When I'm hitching a Highland steer to a cart or heaving a saddle onto Finn, a 2,000-pound Highland steer, a visitor is liable to ask, “Does he mind that?” The answer reveals something interesting. If they didn't want to play along, they'd let me know—swinging horns, kicking up heels, and disappearing across the pasture. They don't. They like working with humans.
However, this isn't true for every bovine. Some want nothing to do with people, and that's perfectly fine. As long as they aren’t aggressive, we let them be. For example, Mason the bull is happy to spend his days in the herd—wooing the cows, eating hay in winter and grass in summer, and keeping his own counsel.
On the other hand, some cattle can't get enough of us. Scottish Highland steers Bleu and Finn wait at the gate to entertain guests in the Ultimate Cow Experience. They munch carrots that visitors feed them and dip their heads when brushed. They step forward on command and halt when I say so.
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Years of training cattle have taught me about motivation and cooperation, and produced three rules.
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Carole Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm, in Loudon, N.H., where you can have an Ultimate Cow Experience and hug a Scottish Highland steer. She can be reached at carole@cow-coach.com.
