Has anybody worked on a ranch? (Lockwood: house, movies, college)

[DreamChaser]

I'm from Arkansas and i'm planning on moving up there for the summer to work on a ranch. I want to know EVERYTHING! I can't really find any honest information, just quotes that ranches put on their site to make them look good. More specifically, I would like to know which ranches are good places to work, what's it like, what should I bring, is there anywhere close that a girl can let her hair down after work? (not so much worried about the last question, just threw that in for humor) Anyways, all information is helpful!

[mark6052]

Your kidding right? You might want to watch cowboy U on CMT. Make sure you dont look like any of them. Not trying to be mean, but you can get yourself hurt if you dont know what you are doing. Now maybe a dude ranch might work for starters so somebody could help you learn alittle first. As my father said many times. "If its such a great way of life, how come I aint rich." Good luck on your Quest.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Ranching is usually something that involves family, from the youngsters all the way up to Grandpa......

Working as a ranch hand, in the real sense, means long 12 to 16 hour days, 6 days a week... room and board plus about 400 bucks a month, and trips to town are rare..... maybe once or twice a month in some cases....

Are you really, really, really sure that this is something you would like to do??...

If so, then jump all over it.... but be prepared just the same.
Working as a ranch hand in Montana isn't even close to what might be portrayed in the movies or books.... it's a hard life, that pays very little for the amount of work that's required day in and day out. There is absolutely nothing at all romantic about such an endeavour.

[lorelei2873]

You might want to consider trying a guest ranch thing instead of a working family ranch. I mean, lots of folks are always hiring for sheepherders, but it's kind of the opposite of a great way to meet people. You'd meet no people and you'd NEVER get to town.
With guest ranches, some places hire for kitchen help or cleaning help and you could maybe work your way up to working with animals.

All little towns in Montana have watering holes...sometimes they have nothing but a watering hole! If you work at a guest ranch, you'll probably be working with a few other summer-only folks who would like to go out and meet the locals. Here's a website with some links to guest ranch jobs that might be appropriate for you. I don't think you're quite ready for taking on a solo calving job without experience, but this might be more of what you're interested in...
http://www.coolworks.com/ranch-jobs/

[shadowwalker]

I grew up on a ranch/farm. In colorado. It was usually from before sunup to well past dark. I maybe got to town once or twice a month. For a few hours on saturday night. I didn't stay too long or drink too much. I had work to do on sunday. The stock and field work don't take the weekends off. Or let you. Start with a dude ranch. It won't be as laborous and will allow you alittle more time off. You might get part time work on a ranch. That is usually some seasonal work.You will work until they don't need you, then you can go home until tomorrow. And when the seasonal work is done, you start looking for something else to do. Or start the next seasons work. The best part of ranching was seeing the house in my rearview mirror as I went into the oilfield. I made more in ten days of roughnecking, on a oil rig, than I did in 2 1/2 months working the summer on our ranch.

[lockwood22]

So I live ina vvery rural town in Lockwood, California. My dad used to be a working cowboy until he decided my family needed more money, and went into the vegetable seed business, and started our family vineyard. Anyhow, since I was a kid, all I have done was ranch work. I'm not talking dude ranch, I mean real ranch work. I know how hard it is, but I can't seem to get away from it. The ranching industry is getting smaller and smaller out here in CA, with less and less jobs. Right now we are in a dry season, so its especially bad. It really sucks. Im doing rodeo (bulls, broncs, and roping) but what I would really like to do for awhile is get out of here and work on a real ranch again after my first year of college is over. I was just wondering if anyone has any ideas or knows of anywhere where i could just get away and do some real cowboy work. It's what I've done all my life, and its dying out here. I just wanna get away and get back to what i like for awhile, maybe forever. Any ideas, email me or something. Thanks get back soon.

