It was a warm fall day in sunny southern California. My first ride after the long Thanksgiving weekend. The weekend in which my son turned 22. Wow! I tend not to ride on holiday weekends as the dirt roads and trails near my place are occupied with young dirt bike and ATV riders visiting family in the area.
I decided to ride my mare. I’ve been sharing her with a friend, and I hadn’t ridden her in a few rides. I also decided to pull out an old saddle and ride in it. Not sure how this is relevant but using the old saddle did change up the vibe of the day, so maybe it is somehow.
We headed out the back gate toward our usual trail. One that goes by the High School, across a blacktopped main road and up into the hills where there is an old mine on the front side of a hill and a private cattle ranch in the valley behind. We loped up the hill to get to the top where you can see the hills and a few valleys for miles. I decided that I was still a bit tired from the long weekend and wouldn’t make it a long ride, so we headed down the backside of the mine hill, cutting off a longer trail that goes by a dry creek. I share this because if I had gone the usual longer ride trail, I would have missed the miracle. Timing is truly everything.
As we headed down the hill, I noticed gun shells on the ground and broken boards. Someone had been taking target practice there using the hill as the back drop. As my horse walked across the used shells the thought crossed my mind that they’d better all be spent. Not sure what could happen if a horse stepped on a shell that was not fully discharged. I won’t be walking that section of the trail again.
A bit further down the hill we headed toward my favorite part of that trail, a route behind the cattle ranch where often there are cows in a dirt pasture eating alfalfa in feeders, sunbathing or playing. After making the turn I noticed a baby cow laying near its mother. I stopped to look. It was really small, and I thought that it must have been born relatively recently. I took out my phone so I could take a picture and then I noticed two other young calves laying in the sun near their mothers. I looked to my right and saw a cow that appeared to have just started labor! I slowly and quietly rode my mare down the fence line closer to the cow and sure enough I could see two little hooves protruding from her behind. She was standing and the little hooves were out about four inches.
I positioned my horse near the fence so I could watch. I have never witnessed the live birth of any animal. I’ve had plenty of pets give birth – puppies, kittens, foals – but I always arrived after the event. This was amazing! As I watched and videotaped – I still had my phone out, I was in awe. Not just at the miracle I was witnessing, but at how the other cows in the pasture came to the birthing mother’s aid. One walked up and started licking the little hooves that were protruding, others were watching from a distance as if standing guard, and one young cow loped over to see what was happening and then came right up to the fence face to face with my horse as if to say, who are you? Be still this is a very important occasion.
The birth didn’t take long. It was over in minutes. This mother cow had obviously given birth before as she was calm, and it was quick. At one point she did lie down. I saw a big contraction and then more of the baby came out. The cow then stood up and that was it, one more push and the baby tumbled out onto the ground. The cow that had been helping gave the momma some space as she started licking her newborn. Then slowly she walked back over to them and helped lick the calf clean.
While the cows were working to clean off the calf it was alert and trying to stand up. Numerous attempts to stand over several more minutes. The mother cow passed the afterbirth during the cleaning process and more cows gathered around to meet the new member of the herd. My wonderful horse who remained still while I watched was beginning to get antsy and want to get moving again. I knew it would only be a few more minutes until the calf stood and I wanted to see it stand before I moved on. My horse and I started up the trail to a spot where I could check on the calf’s progress. As we climbed the hill I looked back and the calf was standing as the cows continued to clean it up.
The remainder of my ride I was filled with so much joy. How blessed was I to have taken this trail at this moment. Life is such a miracle and I had witnessed its beginning for one little soul.
To see the video of this miracle, visit CowgirlChronicles on Youtube.