Rude Awakenings -- Loose Bull

[dressagetraks]

Good morning, world! There was a bull in my yard when I woke up. I tried carefully to drive him to see which direction he chose so I’d know who to call, but he was the Grazing Rock of Gibraltar and wasn’t interested in leaving. To one side of me is The Homestead, a huge spread which does date back to the Homestead Act. To the other is the land of the nursing home bound widow who rents her fields to a string of folks. I wasn’t sure of current renter there; it has changed multiple times. Both sides have cows.

Called the Homestead. He asked for a description of the bull, declared it not his, and called renter of the other side on his other phone. He then chatted about the new house, cats, aging parents, etc. He did give me the cell number of the renter.

Renter arrived, and bull vamoosed, obviously knowing who means business. I guess he just didn’t acknowledge me, but I got as close as I wanted to a strange and very large bull with the lunge whip. I didn’t actually hit him but was snapping right around him. His whole attitude to me was “shrug.”

Ah, country life.

For future reference, what is the key to getting those going? If I could have headed him back to his hole on whatever side, I would have and then patched it roughly as I called the appropriate person to at least prevent further egress of more of the herd while they were coming. Even the Homestead Guy is a distance away on his Ponderosa, and the renters can take 30 minutes to get here. But he simply was in “graze” zen, enjoying (and fertilizing) my mowed yard.

[NancyM]

I had one of these visits happen a few years ago now. We had a large forest fire burning nearby, and were on evacuation “alert”, (which means that you don’t have to leave YET, but perhaps anytime, and are supposed to get “ready”). We were new to the area, and were substantially freaked out. Our new house was not even finished yet. So for some reason, I felt that my horses that normally live in paddocks would be safer out in a small field next to the creek. So I put them out there the night before. In the morning, all hell had broke loose.

The neighbour’s pet bull had arrived. He had broke through their fence, come through our hayfield, and decided he needed to graze right next to my horses. My horses, NOT being “ranch bred” horses, had not seen many cows, and those they had seen were only seen at a distance. This one was right there, and running around. Panic ensued. The most panic stricken horse barrelled THROUGH the barbed wire fence on one side of the field, shearing the post at ground level, and raking his shoulder open with an 18 inch gash, and impaled his extensor tendon with a barb. Everyone else jumped the downed wire and were unhurt, and all were out on the driveway, being horrified of the bull, who as trying to hang out with them. Apparently, he was a friendly bull, and lonely at home, looking for friends. I arrived to feed breakfast, to find the carnage.

It was a Sunday morning (of course), and the closest vet was out of town and not available. Phoned another vet, an hour away, small animals mostly. He said he would meet me in his parking lot. He has no stabling or clinic. I loaded the injured horse, already filled with penicillin, bute, tranquilizer, and leg bandaged (he was green, not yet broke to ride, and a bit freaky on the best day). I did not unload him in the parking lot. My trailer has box stalls, so we both climbed in there with him, sedated him, and the vet started stitching his shoulder back together again. It took a while, sedation was starting to wear off. Horse did his trade mark “snort” (very loud). Vet jumped into next week. Said he thought the horse was having a heart attack. Nope, he just does that sometimes. But starting to wake up, vet said, “Is this horse a QH? He’s being quite brave.” Um, nope, not a drop of QH in his veins, no way, no how. And we are “finished” with the stitching now, because he is waking up, and we are DONE now. Time to get outta here. And I unbandaged the leaking extensor tendon, and the vet said that it would not heal well without going to a clinic for treatment. So I bandaged it back up, and took the horse home. Tendon healed fine. Shoulder healed fine, good stitching job.

Horses all went back into the paddocks for the duration of the forest fire. Neighbour came and got the bull. I don’t know how he got the bull home, since I was at the vet’s place for that. DH dealt with that. Neighbour never did “apologize” for having his pet bull cause this trespass and damage and expense. Welcome to the neighbourhood.

Since then, we have been through another major forest fire close by, done the “alert” again, and the “order” to evacuate. We no longer panic. We do not evacuate. The neighbours either ate or sold that bull. I guess it wasn’t that much of a pet after all.

[TheJenners]

Paintball gun? Air soft? Daisy rifle?

Dog works.

Tarp.

I wonder if my neighbor sent their fence breaking cows off to live with your neighbors…

[Rackonteur]

Wow, NancyM, I’m glad it all turned out well at the end. I think that vet deserved a huge hug and cookies for working on a big snorty large animal! Brave vet.

I’m surprised the bull’s owner wasn’t liable for damages but I have no idea what range laws are in Canada and I do understand the “laws” of getting along with your neighbors and not causing a ruckus.

