Cattle Wranglin'

Another cow practical left me sore again.  The first of two Cattle Handling practicals (adults, not babies) was not only a challenge, but a lot of laughs.  The goal of this first practical was to learn how to control a cow while it was in a crush so that you can examine it or give it treatment.  A crush is a popular device used for cows and is effective in keeping them in place with a fair amount of built-in restraint, but still allows for some movement, so we were taught how to handle them in the crush.  A crush looks like this:

They are relatively secure from side-to-side, but can move their head and neck up/down and side to side.  So, you have to get your back up against the crush so you are facing forward and you loop an arm over their nose and under their chin. The idea is to bring their head to the side and get them to 'relax'.  We then had to stick our a thumb in the corner of their mouth, which got them opening it, and then you could slide your opposite hand in their mouth at the end of their jaw (to stay away from the dangerous molars).  You can use this hand to cover their tongue and then grab it and pull it out one side of their mouth. The idea is to be able to get a good look inside for examination.  If all goes well, it's brilliant.  After a few students have tried this technique, however, the cows get smart and start to either put their nose to the ground or once you get a hold of them, it's like a roller coaster ride and you better be flexible and hang on.

We also learned how to insert a gag, which is a device that slides in between their molars on one side of their mouth. It has a loop you put over your wrist just in case the gag goes into the depths of the cow's throat that you cannot reach, then you can simply pull it out!  The cows were not too crazy happy about being gagged, but I was successful in getting the monster-head one gagged and a real sweetheart of one as well. 

We were also shown injection sites, how to install a kick guard, how to use a pulley system to lift a leg and some other handling tips.  It was an amazingly relevant practical, very well taught and lots of hands on.  I was sore by the time I left the farm and felt like I had gone 10 rounds with a heavyweight the next day!  It was a great sore. 

I know I've said it before, but I am a huge proponent of these practicals.  They keep my eye on the prize and keeps me wanting to study hard and learn more and more. There just does not seem to be enough time in the day for all that I want to read! 

It's now Saturday and I've had such a productive day. Last night and ALL of today, I worked on my anatomy workbook.  It is a record of all of our dissections and is quite time consuming. However, it is also a different way to study and reinforcing that I am actually learning so much. 

I'm now catching up on some TV...Ramsey's Best Restaurant is one of my favorites right now.  I'm missing my Food Network fix from the US, but they do have Gordon Ramsey (Hell's Kitchen) here and he has a couple of shows.  I also am becoming attached to Jamie.......Jamie.....oh, I forget his last name, but he's from the UK and very popular in the US as well. I just finished wathcing a whole series of him trying to save the most unhealthy city in the US...it's in WV.

That's all for now. Till next time...Over-N-Out.