More Questions May Mean Fewer Problems

By Ellen H. Brisendine

This month, Larry Gray, Scott Williamson and I continue our conversation about sending cattle to lease pasture. TSCRA Special Ranger Supervisor Scott Williamson encouraged readers in the March issue to know the site and know the person who will be taking care of those cattle while on the lease pasture.
He and Larry Gray, TSCRA executive director of law enforcement, provide more tips on how to protect yourself and your assets — cattle and horses — when they are under the care of others.
Williamson: Never deliver unbranded cattle to an unknown person to process them or pasture them. This is a recipe for disaster for the livestock owner.
Is the person who is offering you lease pasture bankrupt or upside down on their loan? Ask why they aren't running their own cattle on that land. Many times, we have seen someone who is in financial distress take cattle in to claim as their own to show on their collateral inspections.



If your cattle are branded and the caretaker sends them straight to a sale, instead of to the leased pasture, we have a much better chance of tracking and recovering those cattle and your assets.
Next, once you know the condition of the pastures, and have checked the reputation of the caretaker, we recommend you check the condition of your cattle on a frequent and irregular basis. If you pay the caretaker to feed range cubes, mineral and hay to livestock, then demand receipts. If you pay for medication for your cattle, get receipts and proof that the medications were administered properly. Many times we have heard from livestock owners who paid for feed and care, but it was apparent the cattle did not receive the feed or medication. The bad guy pocketed the funds.
When you inspect your cattle, if anything does not look right, follow up immediately. If cattle are missing, contact your special ranger immediately. A bad operator will try stall tactics to buy time, giving excuses such as, "The cattle are on a neighbor's pasture."
When the caretaker fails to return your calls or give you satisfactory answers, then immediately follow up. There may not be a problem, but because you took immediate action, 2 things will happen. First, you will know exactly what's going on with your cattle and, second, a bad operator will be much less likely to try to cheat you if they know you are paying close attention.
Gray: Make sure your cattle are branded and that brand is registered in the county where the cattle are being kept.
Find out if the person owns the property or is subleasing it from another party. In the case of a sublease have the individual show you his original lease on the property.
Have a provision in your lease for what you feel is appropriate death loss. Have the lessor report any death losses on a regular basis and ask for photographs of any dead cattle.
Require a written lease that covers all aspects of the lease. Under no circumstance allow the lessor/caretaker to sell cattle in the caretaker's name. This may very well be viewed as a civil case and not a criminal case. TSCRA special rangers investigate only criminal cases involving agriculture.
In the case of a horse trainer, many of these same recommendations apply. Ask for references and make your expectations of progress known at the onset of the agreement.
Make regular visits to see how the horse is progressing. If the horse is to be sold upon completion of training, then sell the horse personally.
If you enter into an agreement with the trainer to sell the horse and split the profit, then you have entered into a civil agreement and have given the trainer permission to sell the horse. We have seen many situations where the actual owner either gets very few or no funds at all for their horse. Because you entered into an agreement with the trainer and gave the trainer permission to sell the horse, many prosecutors will deem it a civil case and not a criminal prosecutable case.
Williamson: Go watch the trainer ride the horse. We see many horses that just are not ridden and several that are not ridden or fed or are sold. Settle your bill at the end of each month and get a receipt. If your trainer does not call you back or wants to ride the horse longer, or says you do not owe him for this month, then immediately go look at the horse for yourself. They are most likely not being nice out of charity to you. They have either not taken care of business or your horse is not there.
Be aware that registration papers from your horse breed association are not title papers. They are only identification papers. Your name on the papers, alone, will not prove ownership and may not keep you from losing the horse in a property hearing.
When I was starting out with TSCRA, my trainer Special Ranger Manford Elliott taught me, "Those who know their business and tend to their business seldom have big problems."