Etiquette for riding through cow fields

[Ratface]

No way would I ride on land with loose cattle. Brought up with Dexter dairy cows. Pleasant enough creatures to move about in an ordered manner, but no way would I enter anywhere that they were grazing unless I had a herding dog and a trained cowherd with me.

 

[Merrymoles]

When I was a child we used to get sent to bring the dairy cows in for milking at the riding school I went to - with strict instructions not to run them - so was well used to riding with cattle.

However, this is a bad time of year to risk any cattle, especially if they have just been turned out after a long winter in, and I definitely would not dare now. I had a close call a few years ago when some youngstock had just been turned out on to a bridleway and it wasn't fun!

 

[Sossigpoker]

One of those mother cows was glaring at us so we gave it a wide berth and she was okay then. Sometime we go through the young cattle that bounce about and crowd the gateway. I find them a lot less intimidating as the pony just shoves through them and they back off.
There is a bridlepath I won't use as there is a big grey cob loose on it that attacks horses. Have to lead through the field because of bad gates and it was awful. I was fighting it off with my dressage whip to get out of the field. It attacked a friend's pony too. It has been reported several times but is still there.

Does anyone remember from the summer last year I think the footage where two riders were attacked by a stallion on a bridleway?
One of them was on a mare! The other rider kept trying to protect the mare and rider with her gelding I think. It was utterly terrifying to watch. And both of the ridden horses behaved absolutely incredibly and no doubt prevented serious injuries with their calm demeanour.

I rode on a path the other day with two horses on one side , right next to the path. They clearly became territorial and kept running at and alongside the fence , rearing , ears back, proper threatening us to bugger off. My legend of a cob was very calm but I did think that thank god I wasn't in the field with them !