Cows, calves and a huge bull in a field with a bridleway........

cob&onion

cob&onion

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There's a bridleway which we use probably once a month, it goes across 4 open fields and its a really nice route to have a good canter. I went this morning on my cob alone. There's a few fields with gates, no problem, went through the gate, shut it again. When i got to the top of the field i could see over the hedge (hedge runs between 2 fields with a large double gate at the end) to see 40+ herd of cows, calves and a massive bull!!! I noticed the double gate at the end was wide open meaning they could easily come into the field where i was, they where closer to the gate opening than i was and i was quite a far way from the previous gate - the gate out of the field was closer :eek: the ******* all looked up and saw us and a few started running over :eek: the bull had a quick walk on him too, cue me panicking and thinking oh **** they're going to get us!! cob was already staring at them - she doesn't like cows anyway, so we made a dash for it past there gateway opening, across 2 fields which where all open for the cows and bull and didn't stop or look back till we reached the gate and we where safely behind it!! I don't know if the cows came after us or they stopped but either way i didn't want to find out!!
I will be giving that route a wide berth now untill the cows have gone!

What would have you done?!! what are you supposed to do??
 
Unfortunately there's not a lot which can be done, as you probably already know the only thing you can't graze on a bridleway is a dairy bull. There are a lot of beef cattle round here, including bulls and calves with them, so I generally take a look and if they aren't too close to the track I'll ride through. Mare has got used to cattle since turning her out with them!

However if they were right on the track, or I was riding a horse who might take off, I'd probably turn around. If it's any consolation, I believe having a bull in the field is a calming influence on the cows, and the only time I've ever had trouble fending any off was with a pair of heifers. To be fair I think most of the time it's sheer curiosity although when there are calves at foot you just don't know.

Can you cow-proof your horse at all? Turnout with them, or next to them, or riding past them a lot? It does help, to reassure the rider as much as anything, knowing your horse isn't going to bolt and start a stampede!
 
Cows and bulls aren't aggressive unless threatened. They probably came close just to investigate you. As long as you don't panic it should be okay.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about the bull, but a cow with a young calf is definitely to be avoided unless you can outrun it - they are often very protective and are rather better built for speed than a bull! I suspect a horse is perceived as less of a threat than a human though. I often found I could approach wildlife very close when I was on horseback compared to on foot.
 
I regularly encounter cows (well bullocks actually) on the mountain where I hack - they tend to simply ignore us, and us them.

What breed where they??
 
I have only ever had a problem with young bullocks trying to play i.e. running up and leaping around, I just turned the horse to face them and stopped and they got bored and walked off. We also ride through an alpaca farm and it was quite unnerving at first riding through the fields with them as sometimes you can have 50-60 of them all following you and when you do the gates they like to surround you and keep getting closer!!! Luckily the horses have got used to them now.
 
To be honest Id take another route if possible. Technically if a beef bull is running with cows and calves you wouldnt expect them to give you much trouble, but to me its not a risk worth taking. They are more likely to be curious than dangerous but I know if my pony were surrounded by cattle he'd panic and that is more likely to cause an accident in itself. The farmer is within his rights to graze them in the field, assuming its not a dairy breed bull. One of my favourite routes has young bullocks in it all summer and they are a complete pain, they always come running up to investigate any horse/dog so I just avoid it from April/October when the cattle go back in the barn. Im not worried about the cattle as such but dont want to risk getting pinned up against a gateway by 30 of them!!
 
Cows are really inquisitive by nature - they dont do 'coming to get you' in a nasty way, more woohoo someone different in the field lets go say hello!' Trouble is for horsey folk we tend to be used to horses in 2's and 3's not herds of 50 + lol.

So basic rule of thumb is do not run away, this equals a game of chase to them, especially if theyre youngsters. Quiet and calm is the key, if they are laid in groups, go around the groups even if this means going off the beaten track a little, dont disturb them. Bulls with cows tend to be quiet as theyre busy getting busy with lots of wives, just dont try and ride between them and a cow they're after (licking its back end is a big clue!) If they come over, turn the horse slightly and ride towards them - theyre used to being driven and will scatter.
 
They where beef cattle, I know who they belong too but never seen them there before!
Am going to avoid that route untill they are gone. There are some dairy cattle along side another bridleway but these are behind fencing. Theu are young and come running up to the fence and start bucking!! Mare isvgetting better with them but still unsure!
 
Cows are very inquisitive, and once one starting moving, the rest of the herd tend to follow. Young herds especially like to chase things, not in an aggressive way. When you start running/trotting etc, they will pick up pace, which is why when you are in fields with cows the worst possible thing to do is to run away.

