Old West Cattle Drive & Branding at the Bailey Ranch
June 26 , 2024
It’s Western Wednesday, and today I want to share a special blog about the recent cattle drive and branding I got to attend a couple weeks ago. Thank you to Don & Janet Bailey for allowing me to observe and take photos and to Robert Rickgauer for setting it up and being so kind to invite me!
The old west - it evokes a certain image. Like that of rugged cowboys riding through the dust and tumbleweeds while chasing cows and twirling ropes. I didn’t quite know what to expect on the day I went to observe a cattle drive and branding in Simla, Colorado, but this was one of the many images in my mind. Simla is located about an hour northeast of Colorado Springs and has a population of about 600 people. Around here, there are more cows than people. The drive out to the ranch started at 4 am from north Denver. It was going to be a hot day, but the morning started out so peaceful and beautiful. Around 5:30 am, the sun greeted me as I got closer to the ranch.
Sunrise along Highway 86, east of Kiowa, CO. The drive along Highway 86 east from I-25 is incredibly beautiful and peaceful!
Just after 6 am, I arrived and watched & waited as everyone started showing up. As they arrived, the energy of the morning starting gaining and soon everyone was buzzing with excitement, enthusiastically greeting each other. You could certainly feel the energy of the folks that volunteered their time, horses, and skill to be a part of this little piece of history. One of the cowboys, Robert Rickgauer, was there to introduce me to everyone. I met Robert back in January at the National Western Stock Show, when he was there for the mounted shooting competition. He was so friendly and gave me a wealth of information about mounted shooting! He also introduced me to the photographer who normally photographs their events and practices. This led me to attending a couple mounted shooting events (my blog post can be found here, and photos from another event can be viewed here)!
Robert and his beautiful palomino horse Remo
Robert began introducing me to all the participants and gave me some pointers for how the cattle drive would go and where I should set up to get some images. He also explained how the days events would unfold and what to expect. As he finished up saddling his gorgeous palomino horse, I walked around and talked with some of the other folks and met their horses. Some of the horses can be seen below, click on each photo to make it bigger.
After everyone arrived and started saddling horses, the cowboys and girls gathered around and made a plan for riding out to bring about 200 head of cow and calf pairs in from pasture. Click on the images below to make them bigger.
In total, there were about 13 riders headed out to round up the cows, including the owner of the ranch, Don Bailey and his son and granddaughter!
A little after 7 am, the group rode out. The cows were on pasture about 1-2 miles away. After the riders departed, I walked around the ranch a bit to take some photos and then got myself set up to get photos of them bringing the cows in from the pasture.
Around 8:30 am, I could see the cows cresting the hill and the cowboys following behind. Then the cows started running!
Cows being herded to the ranch as cliff swallows take advantage of insects being disturbed into the air for them to catch!
When the cows got back to the ranch, a few of the cowboys got in the pen to push all the cows and calves into a smaller pen. After they enter the smaller pen, two cowboys go in to separate the cows and calves. This is always entertaining to watch, and the calves are so cute!
Don Bailey (owner of Bailey Ranch) works to move a calf into the smaller pen.
After the cows and calves are pushed into the smaller pen, the calves will then be separated out. After they are branded and vaccinated, they are promptly returned to their moms.
Don’s horse takes a break while the two cowboys work to separate cows and calves.
It is always fascinating to watch the cowboys and girls work their horses and see how much agility and skill it takes to separate cows. They sure are cantankerous! It took quite awhile to separate the 98 calves from the cows, but it finally got done and now some real hard work would begin! Click on each photo below to make it bigger.
After separating the cows and calves, each calf would need to be guided into the chute. Once in the chute, each calf is quickly inspected, branded, vaccinated, castrated (if bulls hadn’t been already), and ear-tagged (also if they hadn’t been tagged already). There were far more people involved in this process than I expected!
The Bailey Ranch Brand (an electric version instead of heating branding irons over a fire)
You had two people keeping track of the list of calves, including their ear tag number, date of birth, sex, and status of castration & vaccination. There were at least seven people involved with the calf once it entered the chute. This was to minimize stress and get the calf processed as efficiently as possible. In all, I think each calf was handled for less then 2 minutes. Calves were eager to be released!
After the calf was released from the chute, it would get to hang out with the other calves, then a group would be released back to their moms in the other pen.
The whole process took about 5 hours and the branding work was completed by noon. Thank goodness, because the temperature crept up to somewhere around 95 degrees and everyone was ready to find some lunch and shade. I learned it is customary for the ranch to provide a meal after the branding event is completed. Once all the calves were reunited with their moms, all the cows were turned out to pasture and the many hands involved in the event were now free to enjoy a delicious lunch of sloppy joes along with deviled eggs, pasta salad, fresh fruit, cold drinks, and a plethora of homemade desserts! Everyone got their plate and gathered around to enjoy eating lunch and telling stories. It was a nice ending to a really cool morning of getting to see some of the traditions of the old west first hand. Everyone was so welcoming and kind, and they are all amazing cowboys and girls!
Now, how about a little history of branding & the Bailey Ranch…
The first evidence of humans branding animals is from around 4700 years ago, seen in ancient Egyptian tomb paintings, along with certain passages in the Old Testament of the bible, and even from Roman times. Branding developed as a way for owners to keep track of their cattle (or other animals) and to also deter theft. Branding became a big deal when huge herds of cattle were driven all across the western portion of the United States back in the mid-1800s. At that time, theft and mayhem surrounding cattle were rampant and brands became synonymous with that time period in order to establish ownership.
There are thousands of brands around the world. The brands used in Colorado are registered with the state. A brand inspector may be used to verify the brand’s validity when animals are sold or moved across the state/state lines. Brand inspectors also help register brands and make sure they are not resembling brands already on file. They also approve or deny these brands for use. You may not believe it, but cattle theft is still an issue in today’s world! And although brands aren’t required in Colorado, they are a very real necessity for ranchers who have cattle roaming on large plots of land or in our national forests.
The Bailey Ranch was originally homesteaded in 1916. Then, in 1988, Don & Janet Bailey, started their cattle ranch. They also own a Saddle shop and museum, located in Simla, that has over 400 saddles on display.
If you ever get the chance to watch something like this, I highly encourage it. It gives you a great perspective about the day of the life of a cowboy and rancher!
Additional information about the Bailey Ranch and cattle branding can be found at the links below:
Bailey Saddleland Museum and Shop