Hearst Ranch News

The phrase “Riding Herd” has passed it modern parlance to mean “to be responsible for controlling or directing a group of people and their actions.” At the Hearst Ranch, riding herd simply means allowing the herd the opportunity to move in the correct direction. Here is a picture of ranch manager Cliff Garrison riding herd. Notice the dogs that are with Cliff.

Steve Hearst calls this picture “Five Cowboys at San Simeon.”

The cowboys know how the cattle and the dogs think and they use the dogs to help the cattle move in the desired direction. The result is a management style that leverages the inate behavior both of the cattle and to dogs to get the desired work done with the minimum amount of stress to the cattle.