The Contemporary West : Kat

Colorado. 2018.

Katherine or ‘Kat’ has a vital role to play on the ranch by keeping the feed stores free from rodents. When her owner Paul is out on the range she has the run of the place, ensuring the feed is edible for the horses when they return.

This year Kat is not too keen to roam in the grass near the house as a plague of grasshoppers are eating their way across all the available grazing land. That afternoon the haystack was covered in them and they needed to be brushed away before the horses could be fed.

With little to no grazing, the cattle wander off to remote areas of the ranch where they are vunerable to predators. Winter feed will have to be purchased from plains free from the grasshoppers on higher ground adding to the years woes.

The privately owned ranches are a disappearing feature of the historic West. This project set out to capture the lifestyle and traditions before they are eradicated forever.

1/1 5616 x 3744 px Date of creation 2022 Not for commercial use