I was going up to shut the gate in the pasture after milking the other day, when I noticed a trail of blood. I was greeted by quite an unhappy sight when I discovered the source of the trail. Penelope apparently got in a tussle, and lost badly. Her left horn was already weak from a similar incident a couple weeks ago, and got fairly crushed.
There are a lot of blood vessels in the horn, and it can be dangerous to the cow if they get hurt and the bleeding doesn't stop, so I brought her back into the barn for some patching up. She was obviously in pain, and it's difficult, because you can't really communicate what you're trying to do or that you're trying to help. The key is patience, with the understanding that they have no idea what's happening. Andrew is well-experienced, and we soon got her bandaged up and resting in the barn.
I debated whether or not I should post about this, since it's not the most pleasant of things to see, but it did happen and it had to be dealt with, and this blog is dealing with my whole farm experience, not only the nice things.
In other news, I have now been here 3 1/2 months, which marks the halfway point in my time here. In some ways it seems like hardly any time has passed, which is strange because sometimes the days seem to last forever. Sometimes I am quite lonely, being so far from everyone I know and somewhat isolated by circumstances. However, I am extremely glad to have this opportunity, and this immersive way of learning is exactly the best way for me to absorb information. Here's to finishing out the season as well as we've started!
In other news, I have now been here 3 1/2 months, which marks the halfway point in my time here. In some ways it seems like hardly any time has passed, which is strange because sometimes the days seem to last forever. Sometimes I am quite lonely, being so far from everyone I know and somewhat isolated by circumstances. However, I am extremely glad to have this opportunity, and this immersive way of learning is exactly the best way for me to absorb information. Here's to finishing out the season as well as we've started!