a very brave cow horse.

I had a cow like that.. I still have her.. but hence the word HAD>.. she tried to chase off my horse once.. but she was FULL GROWN WITH horns.. Its worked.. till I turned my horse around.. ran straight for her.. she got her butt kicked.. brought my horses confidence up as well.. knowing.. that he could move her if he needed:)

I thought that was pretty damned funny. I have worked cattle all my life and seen this kind of thing happen a lot, but mostly with wild cattle, and full grown. If you handle a lot of cattle like that the horses learn how to deal with them and that they are likely to get charged and so learn to be on the lookout for it. I have had smaller ones have a shot at my horses a few times, they (the calves/weaners) learn pretty fast not to mess with a horse after a good bite or kick. I saw a really good example of a good cow horse annoyed at a steer one day when we were drafting a lot of cattle. The steer just wouldn’t cooperate and the horse got so pi@#ed at it it actually took a hold of it by the scruff of its neck in its mouth and dragged it where it should have gone. And it can be pretty funny to see the reaction of a gelding when you stand with a big mob of cattle at the gates to the yard to let them mother up before driving them into the yard and a calf decides its thirsty enough to get a drink of milk from anywhere, even a gelding; their reaction can be pretty funny.

I thought that was pretty damned funny. I have worked cattle all my life and seen this kind of thing happen a lot, but mostly with wild cattle, and full grown. If you handle a lot of cattle like that the horses learn how to deal with them and that they are likely to get charged and so learn to be on the lookout for it. I have had smaller ones have a shot at my horses a few times, they (the calves/weaners) learn pretty fast not to mess with a horse after a good bite or kick. I saw a really good example of a good cow horse annoyed at a steer one day when we were drafting a lot of cattle. The steer just wouldn’t cooperate and the horse got so pi@#ed at it it actually took a hold of it by the scruff of its neck in its mouth and dragged it where it should have gone. And it can be pretty funny to see the reaction of a gelding when you stand with a big mob of cattle at the gates to the yard to let them mother up before driving them into the yard and a calf decides its thirsty enough to get a drink of milk from anywhere, even a gelding; their reaction can be pretty funny.

LOL! We have been shipping steers and have them try to ride/mount someones horse. Makes for a good laugh, especially when that someone wasn't paying attention..lol

I agree wild cattle do get hot and have a tendency to come up a rope or try to make a run at you. But there is a difference between a horse just getting out of the way to avoid a wreck and a horse that has been in a wreck and is honestly scared and not confident in the situation. You can tell how serious they are about it, like the heifer in the video wasn't serious, she would die out as soon as the horse moved. She was training/moving the rider/horse rather than the other way around. It is up to the rider to know how to read cattle well enough to help a young horse through a situation like that.

I've never had a horse back off from a cow, so I can't really say anything other than it was funny and I really appreciate my pushy mares that will walk all over a cow or a bull if I ask them too!

We've had two horses (3/4 sisters to each other) that would NEVER back down from a cow. NEVER. They've gotten charged and hit before, and never moved a step. Those cows learned their place pretty quick. Those mares didn't take any $%!t from cattle. Darn good horses. (Granted, none of our cows have horns.)

And a couple others that would "get you the heck outa here" when a cow even just threatened to charge.

Now I've never shown a cow horse at a show. This is just a matter of working cattle on my parents' ranch. And to me, a truly good cow horse that is bred for it, probably would not have the tendency to back down. I would think they'd have the tendency like our two mares to have a natural ability to be the boss of the cattle, no matter what.

Off topic but, how do you get 3/4 sisters? They only have two parents. O_o
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My mare is probably one of the best cow horses I've ever ridden. She NEVER backs off from a cow....
But I can't even count how many times I have gone out to the stalls and seen her with her head hanging between the bars and my 2 stoopid cows or my calves licking her face or vice versa.....it drives me NUTS she LOVES cows.

But its a completely different story if she's got a rider on her back. Then she's all business.

Weve been out helping round up cows and if they werent moving fast enough shed take a chunk of hair out of their butts in a heartbeat. And she's super smart about roping as well.


That rider in the video just had no sense whatsoever when it comes to helping his horse deal with cows.