Trail Riding Through Cattle Pastures?

[BarnField]

Any tips or things to keep in mind?

I trail ride through a large pasture with cows, they appear to be adult females - they just stand and watch us go by…they seem perfectly docile!

No sign yet of a bull…however the spring calves are now getting larger…and on the last trail ride a few of them actually ran up towards us.
One or two actually ran up close, as though to challenge us? This somewhat startled my horse. I waved an arm and yelled “go away!” and they bolted away. I’m goign to assume these must have been the young males born this spring, whereas perhaps the young female calves and adult females didn’t care and ignored us.

As they get bigger …I might be worried

[katyb]

I’ve ridden in pastures with hundreds of cattle, with just one negative .)experience. That one time, a momma cow charged us. My horse spooked a bit, but it was not a big issue (but scary at the time!). Generally, they just watch you go by. My youngest horse used to work cattle while loose in the pasture, back before she was of riding age. That was really fun to watch. (They were my neighbor’s cows, and he found it amusing too, and we had permission to be there

[katarine]

What does the cattle owner say they are?

[kasjordan]

You ride through a cow pasture and don’t KNOW if there’s a bull in there???

[BarnField]

The landowner granted permission to me after he spoke with the person that keeps the cattle there. The cattle farmer told the landowner that he had no problem with it, so then the landowner gave me the approval.

Haven’t seen a bull there, does anyone need a bull anymore? Isn’t it mostly all AI now? (Beef cattle)

But, yeah, I would need a diaper if I did see one

[cnvh]

My first horse retired to my parents’ farm and was pastured out with a herd of cows, bull included. That horse (OTTB, retired eventer) took no crap from any of his bovine companions, bull included-- one day my dad watched the bull attempt to scratch his head on my horse’s hindquarters, Horse quietly took a few steps forward, then CRACK!! nailed the bull full-on with a double-barrel hind kick. :eek: Cows could be near him, but if they crowded his space, he let them know it in no uncertain terms. (Oddly, he was always SUPER with the calves though; they could hang out underneath his belly and he’d stand there happy as a clam.)

In my experience, most cows are curious but timid-- they’ll stare, they might come up hesitantly, but once the horse moves at them, they scatter. I would never trust a strange bull though!

[katarine]

I sold a couple of horses to a family that had bought a small farm of about 70 acres with 4 Longhorn steers as part of the package. Mostly because they were over 10 years old and hadn’t been handled since, well, a while ago.

Riding in that 50 acre front field with those boys made me scared as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs :winkgrin:. I always thought I was one moody moment away from being a memory.

[wireweiners]

Young calves of both sexes are very curious critters. They will often approach you just to check you out. Cattle of Brahma descent, imho, are more curious than other breeds. I used to check our young Brahma cross heifers just by going into the pasture and pretending to look at something on the ground. The heifers couldn’t stand it and would come over to see what I was doing.

Beef bulls, by and large, are pretty docile. An agressive, hard to handle bull or cow for that matter, usually isn’t tolerated on a ranch unless they are exceptional producers. They just aren’t worth the trouble. So unless you are actively harassing the bull or his herd, you shouldn’t have any problems. If these cattle are used to being worked from horseback, they shouldn’t even notice you much except maybe to move away as you approach.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

@BarnField;7141341

Any tips or things to keep in mind?

Yes. :yes: Cows are dangerous. According to this link, they kill 22 people a year just in the US!:eek:
(Of course, it also says horses kill about 20 people a year. :uhoh: But who’s counting right?)
Apparently British cows are especially bloodthirsty.

[wireweiners]

Well yes, cows are dangerous just like horses are dangerous by virtue of their size. Cows with newborn calves can be especially dangerous as they have the instinct to protect their babies. Most cows do not like dogs around their babies and will take steps to eradicate them. But if you use common sense, you can move around cows, especially on horseback without any problems.

Not to brag, but I used to be really good at penning cows on foot. Most of our cows were really docile and used to being fed by humans but a couple of them were hot. There really is a art to working with cattle. You have to be able to read them and know enough about cow behavior to use it to manipulate them. I have found that most people get into trouble when they 1) don’t respect that a cow/bull is a very large animal and can hurt you and 2) they get into a hurry and try to force the issue. If you take things slow and careful, you can move them around without too much difficulty. Over the years, I have dealt with many beef bulls, animals that weighed a ton or more. I have had dealt with only two really agressive bulls. One was a Santa Gertrudis bull that belonged to the college where I was an ag student. His name was Godfrey from OMG, he’s free. He earned that moniker when he got out once and was in the president of the college’s yard eating his wife’s roses. The other was a beautiful Simmental bull that my Dad bought as a herd bull. He got bully home, unloaded him in the corral where bully promptly jumped out and then went through the fence into the neighbor’s pasture. The neighbor penned him for us and that’s when we found out bull was dangerously agressive. He was promptly re-loaded and taken to the sale barn. I always respected and liked all our bulls,

[Painted_Horse]

I’ve never had a problem with cows or bulls. We frequently ride on Forest Service land where cattle are spending the summer on grazing permits. These are pretty wild cattle, not being fed or handled by humans for months at a time. Most ranchers keep a bull or two with their cows so they keep them bred. The bulls are pretty lazy, they for the most part just ignore us as we ride past. As long as we don’t crowd them. The cows and calves are more attentive. But mostly they scamper off as we ride past.

