Kate Sanchez
“The Ranch Wife Life”
Many Hats
Ever feel as though you’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off; can’t catch up and just when you think you have, something else comes up? Welcome to a ranch woman’s week; rather, welcome to her world. Don’t make plans- they will change. Trust me. And be ready to slip on any “hat” necessary, when called upon.
For many years, women have been considered equal counterparts on ranches. Never have the cowboys, who they work with, made them feel any less important because they’re female. When it comes to some of the toughest tasks like working cattle or feeding in the winter; to some of the most nurturing, like caring for a new bottle calf, women on the ranch have historically been just as important in day-to-day operations, as the cowboys they’re married to.
During spring and fall works, these women wear several different hats and are extremely influential in keeping all of the ranch-doings in check while the cowboys are out working long days.
Though it may overwhelm some people, a hectic schedule is somewhat of a norm for ranch wives and cowboys alike. It seems as though they wake up each morning, ready to go, excited for the day; and at the end of it, are used up, tired and bedtime can’t come soon enough in preparation for the same routine again the next.
These ladies start before the sun has even contemplated coming up, and are often the last to go to sleep. Like all other tasks, just because they are women, there is certainly no discrimination when it comes to long hours and hard work.
Exhausted, dirty, and mentally drained; the men on the ranch are phenomenal at what they do, but let’s be honest- every now and again, they need some backup. Impossible for these men to be in two (or three) places at one time, it’s the ranch wives who deserve the credit for all of the “behind the scenes” work. Whether it’s a meal for the crew that needs to be delivered to the pens, a hurt colt who needs to be run to the vet, or going to open a gate for the grain truck to get in, women rise to any occasion that they’re tried with. True chameleons, the jobs differ greatly, never follow a set routine, and the good Lord laughs when they even start to think of a full day planned out down to the minute. Just wait… it won’t last.
But what does last is the willingness to step in when needed. When called upon, ranch women fill in, take part, and commit to the task whole heartedly. Their hats may not be fancy like you’ll see at the Kentucky Derby, but I will guarantee that there are more in their closets than most would imagine; and you may see a variety of these hats each week…or day…heck, maybe even a few different ones within a few hours. But for these women, these are the best hats they could ever wear.
