Founder and Executive Director of Medicine Horse Ranch, Alyssa Aubrey tells readers about the one cow-herding job she and the team of cowboys had to successfully complete, how they did it, and what can potentially go wrong and how things are handled when they do go sideways.

TOMALES, CA – July 26, 2019 – Alyssa Aubrey, Founder of Medicine Horse Ranch and co-author of the best-selling book, The Road To Success, recently posted a new article on her website entitled, “Nevada Journey Part Two: The Assignment.” Ms. Aubrey writes about the specific assignment the team had to accomplish.

Aubrey writes, “After the ground rules were set, standards agreed to and safety established, it was time to get to work.” She continues adding, “During the first 3 days on the range, our job was singular in nature. We did what is known as ‘cutting cows’.”

Aubrey explain, “What we had to do was to sort the heifers and the calves from the bulls and steers from over 300 head of cattle. Then we had to drive (not in a trailer, but on horseback) those that had been sorted nearly ten miles away, through the desert to the processing station for ear tags and shots.”

According to Aubrey, “The sorting process happens by a method called ‘rodear’.”  “‘Rodear’,” she explains, “is a Spanish word meaning “to surround” and is the derivation of our ‘rodeo’. “ She further elaborates, “On ranches in the Great Basin, as well as throughout the Western United States, many outfits will train their cattle to ‘rodear’.  “It’s This way even one person can go through the herd, rope the ones that need to be removed, doctored, or inspected for sickness, and not have cattle scattered from hell to breakfast when they do especially helpful,” she says, “if you’re short-handed, because you can pretty easily teach cattle to stay bunched up.”

“Because cattle are herd animals,” Aubrey says, “doing things this way keeps the cattle quiet. It draws upon their need to be together, teaching them there’s safety in numbers and that staying bunched together on a flat, or in a corner is a win-win for them.”

Aubrey continues, “On horseback, each of us took turns walking slowly into the gigantic ball of cows, with the aim of “cutting” out the ones we weren’t going to drive down the road and letting them back out into the dessert.” She adds, “The line of horsemen around the ‘rodear’ makes a “hole” for the one cow to leave, but as herd animals, they often like to leave with a couple of their friends who need to stay.” She emphasizes, “It gets tricky and you have to be awake and on your toes.”

 

Read the entire article at http://medicinehorseranch.org/nevada-journey-part-two-the-assignment/

  

About Alyssa Aubrey

Executive Director Alyssa Aubrey, CEGE, is the Founder and Program Director of Medicine Horse Ranch, an educational experiential learning center incorporating horses in human self-development. Alyssa is a writer, teacher, facilitator, empowerment speaker, money coach, and business consultant with over 30 years of experience as both educator and entrepreneur. She is a Certified Equine Guided Educator (CEGE) and a Certified Money Coach through the Financial Recovery Institute.

Alyssa is a seasoned facilitator with broad experiences that arise from coaching over 6500 clients in equine-guided learning processes. She is compassionate and tenacious with a genuine passion for supporting others as they embark on new directions for discovery, recovery and transformation. She considers the herd of Medicine Horse program horses to be partners, healers, teachers and guides in this powerfully transformative, often spiritually awakening experience.

Alyssa’s current focus is developing eligible candidates to become successful in the field of horse and human interaction. She has developed a nationally recognized curriculum that includes best practices and core principles for the field, providing hands-on training and development through intern and apprenticeship participation.

 

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