Y’all are brave to have stayed there!

[cutter99]

Depends on what kinda bull it is. Beef bulls tend to be more low key and mellow, but dairy bulls, if they are rank, can kill a person. The number of people actually killed by bulls is higher than those killed by sharks yearly. I happen to know of two people who were killed by Holstein bulls, think black and white milk cow.

We have beef bulls and always handle them with two of us, usually on separate four wheelers. I ride through them daily on horseback, and usually don’t have any issues, but I always am extremely aware when I am around them. If you have cows or heifers around in season, that will make them more aggressive, or if they feel you are some threat to “their” herd.

You might be best to make phone calls and have the owners come round them up. Safety to me is always the first priority!

[dressagetraks]

That’s why I was a bit tentative on actually making physical contact with that whip. I am not up on cattle breeds and types, but this guy was solid black and massive. I remember thinking that he would be very difficult to fit a saddle to. :lol: I don’t believe either side of me has dairy cattle. They must be beef. He would have made a lot of hamburgers.

[RoughOut]

a beef bull? You could’ve given him a tap with the whip. Usually a “ssshhhhhh” or “hup” sound will make them realize they need to move their feet. A beef bull will more than likely want to move away from you. I have one angus bull that I have to smack on the butt to get going and another that you can just spread your arms out and he knows its time to get going.

Swinging a rope at him might have worked too. Might need to hit him to make him realize it means business! Kind of like horses you don’t want to hit them if its not needed but at the same time a wack with a whip or rope isn’t going to inflict bodily harm.

Like @cutter99 said, a dairy bull? Yikes they can get real aggressive. Being bottle fed and not selected for docility means they might not respect a person. As someone who has horses you would realize what temperament you were dealing with probably pretty quickly

[walkinthewalk]

I am glad the morning misadventures turned out ok:)

i I am well into retirement but can still vividly remember the time I was 5 or 6, playing upstairs in the barn and my dogs started carrying on for all thsiir worth (Shepherd/Collies, so farm-oriented and loyal to their young charge:)

except for roosters, dad never kept the male of any farm livestock.

I ran to the big open doors to see what they were barking at – and almost ran right into the neighbor’s boar – he was a HUGE pig – legs planted – head down – snorting away.

Even at that young age Iknew pigs will eat anything including little children and their dogs ----

Mom was in the house which was too far for her to hear me scream. The dogs had the big pig occupied so I ran as fast as I could past the pig, down the barn hill to the house. hollering for mom and never looking back.

thankfully my dogs were not hurt, the pig’s owner was home (dad had gone to town for supplies), and he managed to get the boar back where it belonged. Dad was furious because the boar went right past our pen full of female pigs and was clearly heading for inside the barn where I was playing – he was sure the pig was intent on making lunch out of me, lollol. All I know is that I was scared into the next lifetime when I saw that pig’s eyes level with mine and staring at me, lol

[ecileh]

Many years ago now, my husband and I were sitting comfortably in our living room one night watching–and I swear I am not kidding–news coverage of the running of the bulls in Spain. I caught the sight of police lights parked in front of our house and got up to look.

Turns out, our neighbor’s dairy herd had escaped and come visiting. There were about a hundred cows in my driveway, yard, and garden–happily munching away. The policeman, a trooper from the big city who had just been stationed up here in the hinterlands, had climbed onto the roof of his car in abject terror, as the ladies were also milling around him. He had his weapon drawn.

It took some convincing, but we talked him down and then my husband, dog, and myself herded the ladies back down the hill to their homeland while he sat on our stoop, trying to stop shaking. When I got back, he asked if I was a cowgirl.

[Guilherme]

When we had cattle in the long ago I was doing some mowing in the cow pasture and had a minor issue that required me to stop, dismount, and fix it. As I was working I “sensed” something and turned around. About a foot away was Fred, our polled Beefmaster bull, staring at me. I reached over and scratched his forehead and said, “Hello, Fred!” He snorted a bit, flung a bit of slobber, and walked off. The slobber mostly missed.

Not all beef cattle are “mellow.” A friend had Charolais and said they were mean buggers and not to be fooled with. I don’t know about dairy bulls. Every now and then some dim bulb decides that keeping Mexican or Spanish fighting bulls is a good idea. If you’re in Spain or Mexico maybe it is; I don’t live in either place. There was a herd of Longhorns not far from here and the horns on those critters can be really impressive. My friends who have them tell me some lines are docile and some are NOT. If run into one that means you harm you are in trouble because while they are not particularly big in the body they are quick and have a lot of range with horns that span 7 feet.*

I know who has cattle around me and have their phone numbers on my bulletin board.

