Working Ranch Magazine March/April 2025

Step 3. Milt has a hold of the front leg and he’s starting to bundle up the calf with his knee.

Step 4. Draw the two tail ends of the tie down rope between the front legs. Notice the ropes are not crossed.

PAULETTE MASTAD

PAULETTE MASTAD

Step 5. Bundle up the calf. Then draw up each tail end in front of the calf’s shoulders and around their neck. Pull it tight. Step 6. Finish with a square knot or a slip knot at the top of the calf’s neck.

PAULETTE MASTAD

PAULETTE MASTAD

and said, “Then I thought, I know a gal who can spread the word.” “I’ve often wondered if the way we tie down calves is the way it was done a century or more ago, and through the influence of rodeo, it was just forgotten in some parts of the country,” Milt said. “I’d be interested to know if anyone else ties down like this, and in what part of the country.” HOW TO TIE THE DOUBLE- HOCK MASTAD TIE 1. Double your tie-down rope to make a loop. 2. Insert both back legs in the loop, and position the loop above the hock. 3. Bring both tail ends of the rope forward between the legs (each hock now has a loop around it. VERY IMPORTANT! The tail ends need to cross the original loop below it, thereby locking the loop. If you cross the loop above, there’s nothing to lock the loop above the hock. (See photos.) 4. Draw the two tail ends of the tie-down rope between the front legs. The rope encircling the left hock will be on the left side of the calf’s neck, etc. Do not cross the ropes. 5. Draw up each tail end in front of the calf’s shoulders and around its neck. Using your knee and thigh, bundle the calf under itself as if it’s already resting. It’s import ant to do this to be able to tie the calf tight enough. Pull it tight. The tighter you draw up the ropes, the more you will bring the calf into a natural resting position. 6. Finish with a square knot or a slip knot at the top of the calf’s neck.

Traditional Three-Legged Tie PROS ● Good for short immobilization in the instance of treating a larger calf (yearling)

● Predator predation, from coyotes to magpies, because a calf laying flat-out for an extended time is the universal sign of a distressed calf. ● The cow will try repeatedly to force a three-legged-tied calf to get up. ● If you trail the herd away from a cow and her three legged-tied calf, there’s a higher chance that the cow will abandon it. beside the calf, again, because it is not signaling distress. ● The cow will rarely abandon the calf when the herd moves away. ● Easier to pick up a calf tied like this and put it in the truck or trailer. Also easier on the calf when it’s transported in an upright position, rather than flat on its side banging its head every time you hit a gopher hole.

CONS ● The tie-down rope must be tied so tight that it cuts the circulation off to the calf’s feet. ● Laid out on their side in the spring/summer sun, calves can rapidly overheat (in winter, they can get very cold).

Double-Hock Mastad Tie PROS ● Draw the tie-down rope up tight, and it doesn’t hurt the calf.

● Calf does not overheat in summer; in winter, it remains warm. ● If they are overheated from running, in this position they will cool down. ● The calf will be comfortable laying in a natural position, even if for an extended period. ● No predator predation as the calf is not signaling distress. ● The cow will often lay down

CONS ● “Can’t think of one.”

MARCH 2025 I 49