Pen Rider – Coronado Feeders

Horseback cattle work at the Coronado Feeders yard in Dalhart, in the Texas Panhandle, reporting to the cattle manager or head cowboy. A pen rider rides assigned pens every day looking for outward signs of distress, cuts sick animals out and drives them to the nearest hospital pen, calls in deads for removal and returns treated cattle and strays to their home pens. Riders help ship fat cattle — opening gates, driving cattle to the scales, counting and separating strays and checking withdrawals — and move cattle around the yard using low-stress handling. Barn and horse facilities are kept clean by the crew. The yard asks that you can ride safely, furnish a gentle horse and tack, know cattle breeds and characteristics, handle basic arithmetic with weights, and work varied hours when shipping requires it.