Welcome to the Ranch!

Some of our horses with the pond in the background.

Nine horses call Cross Creek Cattle Company home.  During the fall and winter, they graze in small fenced-in pastures. Then we lead them to their stall in the horse barn to spend the night.  We feed them grain and plenty of fresh hay.  In the morning we feed them grain again and then lead them back to the small pasture for exercise, fresh air, and some grass.  Then we can spend two hours a day cleaning the stalls.

Compared with the Beefmaster cattle we raise, horses are much more time-consuming and expensive to raise.  We buy their feed, supplements, and hay.  Shavings are needed to spread over the floor of their stalls.  These things all cost money.  Horses also require training, exercising, and riding. And, this requires time.  In addition, the ferrier comes out every six weeks to trim hooves.  Horses are high-maintenance, plain and simple.

With the wonderful rain that we have been receiving this summer, our pastures are filled with tall, green grass.  We always have our cattle rotating pastures to ensure that plenty of fresh grass is being consumed.  While the cattle are eating grass in one pasture, the grass in the other pastures are growing.

This summer we have also let the horses have a vacation from their routine.  We have released them into a large pasture full of grass that also has a 3 acre pond.  At first the horses’ heads went down to taste the tall grass.  It did not take long before the excitement of being in a new place caused them to forget the grass and run as a herd.

It was one of the times I wished that I had my video camera.  It was a beautiful sight to behold.  Like a herd of wild horses, they ran over the pasture, up a hill, down the hill, around in large circles, in figure eights, etc.  I don’t know what was more beautiful: the beauty of the horses themselves moving as one or if it was the landscape in which the ran.  The sky was bluer than blue; the grass was swaying in the light breeze.  Thinking back, it had to be the combination of the two.

All the pretty horses.

They settled down and then noticed the pond.  Every single one of the horses stepped out into the water.  Some literally went for a swim.  They were completely enjoying themselves.

Weeks later, the horses are still enjoying their freedom.  They have all kept up their condition on grass only, including the oldest horse, Ladd.  We are enjoying not having to clean any stalls.  Raising horses on grass is much more economical, which is why both equine and human alike are enjoying the summer here at Cross Creek Cattle Company.

Our new barn.

Horses play a big role here at Cross Creek Cattle Company.  First and foremost, we enjoy riding horses.  All of us ride even the smallest members of our family.

Isaac and Andrew, aged 3 and 2 respectively, ride in tandem saddles.  If you have not seen a tandem saddle, they are great.  The saddles are made out of a canvas material.  It is like a saddle and blanket in one.  They connect to a regular saddle and sit behind it.  It has a handle on which to hold much like a saddle horn.  You need great horses to ride in tandem as most horses will not like the feel of the second saddle.

My older children are all members of the Grimes County Jr. Deputy Sheriff Mounted Posse.  They each need their own horse.  They also enjoy riding on the ranch for pleasure.  My sons, Jake and Clayton, ride with a neighbor on our ranch almost every day.  They ride for hours.

Horses also help us work our cattle.  We believe that low-stress handling directly affects the quality of our grass fed beef; therefore, we use a sing-song cattle call to move the cattle from pasture to pasture.  A horse or two following behind the herd ensures that all the calves and stragglers move into the next pasture.

Utilizing horses as part of a low-stress management program works well for us.  It is also good for the horses.  They are allowed to work for us and they enjoy it.  Our horses are not just put out to pasture.  They have a purpose on our working ranch.

A horse stall.

For months we have been planning and preparing for our new barn to be built.  The task is complete.  We have a new barn on the ranch.  Its main purpose is to facilitate the needs of our horses.  We have a stall for each of our horses.  The stalls are custom built for each horse.  As some of our horses are larger than the average horse, we enlarged their stalls to give them a more comfortable place.

Our barn has a tack room and a feed room.  It has plenty of room for square bales of hay and some equipment.  One of the most exciting aspects of our barn pertains to our grass fed business.  At this time we only sell beef by the whole, half or quarter section.  We do not have the facilities to store beef and sell it by the cut here at the ranch.

Well, now that our barn is finished, we have the room.  With the addition of some deep freezers, we will in the near future have a store in which you can purchase beef by the cut.  It is exciting!

I will announce when we are open for business, but it will be months so don’t make plans this weekend to make the drive to the ranch for steaks.

We are proud of our new barn and the direction that our grass fed business is taking.  Our horses like it too.  Hopefully our grass fed beef customers will also share in our excitement.

This weekend is fast approaching.  From everyone at Cross Creek Cattle Company, “Happy Mother’s Day!”

Angus in the snow.

I could not believe the weather forecast early this week.  Meteorologists were predicting snow.  They were not just saying that there was a chance of snow, but they were predicting anywhere from 2-6 inches of accumulated snow.  It was hard to believe.

We already received snow on December 4th, which was the earliest recorded snowfall in our area.  Then not too long ago, we awoke to find a light dusting of snow had fallen overnight.  This winter has been one of the coldest winters in over the last decade.  We don’t know what to think.

It began raining mid-morning on Tuesday.  Before we knew it, the temperatures began falling and so did sleet.  About 1:30, the first flakes intermingled with the rain and sleet.  It was a real messy mix of precipitation.

The view from the dam.

I decided to stay home instead of traveling to College Station to drop my children off at violin lessons and dance class.  I am glad that I did.  The rain and sleet dissipated as the snow fell heavily.  I have not seen snow like this since my family skied in Colorado.  It was amazing.

Something magical happens when it snows.  There is silence as everything seems to quietly enjoy the beauty of the fallen snow.  Our horses did not mind the snow.  They were dressed warmly in their horse blankets.  I think that they enjoyed the change in scenery.

The cows stayed in the woods.  They enjoyed staying under the natural cover of the evergreen branches.  By the end of the night even the pine trees were covered with snow as if someone lightly flocked them.

The deer were moving at dusk as usual.  Watching a herd of seven does cross the county road, leap across our fence line, and amble across one of our pastures was a beautiful sight.  My husband saw a grey fox earlier that morning in the same pasture.  Our family takes great pleasure in co-existing with wildlife.

Cross Creek Cattle Company is a great place to live any time of the year.  Each season brings about different activities.  Because snow is such an uncommon occurrence here, we tried to enjoy it as much as possible.  The inscription on the James Farley Post Office in New York reads, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers of the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

The ranch could have a similar motto, too.  Regardless of the weather, a rancher must take care of the animals.  The herd has to be checked.  The horses need to be fed.  Hay has to be put out to both in the winter.  Ranchers never get the day off.  There is always something that needs to be done.  It just goes with the territory.