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Discussion on New Horse Scared to Death of Cows! | |
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Posted on Thursday, Apr 20, 2000 - 10:06 pm: My new mare is scared to death of cows. Just the scent of a cow in the air makes her stop dead in her tracks in the middle of the road. She is 12 years old, 1/2 percheron 1/2 QH. Whether on a lead rope, or under saddle, if she even thinks she smells a cow she will refuse to go one step further. How can I get her past this. I've even thought about putting a heap of cow manure near her pasture to accustom her to the smell. Any better ideas??? |
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Posted on Thursday, Apr 20, 2000 - 11:01 pm: Is there any way you can pasture her where some cattle are kept in a separate pen? We raise two steers every year (Herefords, basically docile creatures). They have their own run-in and a small pen attached that they can be confined in or come and go at will into the larger horse pasture. When I get new steers (to accustom them to horses) I don't turn them out right away so they can see the horses without being threatened. The same for a new horse that comes in that has never seen cattle. The cattle are confined but the horse has the option of getting close enough to investigate, also without being threatened. This has worked well for us. The only exception I had was a TB mare who was terrified and one of the steers sensed it and to my horror chased the mare. I had never heard of this, nor ever had any experience with a "cow" chasing a horse but I guess her fear was so great the steer was empowered. I also had a steer mount a young mare in heat and I had never heard of that either. But in 20 years those are the only unusual incidents. Most times after the initial period the horses and cattle seek each other out so they have a larger "herd". |
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Posted on Friday, Apr 21, 2000 - 1:58 am: Mine used to be afraid of cattle, too. In one case, it was because beef cattle (to which the horse was accustomed) do not behave the same as dairy cattle. While beef cattle tend to move away from people and horses, dairy cattle think that they're going to be fed and come running up to see what's going on. The first time my gelding encountered that, he did a very quick 180 amd "hurried" away. All better now--due to once living across the street from a few dairy cattle (who would regularly escape and stroll down the road).Borrow a couple of cows if you have an extra pen or pasture. It fixes itself in pretty short order. If you can keep the cows for a week or two, after the initial few days introduction, turn them out together under your watchful eye. Most cows aren't agressive. Most horses aren't either, but pay attention until they've settled in. |
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Posted on Friday, Apr 21, 2000 - 10:28 am: I live in a "free range" area of Arizona. (Only 10 minutes from Scottsdale city limits!) There are cattle everywhere. Hardly a day goes by when trail riding that you don't come across a group at close hand. When I first moved here 2 yrs ago my mare would stop and stare, but my gelding would bolt when coming upon cows. They're so common, however, that they just had to get used to them! The cattle would sometimes get into the ranch and drink from the horse's waterers! Anyway, it just took time. Now the gelding looks at a cow and sort of "shrugs". |
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Posted on Friday, Apr 21, 2000 - 10:39 am: Since I have "cow" horses, mine are usually very intrigued by them. I have one gelding who has been trained as a cutting horse and he has great fun when he comes upon one. I do think that most horses will get use to them given the opportunity. |
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Posted on Friday, Apr 21, 2000 - 11:19 am: I was riding my horse in an open hilly field that had a great view. My horse spotted a herd a cows about 2-3 miles away...they were almost dots! He reared up and whirled around....not fun.Our next close encounter was riding along the outside of a cow pasture that had some young cows. The cows charged the fence and followed us to the end. The whole time my horse was jigging and thinking bad thoughts. I rode him past those crazy cows again and again until he finally got over it. |
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Posted on Monday, Apr 24, 2000 - 3:27 pm: My old girl was terrified of cows too-I guess they didn't have many bovines on the polo fields. It was really easy to fix-I got a friend to ride on my other mare who worked cattle before.She rode ahead and started moving a small herd along at a slow walk-everyone really calm and relaxed. My mare was very scared at first, but calmed down as soon as she saw the cows walking away. After only 10 minutes of trailing behind the "moos", she started passing the other horse and even started bossing a calf! Now she loves to move cattle. I don't expect that at age 26 she'd be a competition cutter, but she does enjoy her "cowhorse" work when we can find a cow or 2. |
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