Ranchers gave little thought about where their cattle roamed, and often did not grow hay for the winter. Légaré was among those who rejected the use of hay. In 1903–04, a severe winter, recounted by Reverend Claude J. Passaplan as the worst in recorded history at the time, followed prairie fires and an early frost, leaving cattle with nothing to eat. The Métis around Willow Bunch lost all of their cattle as a result. An even worse winter in 1906–07 caused a loss of an estimated 60 to 70 per cent of all cattle in southwestern Saskatchewan.