Cattle Dangers

Cows kill more people every year than sharks. And ranching has its many hazards, too. The cattle business can be very dangerous and that is why improving your stockmanship is so very necessary.

If there are 10 cows in a pasture, five with horns and five without, you can be sure that the cows that have horns will use them to become dominant. Head butting is used by all cattle, but when the cow has horns, the horns become a weapon. Few nonhorn (or polled) cattle become dominant when both animals are matched in size and weight.

Cattle with horns will use their horns against any enemy or threat. Ranchers not that long ago liked horns on cattle as the animals protected the herd from wolves, bears and other predators. In some places out west, this is still necessary.

Working cattle in three pens one summer, I had a longhorn cow on the north side of the number one pen and her calf in the south end of the number three pen. Between them were two open gates and fifty other cows without horns. Knowing how aggressive she was, I waited until she turned away from me and quickly closed the paddock gate. This action took less than 20 seconds.

In that time, the cow had covered some 30 yards and the herd had parted. Turning around, I was less than two feet away from mama and penned against the gate. Her long horns seemed ready to do me in. With deliberate speed, I grabbed my hat with my right hand and waved it at arm’s length to change her gaze. When she looked at the hat, I moved quickly to the left and escaped.

I have seen a man gored by a bull. He survived, but it was not pretty. I have also seen horses and other animals gored by bulls and cows. We often worked cattle with dogs to protect the horses and riders from harm when animals had horns.

Cutting horns off an animal is nasty business. The cows struggle and complain. Blood is everywhere. Ranchers put themselves and their hired hands at risk. When I consult cattlemen, I usually suggest the first thing they do to build a gentler herd is to cull the animals with horns. This saves time and money in the long run.

Cattle that have been poked by horns will have bruised spots. Cattle are usually bunched together prior to going to slaughter. And more aggressive cattle will poke others for more space. When they are slaughtered, the bruised meat is cut away by better butchers. This is a small loss, but a significant and unreasonable one.

Dad always said, “The best way to dehorn calves is with a polled bull.” Our bulls were always polled. The few animals he bought that had been dehorned never gave us a horned calf. Over time, every animal raised was hornless. One less worry.

When I handle cattle, I always take as much time as needed to make the animals comfortable with me in the pens and my efforts to move them where they are needed. When working with others my chief complaint is that people grow too impatient with the animals. They yell and wave their arms. When I tell them to stop, I mean STOP, FREEZE and do not move a muscle. Even when I tell them before we work the animals, I find most handlers just can’t do it.

Cattle generally move in the direction their head is facing. If the herder doesn’t move too fast, the animals are easily shepherded. Walking in a zigzag pattern behind the animals keeps them walking in a forward motion. Stay to the right or left of an animal and they will turn in the opposite direction.

I have moved large herds this way by myself, but others I have known, have nearly been killed when the herd turned on them and stampeded. Thank goodness for the tree they got behind just moments before being run over. Before I learned the correct way to move cattle, I too was nearly killed by a single steer.

The animal was in the pen by himself and was agitated that I was waving my arms and shouting for him to move to the chute opening. He turned and butted me to the ground. As he rose up on his two hind legs to stomp me, I rolled away, got to my feet and hid behind a tree. We played cat and mouse until he got tired. I had to lasso him to get him to the trailer. Lesson - never work cattle by yourself. I was lucky and only had a broken rib.

Two books I enjoy reading are Humane Livestock Handling and Working with Farm Animals for the Small Farm both by Temple Grandin. While she has changed some of her opinions since writing the books, they are still sound text on shepherding of animals. Ms. Grandin is a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University and considered an expert on handling cattle.

Another expert (and there are many I like) was Bud Williams. His story can be read on the web at https://stockmanship.com. There are schools that teach his methods, DVD’s, videos, books and subscriptions you can order. I do not own any of these, but I know they are some of the best materials on stockmanship one can buy.

Keeping safe while ranching is every rancher’s number one job. The rancher’s activities and interactions with the herd can either produce a gentle herd, or a wild dangerous group of animals. Animals that do not handle well lose weight and are tough when eaten. Wild animals are costly.

There is one horned herd I do support. Go Schulenburg Shorthorns!

David E. Will is a farmer, rancher, nurseryman, landscaper, and consultant. He can be reached at 830-629-9876 or by email at dwill207@satx.rr.com.