Post by jamshundred on Sept 1, 2014 12:55:56 GMT
In the media section there is a thread regarding dehorning of cattle. Since the moment I first read the initial question and the answers that followed I have been troubled. Hard as I tried not to. . . my mind kept returning to visions of horror. There were two reasons for my upset. One is the dread of knowing another animal is likely to experience the pain and terror of being mutilated for no rational sustainable reason. . . and the second is personally troubling. . I did not respond on the thread. . .. purposely. . . . and it is unlike me to keep silent. I shun politically correct, I do not fear repercussion or retaliation and this IS an issue of which I am usually very outspoken and yet I said nothing!
I realized yesterday i was just tired. Tired of the cruelty and ignorance of my fellow man of which I do not have the power or influence to effect.
And tired of often being one of only a few voices willing to shoulder repercussion for opinions more should be voicing. Dexters are YOUR breed too and the few of us trying to save them in their original design are far too few. Sometimes we have to find or renew our courage along the paths of others. That happened for me yesterday.
It has been my policy for years to never sell a horned animal to anyone who wishes to have a dehorned animal and especially whom I believe would take the horns off an adult animal. It IS torture. Make NO mistake about that! I read the stories and the "it only bothers them a short while then they go on about their lives" is just a fallacy. An excuse to justify the torture. Have you ever had surgery? Were you blessed to be unaware of the painful invasion because you were anesthetized, ( cows are rarely ever and when they are it is not sufficient) but when the anesthesia wore off you prayed for medication or to be unconscious again? Did the effects eventually go away? Forever? I bet not. I bet you anything that there are forever changes in your anatomy and even in your psyche. It is the same for that cow or bull you just mutilated.
How many who take the tools of torture to a cow or bull do so with no thought beforehand of the torture they commit and would shudder, and lament against the same being done to a human? Can a man not associate having his testicles banded and wearing them until they fall off? Can a woman not associate the dehorning with having her fingernails pulled from her hands? Do you really think people that " you eventually get over it". Just like a cow. . . the pain will subside . . . . however, the effects of the surgery will continue to the end of your life both emotionally and physically.
My first steer. . . . years and years ago. . . . had horns. When he was just six or seven months of age I had the vet come to dehorn and castrate him. He was tied to a post and the vet used a two-handled instrument to gouge the horns. It was a quick procedure on each side. .. . . . and yet. . . . . I shall never erase from my memory the gut wrenching bellows that poured from his throat as he thrashed and tried to escape the torture. That bull calf moaned for hours. When I turned his mother in with him she went straight to him, still tied to the post for a recommended time after the procedure. She laid her head across his shoulders and one could see the very evident and undeniable effort of a mother to comfort a son in misery. The experience was imprinted on my very soul. It was the first time I realized that cows were not just "animals". Since that time I've had any number of occasions to understand they are no different than humans . . . . they also think. . . and feel. Unlike humans they cannot verbalize their intelligence.
Do you believe as I do that there are no coincidences in nature? Do you not know that the horns on a cow have purpose beyond just the simple means to protect themselves and their young? They do. It is known the horns of cattle serve as a "radiator" controlling the body temperature. It is believed the horns have other purposes related to cosmic energy and wisdom.
I see fearful owners who have purchased cattle in this rare HORNED breed who do not understand and do not bother to learn the stewardship of horned cattle using time-worn excuses like, " she has horns and uses them", as the primary excuse for the torture they will commit or have committed. Please explain. Of course she has horns and of course she will use them. YOU may not understand the language of horned cattle. . . but they do. . . as nature intended. ... so YOU need to learn about the cows. Stop being ignorant and fearful. If you have a cow that you truly believe would come after you and harm you with those horns. . . .then GET RID OF HER because she will come after you and harm you without the horns just as easily. Good grief.
If you have cows that are using their horns and doing more than just scratching the hides of their herd mates in their never-ending struggle for dominance in the herd or the feed trough. . . then get rid of that cow. ...give them more space. . .or decrease your numbers. It is YOU who is creating the problem. If you are fearful. . . then YOU need to educate yourself regarding horned cattle and their habits. The problem is YOU. .. not the horns.
" Why", I often ask myself do Dexter owners NOT protect the identity of their horned breed as Longhorn and Highland owners do and have? Why do YOU obliterate the very essence of your breed by removing their beautiful and identifying horns?
It is not the singular change taking place. . but a significant one.
So. over and over in my head went the thread about dehorning. I cannot relate in words the frustration with myself for being silent because I felt helpless to make a difference. Ahhhh, . . . . . . I forgot a life lesson I know so well. . . . "when the student is ready the teacher will appear".
I was merely "on hold". . . . .waiting. . . . .. .
In my mailbox on Saturday appeared the current issue of Acres USA. and while having breakfast yesterday morning I began to turn the pages and read the articles. Like am miracle from heaven the teacher appeared! Page 78, an article by Will Winter, DVM.
The article was titled, " The Art of Cutting Things Off". Buried in comments regarding dehorning of cattle was this reference, " Steiner believed, and I imagine he's right, that the horn is an "antenna" for all animals. The antennae receive cosmic energy and perhaps wisdom about migration, breeding season and more". Hmm. Steiner?