If it was a dairy bull it should not have been there as it is illegal to keep dairy breed bulls in fields with public access. I would have just kept going, they won't harm you unless you threaten them, and it is always good desenstitising for the horse. I have kept horses with cows for years and they get along quite well once they are used to eachother, although my previous horse (a piebald) did had a bit of an identity crisis after being turned out with dairy cows for a season!
 
MrsMozart said:
There was a case recently (can't think where I read it), where the person responsible for the land and there being a bull in a field, was charged with manslaughter after the bull went for a walker and killed him.

Really can't remember the exact details. I'll try Google.

Here: http://news.sky.com/story/1125164/man-charged-after-bull-gores-rambler-to-death
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I walked through that field a couple of weeks before it happened. I had my dogs on a lead and I've never felt so scared as I did that day. Debated letting the dogs off the lead but we made it across in time. I then ended up taking a 5 mile detour so as to avoid returning through the field.
I know the farmer was absolutely devastated and was well regarded locally. The poor man who died, and his wife, were apparently experienced ramblers. Very sad.


I have ridden through a field with cows and a bull, but the farmer said they'd be fine. OP, could you check with the farmer if you're unsure ?
 
They will just be curious, cows love anything new, they might come up for a sniff but any sign of contact and they'd be off! I'd be more concerned about the effect they'd have on the horse and what it did in response TBH. A bull out & about should be a beef bull if it's over 10mo on a footpath, and with cows so it's highly unlikely to have any reason to attack anyone. I believe the case above was a brown swiss, which is a dairy breed and illegal to have out anyway so he was rightly charged. Cows with young calves are most dangerous - give a wide berth and don't get between the two. Dogs = a no no.
 
The bull shouldn't be the issue here, they are generally fairly placid unless threatened. I'd be more worried about the cows & calves, you don't know what nature they have- some of my OH's cows are good as gold but some you must be very careful around- they will go for you regardless of how much space you give them. I wouldn't use the bridleway until the cows are moved personally... not worth the risk.
 
horserider said:
I walked through that field a couple of weeks before it happened. I had my dogs on a lead and I've never felt so scared as I did that day. Debated letting the dogs off the lead but we made it across in time. I then ended up taking a 5 mile detour so as to avoid returning through the field.
I know the farmer was absolutely devastated and was well regarded locally. The poor man who died, and his wife, were apparently experienced ramblers. Very sad.
Click to expand...

Desperately sad for all concerned.
 
Please excuse my ignorance but why is it illegal for dairy breed bulls? I'm afraid we're mainly arable here in south lincs, so never come across this. Cows scare the life out of me!
 
Gluttonforpunishment said:
Please excuse my ignorance but why is it illegal for dairy breed bulls? I'm afraid we're mainly arable here in south lincs, so never come across this. Cows scare the life out of me!
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Dairy breed bulls like holsteins or friesians often charge and are quite dangerous. We used to have friesian bulls but they used to turn and charge at us, now we have hereford bulls which are beef and are much more calm
 
my guys are pretty much cow proof as hack on common with tonnes of cows. the cows are very rarely a problem, only had a few calves run over to us before. we can literally hack through the middle of a group of them without them looking up from grazing! the horses can just spook a tiny bit if they move suddenly. a few have horns on! never had a whole group move towards us, but they are used to a busy area of walker, cyclists ect so i think the cows are bored not inquisitive!
 
I don't know if I am the only one but I think cows are lovely and beautiful! They are as intelligent as horses.

You get the odd nasty bull and moody cow and it saddens me when I hear of tragedies such as the case of that poor man but by and large, the cow community are mostly harmless. I ride through fields of cows and the trick is to just pretend they don't exist. If they catch you eyeballing them, or being shifty, that's it, they will head straight for you just in case you have food or something more interesting. Chances are there will be a wall of cow behind you but if your horse is calm, you are calm, then they get bored and find a juicy tuft of grass to munch.

I don't know how many riders would be as brazen, but if you are charged, turn your horse around and charge back making a racket! Cow will turn heel and run away. DON'T do this to a bull.

My advice would be, if you are faced with riding through cattle especially with a bull, check there is an easy way out first. If not and you feel nervous, don't do it because they can smell yr pheromones a mile away. If you find yourself in a field full of cows by accident, just stay calm, do all you can to stop yourself from showing any fear, sing, hum, tell yourself a joke out loud, talk to the horse and go slowly. Don't rush you will attract more attention.

Cows are inquisitive but mainly because usually humans bring them cake to top up their grass intake. So they think you have some cake too.

Some cows are less friendly than others!
 
