I see it over and over in the
horse world. People think that all animals are trainable and if they aren't
its the trainers fault. This attitude developed somewhere after the 1970's
with "horse whispers" and baby boomers. In the day horses were used or sold
off, things were different. So many think they are a failure with cattle
because they believe they are all created equal.
Mankind as a whole does not
want to make friends with their food. How many farm kids tell the tale of
sitting down to dine on their pet? It was a horrible childhood experience for
them. 4-H kids send their pets off to slaughter, and they cry every year
because of it. We as a species do not want to breed our food to be pets. There
for not all cattle are the same. Some breeds have been bred as food, they are
not genetically predisposed to be used by mankind as draft, saddle mounts or
anything else that has to deal with becoming fluffy the wonder cow just
because you raised him as a calf. Genetics do play a part in what that calf
will become.
For some reason we understand
as humans that a hunting dog is bred to hunt, a gaited horse is bred to gait,
but we have trouble understanding that some breeds of cattle, in stereo type,
are bred for food, not the companion of man kind. Breeds such as Dairy have
been bred to get along with man, we need them placid and kind in order to work
with them, milk them and be safe while doing so. For hundreds of years some
dairy breeds have been genetically culled and bred for their ability to work
with man. Beef breeds on the other hand are just that, beef. Some breeds are
dual purpose, such as the Longhorn and hold some of the highest numbers as
riding steers in the US. Even with in the Longhorns there are family lines
that those who ride look for. Just like rodeo people have learned to breed the
buck in, some Longhorn breeders are breeding the buck out. Yes, there are
people breeding for riding steers. These animals are also placing extremely
well in confirmation shows as well due to the fact you must have good
confirmation and breed type to be a riding steer.
Knowing that not all cattle
are created equal should help some just starting to choose that new calf with
open eyes and encourage them to gain knowledge before wasting their time, and
breaking their hearts, or worse. Yes, the above is a stereo type. I have
people write me all the time telling me Im wrong. I wish just once one of
those people would send me a photo of them and that calf I was so wrong about
years later, under saddle. However to date that hasn't happened yet.
When getting started people
tend to choose the cheap, or available calf. They believe that if they just do
good enough it will work. You can spend years on a bad one, finely to give up
all hope of that dream ride, or you can spend every moment making progress
with a good one. What I have written here is to same some the feeling of
failure that truly is not their failure to do anything other than to have
chosen the right calf to start with.
We are not all created equal,
and neither are our animals.
There is nothing wrong with
that.
