Thursday, March 5, 2009

Chasing a Cow

We worked on a farm when I was young. It was common practice to rotate the cows from one pasture to the other. It was for their own good. Better food and taking care of the grass. The owner had purchased one young heifer that had been raised and petted by a 4-H-er. She did not take to just being part of the herd. If you drove them one way, she would go the other. If you wanted them to cross a creek, she would not. If you wanted them to not cross a creek, she insisted on doing so. We were moving the herd across a small dirt road to another pasture. It was routine and all the animals followed the drill. Well, except the one. She refused to follow the herd. Dad tried to wave her on but she rebelled and ended up knocking him down. I was a little bigger than a flea but that made me mad. The cow took off running and I ran after her. No cow could outrun me in those days and I caught her as she jumped the creek. I was in the air behind her. While I was still in the air, she turned to meet me and her head stopped my pursuit. I had her right where I wanted her but did not know what to do with her. So I jumped back across the creek and left that stubborn cow to her own devices. She got lonesome after a while though and now that it was her decision, she joined the rest of the herd. I learned that just the chasing and catching was not enough. Next time, I needed a plan as to what to do with a 700 lbs cow once I caught her.

Never punch a cow.

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