Word on the farming forums is that the bull in that case was a Brown Swiss which IS a dairy breed but interestingly not in the specified list banned by the law,which has a list which appears fairly out of date to me, and it is a specific list not examples list.

So if true criminal prosecution may be probably on the basis of dairy bull shouldn't be out in footpath field, tho defence may well argue it should be on the list specified by the law then. Any previous incidents would aggravate the offence, if any.

If it had been a beef bull then there could have been no prosecution unless the animal was known to be unpredictable or dangerous (eg previous incidents or evidence) or farmer was proved to be using the animals deliberately to prevent access.

OP I have to ride through cows and calves (Charollais and Angus) each time I hack out. And sometimes bullocks. Never get between cow and calf, skirt them by a wide margin and it is generally fine, TBH if the cattle are lying on the bridleway route you have to stray from exact bridleway route a little to do so MOST farmers would prefer this and be fine with it rather than have a fatality on their hands.

Bullocks can be more playful and so more of a pain, tho they are generally more playful than mean like a cow can be. Not fun being surrounded by them and them coughing behind you and bellowing! With them generally carrying a stick and yelling at them can keep them away. I tend to walk through leading horse doing this and have never had any issues.

Dairy bulls are illegal because they have been bred for countless generations purely on the basis of siring high milk yield cows and zero in respect of other factors like temperament and as a result a high proportion are extremely untrustworthy. Jerseys are reputed to be the worst (altho the cows are fine generally)
 
I think the fact the cows are fine is proof that temperament is a big part of dairy breeding. They, of course, have to be better natured, as they are extremely closely handled twice a day, and also for far more fiddling about like hoof trimming AI'ing etc. than most beef cattle.

Personally I think it has far more to do with the rearing - they are reared by people, not cows, so the distinction between people and cattle is blurred for them, and it's conceivable that a human is a rival, indeed, the humans are usually acting as the herd's king bull - moving the cows around and so on - so the bull sees his chance to ascend to the top and takes it....Couple that with being reared in same sex, same age groups so a skewed view of herd politics, then most likely sectioned off alone into a bull pen to become bored and then wheeled out come breeding time at an extremely young age - the equivalent of giving an 18yr old boy who's been in his room all his life playing computer games with other 18yr old boys his own harem of women. Would he be a nice young man about it, or a total *****?

I rear jersey bulls out on grass (safely off footpaths!) to full maturity in a herd of mixed ages and sexes including some very bossy high ranking cows and undisputed mature bulls. This keeps them safe in the knowledge that they are cows, not humans, and have their place in the pecking order, as well as being stimulated. Off course you never trust them and I know any could snap at any moment, but the contrast in general day-to-day behaviour to other jersye bulls I've met is astonishing. Another person I know has 70 in same age groups in a shed fulltime - they turn into killers by the time they are 14mo and he simply can't believe the difference with mine.
 
Brown Swiss arent required by law not to be on public footpaths, its only friesians currently as far as Im aware.

In regards to footpaths and cows, Im looking after 150 + heifers over summer on an estate near me and the sheer stupidity of humans never ceases to amaze me when it comes to livestock. Ive seen people march determindely through groups laid sleeping quietly, just so they ddint step an inch off the track. Ive seen some try and chase them away from gates and then run screaming - which to cows is something like you're playing tag....! Dogs off the lead running through them then said dog being chased out of the field with owner running screaming after it etc etc the list just goes on!!!
 
I actually love cows. Having grown up right next to a dairy farm I spent countless hours with the calves and heifers as a child. I even backed two steers :smile3:

My quarter horses are all working cattle horses so they don't bat an eyelid about cattle and are quite used to sorting and herding cattle. I occasionally come across herds on my rides who have pushed down fencing and are wandering about and if I'm on my main riding horse he'll automatically go into cattle mode and could pretty much round them all up without my help at all.

Cattle are nosy creatures but for the most part they are quite timid and will run away if approached. Dairy cows not so much but the heifers are usually fairly easy to move on.

I would just have kept on riding. I ride through herds frequently though and my horses are all used to cattle and know how to get rid of them if necessary.
 
I agree, the rearing has a lot to do with it. Our farmers current stock are lovely and he does breed for temperament. He did have one generation that were wild as anything. But at least they ran away from humans. He houses in winter only. I even have a favourite that comes to call! The last bull was affectionate, yes! Affectionate! He would ask for scratches but a passer by could mistake this for aggression... They don't know any better.
 
we have the opposite problem at the moment - the public thinking that because our bull is nice it's fine to go in and pet him! I told them NOT to and that he's NOT tame but not sure the message got through....
 
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