Walkers beware

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by CurreHound

The land is for the cows that is the point. Maybe if the cow was in your garden attacking you you would have a point!

And please remember that if the land is not used for cows it will be very quickly under development or intensive arable crop which wipes out wildlife for good and you certainly wouldn't be able to walk there then.

No and yes..
I would rather the land was NOT for intensive agriculture, I would rather not see fields of animals because I know what's going to happen to them. Originally most of the UK would have been woodland... but yes if it's not farmland, golf course, SSSI or whatever you're right..it would probably have a housing estate on it.

[The Black Rabbit]

I know I shouldn't laugh currehound.
I'm sorry. I find all this funny.
I guess I'm lucky in that I've never had a problem with cattle, horse or sheep.
(Maybe it isn't luck actually).
Doug

[The Black Rabbit]

Originally Posted by The Black Rabbit

I know I shouldn't laugh currehound.
I'm sorry. I find all this funny.
I guess I'm lucky in that I've never had a problem with cattle, horse or sheep.
(Maybe it isn't luck actually).
Doug

OR STOATS!

Stoat or Weasel??

Doug

[almostnormal]

having been chased by numerous farm animals i feel a tad sorry for this chap, but having said that, most of the time i find shooing them away gets rid of most of them, and running very quickly allows you to escape its not at all funny, but sadly i have a little cartoon of a herd of knobbly kneed cows chasing an equally knobbly kneed person across a field in my head now!!

[Gill Catton]

I'd be interested to know what the breed of cow was, I remember reading that charolais can be quite nasty.

I grew up in the countryside and so since childhood I have been walking through fields of animals, I have never had trouble with horses, not ever, they just want to follow you and investigate to see if you have polos in your pocket, I just keep walking and they soon lose interest once they realise I'm not stopping. Aggresive horses are so much in the minority that I have never come across one - at least not one that was aggressive towards me in a field. Perhaps because my sister was a groom and I learnt from her how to behave around them.

With regard to cows, I always walk near to an escape route and generally won't go into a field of cows with calves or bull unless I can walk right next to a fence and again I have never had any trouble - again the cows just seem to want to follow you - curiosity not aggression.

I have had trouble with a friend's sheep but they were hand raised with no fear of humans just an association with food and lambs but their mother very hard to get food from her and transfer this behaviour to humans! I walked very quickly through that field sometimes with said sheep in hot pursuit.

I find it suprising that a farmer had a problem with you smacking a cow to get past Sven I have help move cows in the past and the farmer dealt out massive thwacks with a bit of hose to keep them moving and often they still defiantly remained in situ munching on their choice bit of greenery - these are not soft animals!

[nightshade]

Like people animals have their quirks,be circumspect,two of us in a field were surrounded by young steers that started to become boisterous.
I led the retreat through a hedge and insisted on my companion following, he
was bemused and did not see why I wanted out of it but did as I requested
the same animals later trampled the farmers wife to death

[mh68]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

I'd be interested to know what the breed of cow was, I remember reading that charolais can be quite nasty.

I grew up in the countryside and so since childhood I have been walking through fields of animals, I have never had trouble with horses, not ever, they just want to follow you and investigate to see if you have polos in your pocket, I just keep walking and they soon lose interest once they realise I'm not stopping. Aggresive horses are so much in the minority that I have never come across one - at least not one that was aggressive towards me in a field. Perhaps because my sister was a groom and I learnt from her how to behave around them.

With regard to cows, I always walk near to an escape route and generally won't go into a field of cows with calves or bull unless I can walk right next to a fence and again I have never had any trouble - again the cows just seem to want to follow you - curiosity not aggression.

I have had trouble with a friend's sheep but they were hand raised with no fear of humans just an association with food and lambs but their mother very hard to get food from her and transfer this behaviour to humans! I walked very quickly through that field sometimes with said sheep in hot pursuit.

I find it suprising that a farmer had a problem with you smacking a cow to get past Sven I have help move cows in the past and the farmer dealt out massive thwacks with a bit of hose to keep them moving and often they still defiantly remained in situ munching on their choice bit of greenery - these are not soft animals!

Your own post answers why you havent had any problems Gill - you know how to behave around these animals and treat them with respect,sadly a lot of people dont and thats where the problems start.

Mark H

[greenyonder]

and to think when i was a little lad, some "err" 40 years ago,i used to go chasing cows for fun with other kids!,just goes to show their nothing more than leather clad yobs!!! LOL.

[Kirric]

i have done quite a bit of hiking through many areas and, inevitably through fields with cows in- once getting chased by the cows (and bundleing over the stile quite hurridly for some of that group)now i am cautious- i keep to the edge of the fields and away from the animals and try not to attract their attention, so we can pass quietly through- and are ready with an alternative plan if the animals don't appear friendly. What i do and the rest of the guys i go walking do is respect that the farmers have allowed us to walk across their land- but we have to respect it- don't litter, don't disturb the animals, try to keep to the path etc. and if the animals decide that they don't like you and become a danger to you, then tough- it's a no go. Anyway unfortunatly there are a lot of walkers who go ahead and don't understand this sort of thing- so if they get chased etc it probably means they got too close or were shouting loudly and generally being an intrusion. ( in the incident i mentioned at the start of this post we had a couple of yper girls in the group who decided that something about a field of cows that appereared to all be looking at you was funny)
just to sum up- if a farmers allowed acsess through a field first be greatful- cus they could have said no and secondly- give them some repect! - it's still their field and if they are using their land for their animals and those animals don't like you, then you'll just have to find a different route

[Coley]

Originally Posted by CurreHound

over twenty species of butterly

Would that be utterly butterly by any chance lol (no insult intended)

Originally Posted by CurreHound

A smile and a greeting and passing the time of day commenting on the beauty of the land around can make a farmer very proud and friendly. And then he may show you some things you would never know were there.

I suppose you could take that the wrong way lololol