G.

*The record, according to Google, is 8’ 4".

[skydy]

@ecileh

Many years ago now, my husband and I were sitting comfortably in our living room one night watching–and I swear I am not kidding–news coverage of the running of the bulls in Spain. I caught the sight of police lights parked in front of our house and got up to look.

Turns out, our neighbor’s dairy herd had escaped and come visiting. There were about a hundred cows in my driveway, yard, and garden–happily munching away. The policeman, a trooper from the big city who had just been stationed up here in the hinterlands, had climbed onto the roof of his car in abject terror, as the ladies were also milling around him. He had his weapon drawn.

It took some convincing, but we talked him down and then my husband, dog, and myself herded the ladies back down the hill to their homeland while he sat on our stoop, trying to stop shaking. When I got back, he asked if I was a cowgirl.

Oh that poor cop!

Years ago when I lived in a very rural area I woke up to a dairy herd in my yard (s). About 50 or so Holsteins. No bull with them. We had a long steep-ish dirt driveway off of a vast network of dirt roads. As I was wondering what the hell I was going to do about them and who to call, they decided to leave, plodding very slowly down the driveway in a very orderly, single file. The bulk of the herd had to wait their turn to leave since although there was room in the driveway for two cows abreast they went single file (for some reason known only to the bovine mind) .

The line stretched all the way down the driveway and for the distance down the road that was visible from the front yard. It was quite a sight.

It took about 10 minutes until the last of the line disappeared down the road. I didn’t worry about them, they were pretty obvious and there was no traffic threat to them.
I never heard anything about them so they must have made it home just fine.

It was quite a surprise for sure. :yes:

[EventerAJ]

For future reference, most semi-tame cattle can be coerced into a general direction with a bucket of feed. Some of them are “truck broke” and recognize that pickup truck (or tractor) = food, and will follow a truck or come meandering over when you honk the horn.

[Wanderosa]

I don’t trust an intact male of any species!

Kidding aside, I’m very cautious around cattle I don’t know in general. Doubly so of herds of moms and babies. Even if there isn’t a bull in with them. I never go into a cow field without at least a sorting stick. I’ve gone out with a neighbor into his herd on an atv but generally prefer a truck or tractor so I can get a physical barrier between me and trouble if needed.

As others noted, dairy bulls tend to be very dangerous animals. Partially because they aren’t bred for temperment. But mainly because their smaller size and less bulky build makes them faster and more agile. Jersey are hands down the worst. Every farmer I know that milks Jersey uses AI instead of keeping a bull. Holstein are extremely tall, large-framed cattle but have a much bonier build than their beef cousins, making them fast enough to get you bad.

We had longhorn for seveal years. While they’re medium build and athletic they tend to be either independent personalities but curious of humans; or totally aloof and indifferent to you. They’re also 100% aware they have huge horns and the other cattle don’t and bully them. The older cows were quite handy at unrolling round bales with their horns. That was nice from the standpoint that I never needed a truck mounted hay roller. Not so nice because they taught the bull how to do it, too!

The bull was sort of dumped on me at one point. He was young and meek - poor soul once got pushed through the electric fence by the cows. He only made me nervous one time. It was during the polar vortex and I had to push a round bale into their field because the truck got stuck. I dumped some grain for them at the opposite end, opened the spring loaded “gate” in the hot wire. Had a sorting stick but needed both hands to push an 800 lbs bale up an incline. Suddenly, the bull was loping towards me. Head down, he rammed into the other side of the bale. I managed to grab my stick and keep the bale between us while I calculated how to get out and the electric fence back up after me. That was the day I decided to switch out all the stretch Hotwire gates for physical ones. If that bull had actually been gunning for me instead of excited about the hay, I would’ve been dead before I could get the wire closed up.

The longhorn around here wouldn’t worry me any more than an Angus bull. However, Corrienete look similar and are pretty wild and fractious. I’d be hella cautious of a Corriente bull. I had one cow rescued from the sale by a friend very sick. The only time I was able to touch her was when she was down and a few hours from dying. She hated me but it was bitter cold and I couldn’t bear the idea of her dying alone. So, I dragged a space heater and horse blankets out to the run in and covered her and eventually maneuvered her head onto my lap and patted her gently until she passed.

Just be careful. Sounds like your bull visitor was content to graze and unsure why he was unwanted! lol. Never a bad idea to get the owner out. Or drive out in a truck so you have metal around you if he gets upset. They do respect electricity - adding a Hotwire along the top of the physical fence should keep him out in the future.

