Latest Stories | The Triple A Livestock Report
Animal Health Black Ink Book Reviews Caren Cowan Cowboy Heroes Estrays Farm Bureau Minute Global Economy In Memoriam Jingle Jangle Lee Pitts N.M. Federal Lands News N.M. Livestock Board NMCGA Presidents Letter Obituaries Old Times & Old Timers On the Edge of Common Sense Riding Herd Scatterin' the Drive To The Point View From the Backside
Category: On the Edge of Common Sense

by Baxter Black, www.baxterblack.com

There’s not a piece of black rubber around their saddle horn. Their nylon rope is as limp as boneless chicken. It hangs from a rope strap girded in a way that allows them to have it loose and in the air in less than a second! It is the equivalent of a pistolero, strapped down tight, loaded and cocked. They probably shod the horse they are riding, they wear light leather gloves. The bat wing chaps are broken-in and well-scarred.Read the rest

 

by Baxter Black

Who said, “There is no such thing as a stupid question?

1. Is that cow really angry with me for messing
with her cute little calf or is that just a defensive posture
she assumes because it is expected of her?

2. Did Dad rope that front foot on purpose?

3. I had a pickup like that. Have you tried choking it?

4. How come the first calf in the crowding alley is turned
backwards?

5. Did the mill make a mistake, or did you really
recommend taking all the grain outta the finish ration?
Read the rest

 

by Baxter Black

There’s been a dead sheep out in Brent’s wheat field for a month. Emilio had a band of ewes on the corn stalks across the road. I reckon that one got hit by a car.

The sheep have moved on. Brent plowed his field. Plowed around the carcass. Now it is sort of mouldering into the earth. I see it every time I drive to town. Nobody pays much attention to it. It’s rural out here. But we had company last week. Town folks. They seemed a little upset that we’d just drive by a dead sheep day after day and not give it a second thought.… Read the rest

 

by Baxter Black

On the Edge of Common Sense

Loose cow

One of the greatest feelings in the world is to see a cow loose on the road and realize it’s not yours!

I know that sounds awful. And I do feel a little guilty sayin’ it, but it’s true! Of course, I do feel bad for whos’ever critter it is. And many’s the time I’ve driven ‘em down my lane and penned ‘em up and called the owner of the wandering beast.

Chasin’ somebody else’s cow back where she belongs is kinda like drivin’ a rented car.

Read the rest
 

by Baxter Black

On the Edge of Common Sense

A Chance Meeting

I was at a Farm Bureau meeting and scheduled to be on their program. I stepped off the elevator and a dark-haired lady greeted me in the corridor. “Does anybody tell you that you look like Sam Elliot?” She said, “My husband just loves your stuff. Your column is what he turns to the first thing. I can’t tell you how many times he read it to me and just laughed and laughed. Now, on RFD TV, he tapes it if he’s not going to be in the house.”

Read the rest
 

by Baxter Black

On the Edge of Common Sense

Cow Psychologist

“Doc, I’ve got a heifer that just had a calf. She’s not accepting it very well. Can I bring her in for psycowlogical counseling?”

It all started with that call from the worried cowman. My veterinary specialty of cow psycowlogy has gained popularity since my article appeared. It was titledParanoia in Dairy Cows (Doctor, somebody’s always tryin’ to take something from me!)Read the rest

 

by Baxter Black

On the Edge of Common Sense

“Headline Oddities”

“Whole Foods Sale of Rabbit Meat Sparks Protest!”

Humm? Animal activists compare rabbits to dogs and cats. They are often kept as pets. So are mice, pigs, guppies, weasels and snakes. Do these protestors sit around brain storming their next great cause?

I can see rabbit rescue facilities forever raising funds, BLM adoption programs and eventually feral rabbits being shipped to Mexico by the millions to be slaughtered for human consumption.

Read the rest