Here are a couple 'Danger! Falling Cows' signs, which might seem comical, but really are posted in certain areas where cattle range because there have been instances of cattle falling from the cliffs onto roadways. The top sign was put up in Washington near Spokane where a cow fell on a vacationing Michigan couple's minivan in 2007.
I also came across this report that there were 108 deaths caused by cattle between 2003-2008 in the Midwest. Creepy, but interesting facts, leave you with the understanding of how important safety is when working with livestock. Especially important, is teaching safe handling practices to our children who get comfortable when they are around these large animals day in and day out.
In the two years we have been raising and showing cattle with our children, our daughter went to the ER when stepped on by her 1200 pound heifer her first year showing at fair, my niece broke off half her front tooth from her goat's horn, and most haunting of all, a friend from fair was critically injured and nearly died in July when he had an accident handling cattle at home.
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| This is a little embarassing after the fact because her injury was so blown out of proportion. She was in a lot of pain at first, and the paramedics on scene kept telling me she really should go to the ER by ambulance. I ended up taking her in my car because the chief paramedic finally concluded that she did not have a fracture or life threatening injury (I was worried about internal tearing or bleeding the way she was acting). I appreciated the chief warning me that it would be expensive and I could just take her myself. The others made it seem she was worse off that she was and she needed the ambulance. |
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| Love the boots--this photo has 'tough cowgirl' written all over it. |
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| Waiting for the doctor's examination with her little sister and cousin--looks like she's in a lot of pain now, huh? |
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| Diagnosis: Large Contusion Hematoma (aka--'a big bruise') on the left thigh |
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| Here is the bruise a week later. You can see the hoof print (see below). |
Lessons learned; cattle can be dangerous, so it is smart to have a healthy amount of fear and to always be aware and cautious as opposed to fearless. Some of the most dangerous situations are when cattle become spooked in new environments such as at shows, loading/unloading, or when around protective mothers with a newborn calf. We've found our calm cattle showing aggressive behavior when the dog is around, so we make sure to kennel our frisky lab before handling cattle. Selecting and breeding for temperament is important. Culling the crazy cattle that are flighty and spook easily is vital, especially when you are raising show cattle that will be handled by youth.
