Herding bulls a different animal

There’s a saying about herding goats, and I’ll wager it’s not unfounded given the few goats that I’ve had the opportunity to meet. Plenty of herds of livestock must be directed and handled. Cattle are the sort that I’ve punched more than any other. It varies from place to place and herd to herd, but over time you find that there are some basic principles that stay consistent across cattle-coaxing situations.

One special sort of situation is the rare occasion when the herd is nothing but bulls. Full-grown, notably gigantic, beefy, male bovines... are not exactly your average herd. A normal ranch herd is made up mostly of cows, sometimes the calves and proportionately few bulls. Gathering this common herd configuration is most often with the intent of working the calves in some way. Certainly, it is usually about the calves and/or the cows. It is less about the bulls and so even their presence — and frequent lack of cooperation — can be overlooked if it becomes too inconvenient in interfering with the real goal of the day’s work. You’ll leave a bull behind if you have to, even as you’ll chase all but the most insane cow or calf.

But sometimes it is about the bulls — and bulls are a different animal.

A cow is big, and on occasion, nuts. But a bull is bigger — and more likely to surprise you, even without being of a bad disposition. Bulls seem big and slow-moving, and that does seem to be the preferred mode most of the time. But that mass of beef is a lot of muscle. When they decide to move, they move fast. When they decide not to move, they don’t.

To work around bulls on foot is strange work. You work slow and calm and with a good special awareness of where the nearest fence is located. It’s usually just fine, but the knowledge of how quick it can go bad makes it a different state of mind.

You can’t fight a bull — and dodging isn’t fighting.

If you’re on foot, you escape. Then, if that’s what needs to be done, I’ll go get my big horse. As long as the bull doesn’t have horns to stab with, we’ll just see who’s more stubborn and get the job done.

If the cowboy ways don’t work, then it can get inventive. Sometimes a rope has to be tied to something stronger than a horse; notably, when the bull thinks that it is a hippopotamus.

Audra Brown is more stubborn. Contact her at: [email protected]