01-08-2010, 04:48 AM
Dave M, my 84 year old mother had snow on Christmas Day in Stephenville, Texas. Although they get snow just about every year out there, this was the first white Christmas since she was about five. When I was there for Thanksgiving, I got to drive to the DFW airport through a blinding snowstorm which fortunately did not stick to the road. I was glad to get back to balmy Puna.
Having grown up on a ranch with 1600 cattle, I have a lot of experience with cows. They can be pretty dumb, but the main reason they don't break the ice on the water troughs is the way their front legs are built. If the trough is more that about 18 inches high, they can't paw at it like a horse which has differently structured joints on the front legs. Cows are more adept at kicking with their hind legs, which are quite good at dealing with pesky humans, but not much use for breaking ice. We had quite a few cows that were only safely approachable from the side. They can hook you with the front end and kick with the back. (Speaking of getting hooked, the 'Horns really let me down yesterday. Too bad about Colt.) I have seen cattle break the ice on shallow water in tanks (West Texan for ponds) and take a drink. Ours were clever about one thing, though. We had one barren 2200 acre pasture that could support about 200 cows. The only water source was almost two miles from the grassiest area, so the cows would leave all the young calves with two or three of the oldest brood cows and go drink the water. When they finished they would go back and nurse the calves while the babysitter cows went and got a drink. Otherwise they are pretty stupid and make good dinner plate material.
Cheers,
Jerry
Having grown up on a ranch with 1600 cattle, I have a lot of experience with cows. They can be pretty dumb, but the main reason they don't break the ice on the water troughs is the way their front legs are built. If the trough is more that about 18 inches high, they can't paw at it like a horse which has differently structured joints on the front legs. Cows are more adept at kicking with their hind legs, which are quite good at dealing with pesky humans, but not much use for breaking ice. We had quite a few cows that were only safely approachable from the side. They can hook you with the front end and kick with the back. (Speaking of getting hooked, the 'Horns really let me down yesterday. Too bad about Colt.) I have seen cattle break the ice on shallow water in tanks (West Texan for ponds) and take a drink. Ours were clever about one thing, though. We had one barren 2200 acre pasture that could support about 200 cows. The only water source was almost two miles from the grassiest area, so the cows would leave all the young calves with two or three of the oldest brood cows and go drink the water. When they finished they would go back and nurse the calves while the babysitter cows went and got a drink. Otherwise they are pretty stupid and make good dinner plate material.
Cheers,
Jerry