last year. They wouldn’t say it, but it is because of them and the way they are changing the way they pressure these cattle.
A good example is the counting video. Last year the calves were bouncing off the fences and really scared when they went by the counter. This is a completely different movement.
It is a team effort that is doing it. The bosses, Jason and Keoki for making it a priority, and the guys for trying to do it. They all have different personalities and skill levels, but everyone is trying and it is making a big change.
I worked horseback in the back with Tyler Cox. He is one of those young people that gives me a lot of confidence in the future of Stockmanship. He has no idea how good his timing and pressure are, (when he’s not showing off) and I really enjoyed working with him. I am real sure he will just keep getting better and refine his skills. Being a stockman is in his genetics, like most everybody that works for Parker.
I was pretty physically tired when we got our horses taken care of, and took a little time to relax and think. I thought abought some of the things I have done this week handling livestock. I really feel like I understand how to pressure cattle and horses in such a higher skill level than I could a few years ago. The reason is I learn things, then get out and do them. I am not trying to be someone else, but simply to see things and get better. You can’t perfect these skills from reading or watching videos. You have to get in the middle of it and do it. The other things can help you speed up the learning, but you have to do it and stay committed to it until you see the improvement and keep building it. The crew here gets plenty of opportunity to try to figure it out, and they are.
This is so rewarding for us, because we are part of the teamwork to make the change, and we are getting to really test our skills at settling and preparing cattle for grazing.
Curt Pate Stockmanship 
Love this! So happy you are seeing the results in the cattle!!
Thanks for the daily blog Curt, it’s hard to change cattle and people at the same time. I have a few thousand yearling heifers I started with last fall, pretty much mashed on but with patience their curiousity has been restored and got them mostly in a thinking mindset, it’s just hard to see the few less confident ones struggle in the lessons. So many times it seems people get entrenched in a pattern that isn’t beneficial to the stock that provides their lively hood, AI’d the first 300, a good custom crew saw the same positive changes in a year you describe, it was interesting to see other folks handle them, in some different styles, not all text book Bud Williams and the cattle mostly filled in the gaps and walked out of the breeding box and strung out, it’s a long process of determination and conviction to forge positive change, thank you for sharing your work, certainly it’s a lonely place at least for me in following a path I know is best for the cattle, it’s great to have your insight as a beacon out front, thank you, have a blessed week.
Joel,
It’s really been a very positive learning experience about animal and human behavior. We all need to do what we need to do to get better,
If we want to get better. Thank ou very much for the nice comments.