Elk County Range Wars?

[sodbuster]

Mom used to tell me those stories, but also I know my Grandpa Winn was a sheep shearer. I am beginning to think this may be a bit of a tall tale and\or my aging memory.

David

[srkruzich]

Like many people on the forum, I grew up watching western movies. It seemed like a good number of these movies were about the wars between sheep men and cattlemen. Even watched a movie last night on the Western channel starring Glenn Ford and Shirley MacLaine called The Sheepman.

That movie was made in 1958 and was rather tame. Earlier movies of the 30s and 40s starring John Wayne (who as Singing Sandy was the first singing cowboy), Tex Ritter, Bob Steele, etc., were real shooting and killing wars between the two groups.

Growing up knowing about these wars, I always thought it was very odd that my granddad on his farm southwest of Howard raised a good number of both sheep and cattle. He retired to town in 1951.

He kept the sheep in a separate pasture and always hired a crew to do the shearing. As a little kid, I got to watch that process.

And, for some reason, he always kept a single goat in with the herd.

They are called a judas goat. They are used to lead the sheep to barns, pens, trucks or to slaughter.

[sodbuster]

Many of the famous and not so famous Thoroughbred racehorses had their special goat in the paddock. Kept them calm I was told.

David

[W. Gray]

I do remember being on horseback and having a long rope wrapped around the saddle horn with the other end of the rope tied to a goat. She, I think, might not have been fully cooperative.

I don't recall anything else but my granddad must have given me the rope with the intent of getting the goat to the shearing area with the sheep following behind.

[srkruzich]

I do remember being on horseback and having a long rope wrapped around the saddle horn with the other end of the rope tied to a goat. She, I think, might not have been fully cooperative.

I don't recall anything else but my granddad must have given me the rope with the intent of getting the goat to the shearing area with the sheep following behind.

Goats don't like lead ropes they prefer their independence. But eventually you can get them to work with ya on  a lead. The reason they use them is Goats are smart. Sheep are as dumb as a rock, but they have one thing in common they are herd animals.  The sheep will follow the goat everytime. 

THey are also used with horses and cattle. 

[Ole Granny]

Goats or chickens around livestock keep the animals from being spooky.  If you have ever had a horse jump sideways from a bird flying up, you would appreciate the ones raised around smaller animals. 

[larryJ]

Rocks are dumb?

Larryj

[readyaimduck]

Only the round ones.  The other ones are 'sharp as a tack!'   

[Diane Amberg]

YES!

[Wilma]

Some of them made pretty good pets, too, forty some years ago.  I wonder whatever happened to mine.