Women in History- “Hussy”

In honor of Women’s History Month I would like to introduce one of our famous Women around here! Meet our little “Hussy”.  She is ranch legend and icon. We all know her by name and give her the due respect and caution. She makes history every year on the ranch!

She has earned her name by always doing what she wants when she wants! She is one of those women who are always getting into trouble. She doesn’t care what the other cows and heifers think. She is not afraid of anything. She might charge or chase you if needed. She doesn’t even care what the horses think. She routinely breaks into the barn and steals the horses hay! She just bellies up to the hay bar and helps herself. She is a key player in the Bovine Women’s Suffrage movement. She is feisty and rowdy at times and always seems to find trouble. Even when she is in Bovine jail, she remains composed but fearless!

Someone advised us to not sell our ugly cows because they are good producers of calves…… and she is ugly! But, she is the best momma. She produces a calf every year and guards it with all her fury. The first calf she had we named “Baby Huey” because he was almost as big as her and he would run from the dog and hide behind her. She would charge the dog every time this happened. We later noticed that “Baby Huey” was actually female. So her name is “Baby Henrietta” now.  Good thing the ranch went Bovine transgender not too long ago. Sometimes the cows pick their gender and sometimes we do! Baby Henrietta and Hussy are both still with us and consistently produce calves that grow into food for your tables.

She reminds me of the woman in the Ashton Shepherd song “aint dead yet”. The lyrics go something like “I got a baby at home, a to do list a mile long…….its my responsibility……. I am usually in bed by nine……. BUT I STILL LIKE A COLD BEER AND A LONG DIRT ROAD”. That’s our hussy! She’s got babies on the ranch and takes care of them because its her responsibility and she usually does what she is suppose to but she still likes some GOOD HAY IN THE BARN!

We love our Hussy, but in all seriousness there are some really amazing women in ranching history. If you have not had the chance to read Texas Ranch Women: Three Centuries of Mettle and Moxie by Carmen Goldthwaite it is a great read. She talks about women in Texas Ranching history in a chronological order including ranching Giants such as the King Ranch Queen- Henrietta King. In addition to but not limited to Margaret “Peggy” MCCormick, Manuela Ramon and Patricia de la Garza de Leon. I hope you enjoy and would love your feedback on the read!

– C