Re: RC: Re: RE: tripping

[BMcCrary27@aol.com]

In a message dated 10/05/2000 1:05:22 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
greymare@jps.net writes:

<< Then again, I find
 roping of calves for sport rather cruel also......... >>

Being in the cattle business, I can offer some input here....cattle are much 
less sensitive than horses in that they don' t hold grudges and their 
behavior is not warped by crude handling.  Also, their hide and bodies are 
much tougher.  A cow crashes through a barbed wire fence and comes out the 
other side with nary a scratch, but a horse's hide would be ripped to 
shreads.  I've never seen a cow with a broken leg, either, though we did have 
a bull once who had a damaged shoulder from fighting with another bull.  He 
lay in a spot on the hillside under a tree for several weeks, and I took feed 
and water to him twice a day.  Then one day, when a seductive heifer came 
within recognition distance, he got up and went in pursuit.  We used him for 
a few more years, and we could see his shoulder was impaired (he "packed" his 
front leg from the shoulder), but the heifers didn't know that and 
apparently, neither did he.  
I feel  much more sympathetic towards horses, because they are more sensitive 
and intelligent.  Cows have native savvy (where is food and shelter?), but 
they are not very responsive to any attempts to train them for anything other 
than coming for something to eat.  We rarely drive our cattle from horseback, 
they are all programmed to come to the sound of a Dodge diesel engine and 
alfalfa hay rustling.  I wouldn't worry too much about calves being roped, as 
far as hurting them or disturbing their psyches.

Barbara