Wild Buffalo cows will do this as a protective measure, Forming a wall of cows with the calves behind them. They will march toward the intruders to intimidate and drive them off.

[callidorre]

[QUOTE=wireweiners;7141584]
Young calves of both sexes are very curious critters. They will often approach you just to check you out. Cattle of Brahma descent, imho, are more curious than other breeds. I used to check our young Brahma cross heifers just by going into the pasture and pretending to look at something on the ground. The heifers couldn’t stand it and would come over to see what I was doing.

Beef bulls, by and large, are pretty docile. An agressive, hard to handle bull or cow for that matter, usually isn’t tolerated on a ranch unless they are exceptional producers. They just aren’t worth the trouble. So unless you are actively harassing the bull or his herd, you shouldn’t have any problems. If these cattle are used to being worked from horseback, they shouldn’t even notice you much except maybe to move away as you approach.[/QUOTE]

Completely agree with this. I don’t know anyone personally that keeps an agressive bull. I never even think of them as being agressive unless someone mentions it like the post here. Don’t harass the herd and you should be fine. We’re allowed to ride in the neighbor’s cow pastures that are next to the barn I board at. There’s actually two horses in there too. Those cows don’t pay attention to us at all. Only problem we had was when there was only one horse before they got a second one and she followed us all around. Nothing agressive on her part, I just had trouble cantering without it turning into a race between my horse and her. Lol. Now that there’s 2, they don’t seem to care either. At my friend’s family farm, we ride in their pastures. The cows and bulls just stare at us. The calves are generally more curious and might walk a little closer and make noises.

[cowboymom]

Bulls in with cows are docile and sleepy, cows and calves are curious and love to check out anything new and different and really push the personal space boundaries while their curiosity draws them in and then they LOVE to all spook at the same time and run away with their tails in the air woohoo!!

I never worry about riding through cows; riding through horses is much more dangerous.

[Ridge_Runner]

I agree about beef bulls…not much to worry about there. I have a bull, some cows, heifers and calves on my farm and they are quite mellow around the horses…more timid than the horses and will generally give way to the horses if approached.

[BarnField]

i do like the cows and my horse loves them! I think the calves just startled us a bit with their different behavior. Jut didn’t expect it.
And, yes, I hate more than anything trail riding thru or past a HORSE pasture - go figure. the horses in the field get crazy seeing someone new go by, which in turn make my horse a little silly.

[rtph]

I’d rather deal with a bull anytime than to have to deal with a mad mama cow. But they don’t go looking for any fight. Just leave the babies alone.

One of my family members just had a wild whitetail doe attack his dog over her little fawn. She was about to stomp the dog. He had to chase her away.

[Equibrit]

The only times my horses had a big problem with cows they were weaner Friesians. The whole herd would crowd the horse to check it out - but horses were totally bugged out and ran. One horse was so spooked he breasted and scrambled over a barbed wire fence, resulting in roadside repairs by the vet.

[Painted_Horse]

Took this photo for you today. We stumbled across a couple of bulls laying in the shade, One of our riders circled around him to give his horse a little cow work. Was not out bull, so we didn’t want to be chasing him or pushing him into a different area. The bull just stood up and moved out of the way and we went past.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/2013/IMG_1698.jpg

[BarnField]

[QUOTE=Painted Horse;7153105]
Took this photo for you today. We stumbled across a couple of bulls laying in the shade, One of our riders circled around him to give his horse a little cow work. Was not out bull, so we didn’t want to be chasing him or pushing him into a different area. The bull just stood up and moved out of the way and we went past.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/2013/IMG_1698.jpg[/QUOTE]

Gorgeous pic, PH! You ride thru some very pretty countryside!
Thanks for the story

[Appsolute]

I ride out all the time with a herd of cows, their calves, and the bull. Never a problem, the calves can be very curious and will touch noses with my horse (I have been even known to gives the calves treats).

The bull pays us no mind, and I can move him with my horse if I have to. I just make sure not to find myself on foot when he is around, always feel safer on the back of my horse.