MOVING sheep doesn’t always run smoothly, with yelling and cussing being the outcome in most situations.
There is always one sheep that jumps its way through a fence or turns the whole mob around.
For some farmers controlling livestock is returning to the past with horses being the preferred mode of transport.
Talga farm manager Zach Kealy and his partner Margriet van der Zee are using horses to work both sheep and cattle on the 2630 hectare property near Toodyay.
The farm is an arm of the International Livestock Export (ILE) company and works closely with Cullalla Feedlot in Gingin.
The property has 2500 head of Awassi sheep and the number of cattle changes frequently as they move around.
“The cattle that comes here are usually waiting to make a specific grade or weight class before going on a boat,” Zach said.
“We had 2000 plus lambs as well, but we had to get rid of them with the season.
“All of the older ewes are going and we will only have black tags left.
“All we need is a working horse and a few working dogs to get the job done.”
Between Zach and Margriet they own five working horses.
Zach is also involved in rodeos across WA and travels as far as Pannawonica to ride his horses in events such as roping and steer wrestling.
“I use Texus for rodeos, he is retiring and the Boddington Rodeo might have been his last one,” he said.
Margriet also participates in events at the rodeo and said she needed to keep riding the horses to keep them trained and active.
“I named my horse after my sister Kate, she is all the way back home in Holland,” Margriet said.
“My horse didn’t have a name and she is beautiful just like my sister, so I named my horse Kate.”
Margriet said a working horse needed to be looked after.
“We use Kate and Koda mainly although we have three other working horses, Bruce, Texus and Coco, but we rotate between them all,” Margriet said.
“Two horses is sort of enough, although if you have a whole day’s work to do, you want to be swapping the horses around.
“When it’s this warm you can’t be working them too hard.
“If you use them like that every day they will toughen up, but it’s nice to give them a break.”
Zach said it was not always easy to teach sheep to follow a horse - they still need to learn that part of the operation.
“It’s a bit different when we get a fresh lot of sheep or cattle in and you will need a few people to move them along, but a lot of the time I can go with just myself and the dogs.”
ILE boss Mike Stanton prefers the use of horses on the farm and can see the benefits of them working livestock.
“We have been lucky to work for ILE, where Mike wants us to use horses,” Zach said.
“It is my passion and what I love doing so that makes it more enjoyable.
“Also we find it better for working livestock.”
Toodyay hills are not always a forgiving place andthat is what makes the area ideal for livestock rather than cropping, although this proves challenging a lot of the time.
“When we get up into the hills sometimes it helps to have two or three horseman and the dogs,” Zach said.
The team used to use motorbikes but the wear and tear on the vehicles became a real expense.
“There are so many rocks and clumps of trees, the sheep decide to go up in there but a motorbike will not.”
The rough terrain and the difficulty of moving livestock over rocky hills is the reason they prefer to use horses for the entire operation.
“A horse looks with you and it turns with you, and especially when you train them to read the situation,” Margriet said.
“The same with a good dog - they just know what to do.
“It is a lot quicker too, if a cow wants to suddenly turn on you then a horse can turn on the spot.
“There is no reversing or trying to turn around in a tight space on a motorbike.”
Zach said he chose horses for their safety benefits which was becoming an issue when hiring workers.
“For OH&S we don’t like using their two wheeler, if they hit rocks or they go too fast then it just becomes a real danger,” Zach said.
“The damage done through rocks to vehicles, or workers not always driving them with care is a massive issue in this type of terrain and something we couldn’t afford to deal with any longer.”
In some circumstances the pair will use the four-wheeler, but even that has to be used with care when it goes out into the rocky country.
Although the horses are a great use on the farm, the help of a trained dog proves beneficial to them as well.
“Bear is a cattle dog, and cows are a bit rougher than sheep,” Margriet said.
“He takes that attitude with him and sometimes he struggles to keep the sheep moving, but he is getting there with training and the help of the other two dogs.”
Zach and Margriet are currently getting sheep in for drenching, after they have been shearing for the past two weeks.
“Things were looking pretty desperate and the feed was pretty tight towards the start of the year, the late rains in the past month have brought the feed back up and everything is looking good surprisingly,” Zach said.
Parts of the farm are leased out over the growing season and cut for hay and barley.
Once the hay is removed the paddocks will be free for the livestock to graze stubbles over summer.
Both Zach and Margriet have a strong connection to their horses, allowing for a bit of company on long days at work.
