Playing Devils Advocate...

T

Tia

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Do you think that structurally cattle are fairly similar to horses?

Do you think that cattle should wear fly, stable or turnout rugs?

Do you think that cattle owners should spray their cattle daily with fly repellant?

Do you think owners should stable their cattle during inclement weather?

Do you think cattle should only be kept outside if they have a field shelter in the field?

If not, why not?
 
*giggles*

I think cattle are not similar structurally to horses. I think they should be kept in a natural state - same as horses whose natural state are not messed about with by humans.
 
LOL! Have a wonderful image in my head of a cow wearing one of those boett rugs and fly fringe now
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tbh I only use a fly rug if the horse is really being bothered by horseflies, and in my experience that has only been with Hector who had very thin skin, and occassionally Jerry when they were really bad, but havent needed one with any other horse, certainly wouldnt put one on Spook who has skin like a cow anyway
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OK, sorry if what I'm saying sounds like cr*p but hard to type exactly what I mean. A native pony will be similar to cattle in terms of hardiness, but a Warmblood will be completely different and need more rugs on and be kept warmer because they won't have as thick a coat. Cattle should be kept in during VERY harsh weather IMO, or at the very least have some decent natural shelter or a large field shelter.
 
no i think cattle shouldnt have any of these things,i see where your going with this post,why do we do it with our horses then ??
coming from a cattle haulage family and also keeping cattle as well as horses i think there shouldnt be much diff in the way we keep them
granted our horses are kept a bit different as they have turned in to family friends and we tend to look after them a bit more but they like cows have a job to do apart from being eaten well not in this country anyway !!
horses live in the wild with hardly any attention so why do we feel that they need to be wrapped up in cotton wool with us ??
 
Not recently PBS, but I did have 2 calves when I was a child, called Benson and Hedges
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. I used to jump the poor blighters!
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Not recently PBS, but I did have 2 calves when I was a child, called Benson and Hedges
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. I used to jump the poor blighters!
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PMSL
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Got any pics??
 
That is probably one of the greatest misconceptions to be honest CM. Over where I live, we have a waaay colder climate, in my area there are hardly any WB's who live in, let alone wear rugs. WB's grow exactly the same length of coat as TB's, QH's, Arabs....in fact any other breed of horse. It is nature providing for them and coats grow to the length and denseness that the weather dictates.
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I am the same mind you. I do fly spray all of mine most days and I do rug them all winter, but I often do think that if I had cattle then no way would I be doing all these things.
 
I used to keep my horses on a dairy farm, the entire dairy herd came in for the winter and lived in a big barn, only coming into the stable yard at milking time each day so their barn could be strawed or scraped..they were funny the first time they went out to pasture in spring..they would gallop and jump about like horses
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I am not sure that there are that many similarities - although I have seem some horses in my time that quite closely resembled cows!
 
But cows do 'wear' fly spray - they have the ear tags and also spot on

Cows are 'stabled' during inclement weather, mainly becasue they will destroy the fields, like horses, I think most livery yards make horses come in to protect the fields

Cows aren't clipped so don't need rugs.

And a good hedge is nice for any animal

I think if the conditions you are describing had a adverse affect on either the milk yield or the amount of beef it was carrying farmers would have them rugged etc if would mean they made more money out of the animal
 
NO
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NO
NO
AND NO

my 2 have winter rugs and thats it all year, no stables (unfortunately!!) no shelter, fly spray etc etc..... i think if they got really irritatated by flies i might invest in bits and bobs, my friend has 2 horses that suffer really bad with sweet itch!! one suffers bad on his belly and sheath so he humps the ground!!! its funny to watch i'll try and catch him out and get a piccie.
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was going to say the same things DieselDog, they do have their hooves trimmed regularly, they receive a good deal more vaccinations, and drenching for various pests illnesses and diseases, and treated six weekly against flies in the heat of summer and of course are barn kept in adverse weather conditions mainly throughout winter..... we might think they are living in a state of "au naturele" grazing in the fields but they are a lot of hard work and sheep are even worse with everything they have to go through on a yearly basis, makes horses seem easy!
 
but argument being why do we molly coddle our horses so much ???
as they are at the end of the day animals and have been around longer than us and have survived without us !!
 
No cows aren't like horses, they have much tougher skin which helps against flys and the weather.
But all the farmers around me will bring the milkers in if very rough weather is coming.
I do think horses are mollycoddled though, but then how many of us have huge herds of horses? Farmers wouldn't have the time or make money if they pampered their cows.
 
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Do you think that cattle owners should spray their cattle daily with fly repellant?

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I think alot of farmers provide rubs soaked with diesel or repellant for cattle to walk under.Biting flies are evil and if any animal can get relief I think it is a good idea. I am no cattle expert, but instinct tells me that a stressed dairy cow would produce less milk so perhaps there would be a benefit to dairy farmers.



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Do you think cattle should only be kept outside if they have a field shelter in the field?

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Heck no, but just as with horses I think that some form of natural shelter should be available to animals kept fenced . If no natural shelter is in the fenced area a man made option should always be available. Even if it is just a wind break. I am from Wisconsin though so winters here can be brutal. I have seen many cattle with half ears from losing the tips to frostbite. That cannot be a very pleasant experience.

If livestock have trees...hillsides....etc. I often think most would prefer this to going into a confined space. I know my horses all detest being put into a stall and I only had Chester in a stall at night when he was boarded for my own convenience.


I feel sad for the dairy cows that live out their whole lives in a milking barn never seeing a green pasture
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when I go by a farm like that I cringe



Also...(as I assume this is where you are going with this)

I think alot of people treat their horses as though they are fragile , weak, needy creatures.
They are tougher than you think and I think most of the 'spoiling' that we shed upon them is for us and not them tbh.
 
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my friend has 2 horses that suffer really bad with sweet itch!! one suffers bad on his belly and sheath so he humps the ground!!! its funny to watch i'll try and catch him out and get a piccie.
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That sounds awful, poor boy
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LOL !!! No to all, mine lives out 24/7 is rugless and has no field shelter - is out in ALL weathers, even lightening. Winter this year I am not clipping and he will be naked for as long as possible

Cattle do have a lot more body fat on them though, in my opinion.
 
I haven't read the thread but don't think the two are really comparable?

GENERALLY SPEAKING:

Cattle are bred for meat and milk. Some horses (TBs as most obvious example) have been bred for speed and agilty to the detriment of hardiness.

Cows haven't had hardy woolly traits bred out of them, horses have.
 
I think you may be more correct than you realise in saying there are not that many similarities between horses and cows. I am just reading Christopher Hitchens' new book, 'God is Not Great', and was surprised to read last evening, that in terms of their genetic make up (DNA), cows have more in common with whales than they do horses! (Can provide page ref, but don't ask me to prove it )

My family's dairy herd and sheep spend winters in, as did the Hereford cattle, when we had them. I would rug in winter by choice, or provide a good field shelter, or both, because of the wet climate in the UK. My understanding is that horses can cope with cold, and our winters are nowhere near as cold as those in Canada, but that the wind chill factor on a wet horse is what is difficult for them to cope with.
 
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