[SuzieQNutter]

Do not approach a bull you don’t know on foot.

Only approach on something that will outrun him or you will have no way of getting him to go where you want. This includes a horse that can go and stop on a dime, a quad, a ute, a car, a motorbike or even a tractor.

[cutter99]

We have had a rule for years on our farm that we NEVER handle intact males alone. We have had both cattle and hogs, and there are always at least two people involved in moving them, breeding, etc. We have been incredibly lucky to have well behaved stock, but you can never take that for granted and get complacent.

I will never forget when we bought our first boar. My husband had been around pigs for years, and in fact has a PhD in swine reproduction, and knew what to expect, but it was all new for me. Our new boar was about a year to 18 months old, and came from one of the most reputable breeders on the East Coast, who my husband had known for 20 plus years. Frank was an old time farmer/ show pig breeder and knew his stuff. He took us to see the boar, then proceeded to load him onto an old horse trailer pulled by a tractor. He then backed the trailer right up to the back door of our trailer, and loaded the boar onto it without ever being in either trailer with the boar. After seeing how this was done, I was pretty sure we had bought a fire breathing dragon. Frank told me to never take for granted that this was a boar, and that means three things- you never trust them, you never turn your back on them, and you only handle them when carrying a pig board or pig pipe. Luckily, our boar was very nice and very well behaved, but I also remember what Frank told me and still take it very seriously.

[atr]

Yup, we have a large (several thousand acre) recreational rich person’s ranch behind us. They lease out the land directly behind us to someone who runs his cattle out there every summer.

They can’t, however, seem to keep their fences up. I’m awakened in the summer on a boringly regular basis by cattle of assorted ages and sexes under my bedroom windows, crapping in my yard and scaring my horses–to add insult to injury they sometimes have bells on…

There are a number of us on this side of the mountain who are less than thrilled by being intimidated on our own property by someone else’s animals.

The “rancher” was cranky and aggrieved when I called him at 5am one Sunday morning to tell him to come get his effing cattle before we had a barbecue… So we started calling the sheriff’s office instead.

I’m really hoping we don’t have to go through this nonsense again this summer.

[Xanthoria]

We came across a couple of angsty bulls (cattle and buffalo) on a ride in India in November. One of them charged the ride, but a couple of us charged back (brave horses!) and it gave up. I would not go near a bull of any breed on foot.

[S1969]

I had a similar incident recently but my bull was only 6 months old, so I was able to easily lure him into a paddock with some grain. He had escaped during unloading from a neighbor, and was exhausted and lost, and figured my horses seemed like cows too so he tried to get near them.

Another dairy farmer neighbor came and we tried to herd it into her trailer (4 of us) with absolutely no luck. Eventually she put a rope halter on him and had the biggest guy there pull while she pushed him until we got him in. Again - he was small…maybe 600 lbs. But still…it took nearly 2 hours in the pouring rain. Not fun.

My takeaway was - if I ever think I want cattle in the future…remember this day and never get them.

[skydy]

Back in the day, there was a bull with a few cows, they were beef cattle, that made a strange and loud shriek as I rode past him on a dirt road. The cattle were behind barbed wire.

Knowing very little about cattle I had no idea what he was trying to communicate but it didn’t seem like a happy noise. I took comfort in the fact that if he came through the fence my horse could probably out run him, but we didn’t linger. What is it with the shriek?

[skydy]

@Bluey

When driving pairs from the canyons to summer pastures in the plains, we had to manage thru some very narrow trails.
We always tried to keep bulls separated, so they would not spend time fighting.

This one time we had one way up front, another two somewhere in the middle.
The one in front must have decided the others were taking advantage, turned around scrambling on that narrow ledge trail and came running down it, knocking cows and calves around and hit one of the bulls so hard, it knocked him down the very steep drop a good 100’ down.
He then also fell right behind the other bull.

We just knew they were going to die, but once stopped, they both got up and ran at each other and continued fighting, silly things.
We hurried the rest up the trail and by the time we were on top, here came the two bulls, looking for their herd, no worse for the wreck.

It is unnerving when a bull decides to charge another and if you are in the way, they will knock the feet right out from under your horse.
Horses are not fond of bulls fighting and when some start, horses rather get far away from that.

Hereford bulls with horns, when young, get weights put on their horns to train them down and around, so they are not so dangerous to other cattle and humans and horses.
Here are some pictures from the internet showing a young bull with weights and how he should look once he will be grown:

Is weighting the horns easier than removing them?