Thursday, November 17, 2011

Off With His Head

Graphic images will follow.

Steaks was too big for the garage!  His head and front hooves were on the floor.

#2 used another come-a-long, tied to Steaks' front hoof, to jack him up toward the ceiling at an angle. This gave us room to work around his head and neck.
I cut through the skin and muscle around his neck. Then #2 sawed through the neck bone with the reciprocating saw.
After the head was off, he sawed through the sternum and up the chest bone.  I cut through the neck, around the esophagus. 
There he was, ready to finish skinning and hang.  He was still just inches off the floor.

I didn't think about measuring him until after I had him gutted, hung, and skinned.  Dad suggested my horse tape, which gives us a weight of 821 pounds.  Horses and cows are built differently though, so I searched online for a way to convert.  I found this formula:
heart girth X heart girth X length  / 300
(65"x65"x59") /300
=830.9 pounds

I'll have to remember that for a more accurate measurement in the future.

5 comments:

  1. Wendy - thanks so much for sharing - we are learning a lot from you guys! and appreciate it!
    can't wait to see the rest. how long are you planning to hang him?

    your friend,
    kymber

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks like freezers will be full for you and yours. Came over from Kymber's!
    Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those pictures look very primitive and poetic.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The aboriginal affair to apprehend is the actualization of copse has about no appliance to the condition.

    Association Management

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks, all!

    Kymber- he hung for 2 weeks before I started butchering, then parts for the next 4 days as I worked on it.

    Jennifer- Welcome! You bet!

    PP- Not terms I would use to describe it, but thanks!

    Dylanarman- what? You lost me.

    ReplyDelete