fences

   as a conventional cowboy, I hate fences. but they are everywhere and are a fact of life for people in the livestock business.  feedlots have lots of fences and gates , thank god those gates are substantial with well oiled hinges. cowboys there must ride through thousands of cattle daily, checking for illness and any other abnormalties.  then theres fences on ranches. four strands of barbwire strung on metal posts or maybe wood, depending on the area.  cowboys there are constantly checking those fences for breaks caused by trotty cattle or maybe wild life. over the years ive had to cut deer carcasses out of fences. that doesent usually fall under the job description.  when you find a break or a down section everything stops while its repaired. that barb wire is secured to the posts with tie wire or clips, but in extreme cases all manner of material have been used to tie the wire up or together. I hear of a ranch in mexico whose remuda are all short tailed because there is no tye wire. they use the long hairs out of the horses tail and mane to tie the wire with. over the years ive built fence in all kinds of terrain. flat land where the fence line disapeares into the distance miles away. or in rocky, mountainus terrain where you have to pull your self up the fence line hand over hand because it is so steep.  there is nothing worse than being in pusuit of a wild cow , watching that cow jump or crash through the fence and you having to cut the wire to gain access to the next pasture and then coming back later to repair the fence. it always seems like a wasted day when you have to repair fence that you yourself have trashed.  but with all the agrivation  fences are a reality we must live with.  like it or not.  Ime reminded of a puncher who took a blm contract to gather some wild horses in the Nevada desert. this puncher was from Arizona and not familiar with the area. well into the gather he fell into the tracks of a little bunch and went into pursuit. soon he came to a section of new barb wire fence that had been laid down and the horse tracks were deep as they crossed the down wire. a mile or two inside that fence our puncher was surrounded by us military jeeps with armed men aboard. seems you cant run wild horses in area 51!!.