Page 74 of Trickster King

“I’d prefer a week, but we can make a field trip after I get confirmation and the transfer of ownership done. Then you’ll need to transfer ownership back.”

“Easily done. You go take care of that, then you can dry the rest of this lot off.”

The vet chuckled, tipped his hat my way, and marched back into the hospital.

Randy eyed me. “You didn’t even think about that.”

“Didn’t have to. If the vet thought the horse would be better off with me, he wouldn’t have hesitated about the previous owner. But he also didn’t want to risk the horse not getting treated, and I don’t have to treat the rescue, beyond the mandatory survivability treatments, even if the owner didn’t claim the animal back. The rule is there to make certain the horse gets cared for if returned to the other owner. He didn’t want to risk the mare not being treated, but I got the feeling he wanted that horse to go back to her owner. It was a gut feeling, and I went with it.”

“Where are you going to get tack for the mare overnight?”

“We’re going to get her sizes, go to the tack store when we go to the cell store, and buy what they got that’ll fit. That’s simple.”

“Your wife is going to kill you,” Randy predicted.

“But you’re going to take a picture of the rancher getting her heart horse back, thus saving me from a dangerous situation.”

“Maybe we should go back to looking for gold. That’s safer.”

I laughed at the RPS agent’s complaints and followed Clark inside to make certain I could carry out my plans to give the mare and her owner the reunion both deserved.

At six in the morning, with a little help from the hospital vets and Jerrod’s trailer with slings installed, we loaded the mare and prepared to send her back to her owner. I’d gotten to listen to the heartbroken woman explain to Clark she couldn’t afford the bill, not with her ranch struggling as it was. I found some comfort the woman trusted me to keep her precious Sunshine safe, healthy, and happy for the rest of her years.

Eddie had cried upon learning what we were up to, and he’d helped buy Sunshine new tack and gear, including several spare halters, two bridles, several different saddles, and everything else a horse needed to work a ranch.

We’d be transporting Sunshine back to the hospital after we dropped off the tack, but the woman needed her heart put back together again, and that meant bringing her horse home.

As we couldn’t all fit into the truck, I drove one of the RPS SUVs with Jerrod riding shotgun and Randy in the back wishing he was in one of the protecting vehicles.

I followed the trailer, chuckling over how we were using it to haul one horse.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Randy asked.

“We could have installed that sling into a single horse trailer, but we’re burning fuel hauling that monster to the ranch. Why are we burning so much fuel? It’s ridiculous. Also, Jerrod? I need that trailer. Where did you get it? Randy, I need that trailer, and we’re setting up all our horse trailers to face backwards.”

Jerrod laughed. “I’ll show you the catalogue with them. Most Texans just use box trailers or the standard configuration. This is more of a European thing, but it works well. I find my horses are a lot less stressed when faced backwards. As for why we’re taking my trailer, I have been informed you like your cattle diverse, and she might have what you’re looking for. She’s been having some trouble because she doesn’t do dairy, and her cattle aren’t the usual meat breeds. She’s struggling to get buyers for her meat.”

“Doesn’t have the equipment for dairy?” I guessed.

“You would be right. I get it, the carousels are a lot of work.”

“She’s against separating the calves from their mothers.”

I raised a brow. “So don’t.”

Jerrod made a startled noise. “What?”

“So don’t separate the calves. We don’t on our farms. We keep them together until they’re capable of being weaned. Sure, our cows don’t produce the same volume, as she’s still nursing her calves, but they produce plenty of high grade milk. It has a different flavor profile. I find the milk from a nursing cow to be a little sweeter and richer. While it’s fairly standard to separate, I don’t allow it until the calf is at least three and a half months old. The fastest I’ve seen is two months, but you have to be careful with their diet. Six is the normal. We go calf by calf for weaning. While high production farms only use dairy cattle for three years, mine work for longer. But we also don’t separate, which helps. The cow isn’t stressed by the process, and they’re pasture raised.” I snorted and shook my head at the misunderstanding of the industry. “I’ll talk to her about expanding into dairy and giving her options that don’t abuse any delicate sensibilities. Her milk production won’t be high, but the quality should be good, she can keep the cows working longer as part of her meat trade, and she’ll have more cattle with little investment. If she’s got good stock for dairy and meat, she can get a profitable operation just from adding dairy into the mix. The kingdom could always use ethical breeders. And if she wants to give the cows a break, she can only milk them while they have calves.”

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Jerrod admitted.

“Well, you’re into horses, and I wouldn’t expect you to know the ins and outs of the cattle industry. But I hated the idea of slaughtering calves that young unless there is a high demand for veal, and when I slaughter for veal, I look at their genetics. The cattle I can’t breed are candidates, and the ones that aren’t slaughtered for veal are turned into steers. And we make sure we sedate for the procedure. Unfortunately, if the females don’t have appropriate genetics to breed, they go straight to the veal market. Fortunately, my numbers of unsuitable cattle are rapidly dropping. My diversity program is working, but it’s been a process.”

“You don’t have all day to reform a rancher, Your Majesty,” Randy reminded me. “However, I’ll put her in touch with your ranch operators, and they can help her get set up for a dairy operation. We do have some time to look over her cattle, so if there is one or two you like, you can take them off her hands.”

“She’ll probably sell her ranch,” Jerrod stated.

I grumbled, wondering if I could get away with snapping up another ranch and turning it over to the original owner to operate on my behalf. “I do not need more ranchers bailing out on ranching.”

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