Hey everyone!

Ok so this week I will be talking to you about a habit I had that originated from a ‘truth’ that was drilled into me, which turned out to be false. But to tell this story so that you all will understand I will have to back track so bear with me (and my story) and I promise it will all make sense eventually.   

Bundaberg Christian College (BCC) has an agricultural farm connected to the school. On that Ag farm are crops and cattle. The cattle belong to a stud named Oakwood Limousins (no not limousines; the long cars) that is owned and run by a man named Nev. The students from BCC can participate in a cattle program called Hoof ‘n’ Hook. In this program the students learn to wash, groom, clip, feed, handle, show and judge cattle. And the students that are talented at these things become part of the ‘show team’. I was one of those lucky students that became part of the show team (the biggest show I went to and showed cattle in was Beef week in Rockhampton in 2009). But I won’t be talking about the showing side of this story, instead I will talk about the training the cattle to get them to show standard. Before we go any further I just want to show you some of the cattle I got to work with.

This is Oakwood Native Teerz and her calf, Supreme Champion in four different shows and Champions of Champions in the interbreed tricolour event at Gympie (2011).

This is Oakwood Rukas, Reserve Champion and Champion Bull as well as one of my favourite boys.

And finally Oakwood Premier without her calf (I am NOT in this picture). There are a 100 or so animals on this stud but these are just the ones I have photos of.

When an animal is first broken in it can be an extremely wild ride. There are a few golden rules that you stick to no matter how wild they get.

1.      Always be aware of the animal.

2.      Always have contact with the animal so that they are aware of where you are.

3.      Stand as close to the animal as possible so that in the event that they kick you, no serious injury will occur.

4.      Don’t yell or wave your arms around in any way (as it would give the animal a reason to take fright).

5.      Hold onto the lead rope and don’t let go even if you get dragged.

*There are a few more rules but they don’t matter in this story.

All of those rules were habits of mine, taught to me by a senior who was taught by a senior when she first started. So I guess it was also a bit of tradition too. Anyway, anytime I was around cattle (rank or calm) I would do these things. But let’s focus on number three ‘stand as close to the animal as possible so that in the event that they kick you, no serious injury will occur’. We had all seen people who had gotten some pretty bad injuries from being kicked when they weren’t close to the cattle so it made sense that the closer you were the less it would hurt (less distance for them to get momentum) we all accepted the rule was true.

Of course I had to be the one to prove how incorrect the rule actually was. I was pushing up (a term used when you walk behind an animal to keep it walking) a Black Angus heifer (not a breed we had a lot of) for a friend who was struggling to keep her walking.  I did what I had been doing for three years, I lent against the heifer getting ready to lift her tale (doing so gets them to walk, either that or hitting them on the rump). Then the ‘insert swear word here’ double barrelled (a term used when the animal kicks out with both hind legs at the same time) me, impacting right underneath my left boob.

 It felt like my chest had been flattened onto my heart and my lungs lost all their air in an instant. I couldn’t breathe and everyone had thought I had died or something. I was rushed to hospital where I had a million and ten tests and x-rays. I was diagnosed with severe internal swelling and bruising and had to stay in hospital for a while. This happened right after I was selected to go to Beef week and for a while there were debates as to whether I had recovered enough to perform at such a large event but luckily I was able to go.

I got seriously injured while operating under a ‘truth’ that had grown from tradition and discipline that had become part of my daily practise that had no evidence base for the practise. I had gotten seriously injured while staying as close to the animal like I was taught from the senior and repetitively reminded to by Nev, which had become part of what I did every day. This rule had never been tested until I got injured therefore there was no evidence prove the rule.

After my injury the rule was still drilled into students but the wording changed. Now it was ‘standing as close to the animal as possible will reduce the risk of serious injury’, as he could no longer say that ‘no’ serious injury would occur. I proved that one wrong.

And what happened to the heifer you ask? Well she tasted great as a steak sandwich we had at the end of year break up for Hook ‘n’ Hook. Nev made sure I had the first bite her.     

Amanda :)