The family brand: Tradition lives on at Charlo ranch
The branding crew springs into action to help wrestle another calf to the ground. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
From eight months to 80-plus years, the crowd gathered at the Weible Ranch south of Charlo for Saturday's branding represented generations of family and friends. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
Cowgirl Myla Gaustad was ready to lend a hand during last Saturday's branding. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
In a ritual as old as the cattle industry, Duane Weible adds his brand to the flank of an unhappy calf. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
From eight months to 80-plus years, the crowd gathered at the Weible Ranch south of Charlo for Saturday's branding represented generations of family and friends.
Cowhands wrangled three calves at a time to the ground, damp from Saturday’s sporadic rain showers. One perched on a calf’s head while the other stretched out its back legs and held on. The youngsters bawled as they were poked with needles, doused with wormer, and finally sizzled with a red-hot branding iron, wielded by Duane Weible.
“I wouldn’t do it this way, but the kids insist,” he said, referring to the tough, agile assortment of young men and women who were wrestling reluctant calves to the ground. Some older hands took turns too, especially when it came to separating cows from their offspring, or delivering vaccines.
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