Adams Family Branding
To be honest, this was my first traditional branding. Growing up we always used a calf table and then when Kody and I started raising bucking bred cattle we quickly realized the less we handle our cattle the safer it is for all involved. So we started to brand our calves at weaning time when they were big enough to be ran through the squeeze chute.
The Adam’s family ranch is just up the road from us and it’s such a beautiful place with rolling grass hills dotted with sagebrush and yucca. The day wasn’t particularly warm we all soon found out as we started riding out to gather the close to 200 pairs. The wind started whipping and I was so glad I made the girls bundle up with jackets and gloves. The wind was relentless the entire day, but we had a ton of fun. Odessa and Sheridan kept busy eating cookies and keeping the calves that had already been worked pushed to one end of the pen. Sheridan had the honor of riding “Preacher” the beautiful black gelding, owned by Jenn Martinez, and she was IN HEAVEN!
Something I noticed in the branding pen was the teamwork that took place to accomplish the mission of getting every calf branded, vaccinated, and doctored if needed. No woman nor man was placed in a certain job because of their gender, but they were working that job because they were the best one for it. Jessica Americella was great at dragging calves, Kody and Casey Adams were great at getting them mugged and on the ground and Tim Adams was great at getting them branded. The roles where each person worked changed often based on fatigue or just needing a change of scenery but there was no shame if you missed a loop or let a calf slide by without getting the fork on (happen to me numerous times!) It was just “get the job done, don’t complain about the wind and try to not get anyone hurt.”
How much could our world improve if we weren’t so obsessed with making everything equal, but tried our best to put the best people in the jobs or roles they’d succeed in the most? Maybe that’s antiquated thought, but I really do feel cheapened as a woman if I was ever given a job or promotion based on me being a woman and not the best for the job.
So here’s to the western way of life, it’s been a pioneer in breaking the mold in the world of politically correct since its onset. It’s making sure that cowboys and cowgirls are capable, dependable and responsible individuals because of our way of life instead of the pettiness that is equal outcome that does not stem from equal effort and skill.
