Another dog walker killed by cattle ?

:(:( how awful...i wont go in a field of cows unless i have to even without a dog i am wary, i cant read them so dont feel in control. i also dont like walking through a field of horses especially as i can read them and dont always like what i read:):) i think farmers should be able to graze their animals on their land but i also think they should be allowed to divert the footpath to go round the field on the other side of the fence rather than across so livestock and humans and dogs are separated by the fence. a friend of mine had a footpath across his fields which he felt made it unsafe for him to put his highly bred horses out in case of accident with the walkers. so he made a nice woodchip path round the outside of the fence and back to the original line of the footpath and he thought he was being sensible. the council/ramblers assoc didnt like it and told him to put it back how it was . he said he would but wanted it in writing from the council/ramblers assoc that any accident involving his horses is their responsibilty.. they then decided the path could stay round the outside:D:D i know we need to preserve our footpaths but surely now another death has happened, something sensible needs to be done.
 
splashgirl45 said:
i also dont like walking through a field of horses especially as i can read them and dont always like what i read:):)
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You and me both!

We were following a footpath which came across through the field that you can see behind the horses - we’d just exited it PDQ via the stile. They’d bundled over to have a good look at us, and although I’m horsey it wasn’t the most relaxing of experiences :oops:. Our intended route was just inside that field following along the wire fence, but we were not going back in with that lot!

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We were able to reroute which added a bit to our total mileage, but it was a lot safer!

ETA It was a new route to us which we were following from a guidebook, I wasn’t expecting the horses to be there. I picked up the JRT and carried him through and bundled him over the stile.
 
Thank you for the info! I take the dogs out of London as much as possible for decent walks but cows are not something we come across and i'm quite glad about that having read through all this!
I think Mrs Spaniel would bolt, but I've taught Miss Collie to go into a "middle" position between my legs if worried and I could see that being a recipe for disaster if she tried to take them on first.
 
A friend of a friend was trampled by cows and needed a double hip replacement.
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A cow jumped on our car whilst on holiday in Ireland, they’re bloody big animals up close! We traveled home without the passenger door, it wouldn’t be allowed now.

I‘ve never been caught in a field of cows, but took Brig one day to catch in the horse. I looked up after about 20 feet to see the geldings closing in around me, the horse meanwhile was trying to stamp on Brig, jealous git. I let Brig off and sent him on. It was terrifying.
 
To be honest I would sooner walk through a field of cows (NOT with dog) than I would horses. I know most cows are fairly easily shooed away, horses aren't as they aren't scared of people, cows are more wary.
 
How awful, his poor family ?

When I was between 4 and 10 years old, our cottage had a garden which bordered a field of dairy cows, separated by a big stone wall. The youngsters were always really friendly and nosey, and used to come up to the wall for us to stroke and scratch them.

This field also had a disused well surrounded by tall, old trees, which could be seen from our garden. To a 6 year old, it seemed like a mysterious, fantastical place, and after daydreaming about what it might be like, I one day plucked up the courage to hop over the wall and go and see it up myself. Looking back, it could only have been about 80m from our house, but to a child it was an Adventure. It quickly turned sour though, when the cows came over to investigate also, and I found myself surrounded by increasingly bolshy cows, who were much, much bigger up close.

I remember being incredibly scared, and think I must have cried and shouted for my mum, who thankfully was in earshot and who came to rescue me. It’s always just been a bit of a wry childhood story, but the older I get the more horrified it makes me. Could’ve easily ended very, very differently.
 
Views scare me, though as a child my friend and I would happy go through the cow's field across the road from home. We'd sit and have picnics and I remember the cows coming up to us and having scratches and licking my hands. I think we were bloody lucky in all counts!

A few weeks ago some cows went walkabout down a country lane. I used my big 4x4 to try and help block their escape. Didn't work. And the power of those bodies pushing around and against my car! Scary and they weren't full grown either.
 
Personally I blame the rambers association for a lot of the conflict over routing of footpaths. Next door farm has one which links two villages. 100 years ago the footpath skirted the edge of the farmyard. The farm has grown, a lot, so the footpath now goes directly through a very busy farmyard and the ramblers lot prevent it being relocated to back skirting around the farmyard like it did originally. Tractors, loaders and wagons are reversing round corners all day and every day but still Joe Bloggs and his rat on a string (the string if you are lucky) wander about every so often with no high viz or care in the world.

Days gone bye it was locals who used these routes and they used them for a purpose to get A-B, they knew that farms were a work place, that fields produced food and people had to earn a living from them. Now because the people who use them do so for leisure actvities they do not realise that they are still work places. More than one person believes that the land is only cared for by greedy fat cats who get paid subsidies to do so. They are seriously surprised to discover that someone may have paid money for the land and got a very hefty mortgage/loan to repay and the land has to work to pay it off.

Growing grass and grazing it is one way to make the land work to produce an income and the landowners right to do so should come before a non paying leisure activity.

Sorry this is a bit of a sore point for me.
 
We have cattle and footpaths, generally the cows ignore walkers, we don't put cows and really baby calves in the footpath fields. The younger cattle are more likely to approach walkers out of curiosity, but we have found if said walker walks ahead confidently they may be followed for a while until the cattle get bored. Again I would advise walkers to let dogs off sooner rather than later if they are worried, and skirt around a group of cattle if possible rather than walking through the middle. Ours have a habit of hanging around the path, because it is cooler near water. ( Thames Path) . However we know our cattle are quieter than many, and are used to dogs but I would say NEVER trust any animal not to react on a bad day. The only incident we have had involved my BIL a freshly calved cow and his dog.
 
It would be really good for everyone if there was something of an overhaul of the RoW networks so paths could be re-routed, fenced off, made more accessible, be better joined up to avoid roads etc I understand that the ramblers association would be worried about paths being lost due to re-routing etc but suspect they throw the baby out with the bathwater regularly... i.e. reject or fight changes that would actually be an improvement to try and keep to the principle of no change!

It would all cost money though and that's never going to be available again. So just pipe dreams.
 
rabatsa said:
Personally I blame the rambers association for a lot of the conflict over routing of footpaths. Next door farm has one which links two villages. 100 years ago the footpath skirted the edge of the farmyard. The farm has grown, a lot, so the footpath now goes directly through a very busy farmyard and the ramblers lot prevent it being relocated to back skirting around the farmyard like it did originally. Tractors, loaders and wagons are reversing round corners all day and every day but still Joe Bloggs and his rat on a string (the string if you are lucky) wander about every so often with no high viz or care in the world.

Days gone bye it was locals who used these routes and they used them for a purpose to get A-B, they knew that farms were a work place, that fields produced food and people had to earn a living from them. Now because the people who use them do so for leisure actvities they do not realise that they are still work places. More than one person believes that the land is only cared for by greedy fat cats who get paid subsidies to do so. They are seriously surprised to discover that someone may have paid money for the land and got a very hefty mortgage/loan to repay and the land has to work to pay it off.

Growing grass and grazing it is one way to make the land work to produce an income and the landowners right to do so should come before a non paying leisure activity.

Sorry this is a bit of a sore point for me.
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Sounds like a H&S nightmare!!
 
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