" Who is Steiner", I thought? " Google, . .. .google will answer my question" came to mind immediately as my fingers searched the keyboard. And sure enough. . .. the teacher appeared. Please read this!
www.earthhaven.ca/why-cows-need-horns-c553.php
Earth Haven Farm - Why Cows Need Horns?
Judy
I realized yesterday i was just tired. Tired of the cruelty and ignorance of my fellow man of which I do not have the power or influence to effect.
And tired of often being one of only a few voices willing to shoulder repercussion for opinions more should be voicing. Dexters are YOUR breed too and the few of us trying to save them in their original design are far too few. Sometimes we have to find or renew our courage along the paths of others. That happened for me yesterday.
It has been my policy for years to never sell a horned animal to anyone who wishes to have a dehorned animal and especially whom I believe would take the horns off an adult animal. It IS torture. Make NO mistake about that! I read the stories and the "it only bothers them a short while then they go on about their lives" is just a fallacy. An excuse to justify the torture. Have you ever had surgery? Were you blessed to be unaware of the painful invasion because you were anesthetized, ( cows are rarely ever and when they are it is not sufficient) but when the anesthesia wore off you prayed for medication or to be unconscious again? Did the effects eventually go away? Forever? I bet not. I bet you anything that there are forever changes in your anatomy and even in your psyche. It is the same for that cow or bull you just mutilated.
How many who take the tools of torture to a cow or bull do so with no thought beforehand of the torture they commit and would shudder, and lament against the same being done to a human? Can a man not associate having his testicles banded and wearing them until they fall off? Can a woman not associate the dehorning with having her fingernails pulled from her hands? Do you really think people that " you eventually get over it". Just like a cow. . . the pain will subside . . . . however, the effects of the surgery will continue to the end of your life both emotionally and physically.
My first steer. . . . years and years ago. . . . had horns. When he was just six or seven months of age I had the vet come to dehorn and castrate him. He was tied to a post and the vet used a two-handled instrument to gouge the horns. It was a quick procedure on each side. .. . . . and yet. . . . . I shall never erase from my memory the gut wrenching bellows that poured from his throat as he thrashed and tried to escape the torture. That bull calf moaned for hours. When I turned his mother in with him she went straight to him, still tied to the post for a recommended time after the procedure. She laid her head across his shoulders and one could see the very evident and undeniable effort of a mother to comfort a son in misery. The experience was imprinted on my very soul. It was the first time I realized that cows were not just "animals". Since that time I've had any number of occasions to understand they are no different than humans . . . . they also think. . . and feel. Unlike humans they cannot verbalize their intelligence.
Do you believe as I do that there are no coincidences in nature? Do you not know that the horns on a cow have purpose beyond just the simple means to protect themselves and their young? They do. It is known the horns of cattle serve as a "radiator" controlling the body temperature. It is believed the horns have other purposes related to cosmic energy and wisdom.
I see fearful owners who have purchased cattle in this rare HORNED breed who do not understand and do not bother to learn the stewardship of horned cattle using time-worn excuses like, " she has horns and uses them", as the primary excuse for the torture they will commit or have committed. Please explain. Of course she has horns and of course she will use them. YOU may not understand the language of horned cattle. . . but they do. . . as nature intended. ... so YOU need to learn about the cows. Stop being ignorant and fearful. If you have a cow that you truly believe would come after you and harm you with those horns. . . .then GET RID OF HER because she will come after you and harm you without the horns just as easily. Good grief.
If you have cows that are using their horns and doing more than just scratching the hides of their herd mates in their never-ending struggle for dominance in the herd or the feed trough. . . then get rid of that cow. ...give them more space. . .or decrease your numbers. It is YOU who is creating the problem. If you are fearful. . . then YOU need to educate yourself regarding horned cattle and their habits. The problem is YOU. .. not the horns.
" Why", I often ask myself do Dexter owners NOT protect the identity of their horned breed as Longhorn and Highland owners do and have? Why do YOU obliterate the very essence of your breed by removing their beautiful and identifying horns?
It is not the singular change taking place. . but a significant one.
So. over and over in my head went the thread about dehorning. I cannot relate in words the frustration with myself for being silent because I felt helpless to make a difference. Ahhhh, . . . . . . I forgot a life lesson I know so well. . . . "when the student is ready the teacher will appear".
I was merely "on hold". . . . .waiting. . . . .. .
In my mailbox on Saturday appeared the current issue of Acres USA. and while having breakfast yesterday morning I began to turn the pages and read the articles. Like am miracle from heaven the teacher appeared! Page 78, an article by Will Winter, DVM.
The article was titled, " The Art of Cutting Things Off". Buried in comments regarding dehorning of cattle was this reference, " Steiner believed, and I imagine he's right, that the horn is an "antenna" for all animals. The antennae receive cosmic energy and perhaps wisdom about migration, breeding season and more". Hmm. Steiner?
" Who is Steiner", I thought? " Google, . .. .google will answer my question" came to mind immediately as my fingers searched the keyboard. And sure enough. . .. the teacher appeared. Please read this!
www.earthhaven.ca/why-cows-need-horns-c553.php
Earth Haven Farm - Why Cows Need Horns?
Judy