[Mattie Jo]

i worked on a horse ranch for a few years. one thing to watch out for is horses that turn their back on you so fast you don't see what is happening until you have been kicked. Or horses that will get between you and the fence and shove you into it. then there are always those that bite, but that is one thing that never happened to me. but if you see a horse, in time, turning in a 180 degree angle, move fast. or if a horse runs at you he means business, get under the fence fast.

now shoveling manure is really hard work, but you will build muscles. feeding horses in the cold isn't any fun, nor is it fun to get in the corral in the cold and shoveling manure, especially when it has rained. And some people prefer to blanket their horses in the evenings. that isn't fun either, especially if the horse doesn't want a blanket on. That is when I got kicked in my thighs. another time a horse purposely stepped on my foot. now this is where you learn to cowboy up and just keep going. you don't limb, you don't baby yourself, you just keep going.

maybe you don't want to work with horses? I actually loved some of the horses, those that that didn't cause me problems. I remember getting up early one morning to find Lumpy had colic, and so I walked him around for hours until the vet came. that too was tiring.

of course they can teach you to buck hay. now that is fun. i actually didn't have to do that.

[RobertaFromMT]

I see ads for across Nebraska and Wyoming and the Dakotas in TheFencePost.com, offering as much as 1400-1800 monthly plus housing (not always including utilities) and beef for head or solo ranch handing work.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by lockwood22

...anywhere where i could just get away and do some real cowboy work. It's what I've done all my life, and its dying out here. I just wanna get away and get back to what i like for awhile, maybe forever. Any ideas, email me or something. Thanks get back soon.

Wow, if I had a ranch, you sound like the kind of cowboy I'd want to hire -- experienced and wants to do the work. Best of luck!!

[rangerider]

DreamChaser, you're doing the right thing to ask first about ranching. I agree with pretty much all of the above posts. I grew up farming and ranching and haven't until recently been away from it. The media and movies makes most of ranching look much better than it really is.

Things you'll find as a real ranch hand:

1) You can't afford all the nice clothes and leather that TV shows. Your best friends will be Carhartts and heavy winter gear. Wintertime is when most prospects figure out there's much easier ways to make less than minimum wage.

2) When you have time to go to town, chances are you'll think twice and maybe stay home and get extra sleep, especially during calving season. Tying a good one on doesn't automatically mean a day off the next day; even a day off isn't when something goes wrong, gets out, or really needs done. Long hours and hard work are a constant in this business, and if you shirk your responsibilities because of a hangover or not enough sack time, your co-workers are going to hang you out to dry. Most places won't keep anyone long-term that isn't pretty much johnny-on-the-spot. Too much to lose if things aren't taken care of.

3) Odds are that you'll spend much less time on horseback than you figured. That's the romantic image of cowboying. On a real ranch, you get to experience the joys of fencing first and foremost. Weeks of it sometimes. Haying is next and winter feeding after that.

4) Blood. It's nearly a constant in working cattle. That and various diseases that make your stomach turn at first, and sometimes always. Most every piece of outerwear you work in will have at least one or two bloodstains on it at any given time. It will consist of both yours and various other animals. If you've got a weak stomach or aversion to blood, maybe look to a dude ranch wrangler or some facet of ranching that is a little less graphic.

There are more, but make for too long a post. Here's the upside:

If you make it, at one point you'll be doing a sweep of the summer pasture on a crisp fall day with a good horse and saddle under you. You get to look out over everything and the experiences that got you there and realize that you really accomplished something to be doing just what you are that moment. No fanfare needed.

You will get to know some of the best people in the world. Nothing beats seeing neighbors at the local summer fair and 4th of July and being part of their circle.

At several points, you'll have opportunity to bring new life in the world, save a few, and bury others. Perspective that many never know.

You'll get a chance to be really scared a few times. And cold, and hot. Hungry, tired, thirsty. And mostly, you'll sleep really well.

Lastly, you'll get to see Mother Nature at her very best and worst. You'll make memories that cause other people to ask for pics or it didn't happen. You just might have the ability by then to give them a look that says, "About the time this happened, I was a little busy for camera work."

Good luck in whatever you choose.