Cows see the world diffently to us. Understanding how they do will make working with them easier, less frustrating and safer. It will also make it much better for the cows.

Use the 3 P's when working with cows.

PATIENCE. Cows see the world differently to us.

They can see all around except for a blind spot behind themselves.

But they can only see with both eyes a small zone in front of themselves. YOU NEED TO ALLOW THEM TIME TO UNDERSTAND THEIR SURROUNDINGS ESPECIALLY WHEN SURFACES CHANGE. An example of this would be going from the laneway to the yard.

And they can't see the ground below them without moving their head to face the ground. IF YOU FORCE COWS THEIR HEADS COME UP AND THEY CAN'T SEE WHERE THEIR FEET ARE GOING. This leads to stress for them and is a major cause of lameness.

They also see movement differently. Rapid movements are jerky and threatening to a cow. MOVE SLOWLY AND METHODICALLY WITH COWS.

Cows have very sensitive hearing although it can take awhile for them to locate where the noise is coming from. They don't like loud noises and high pitch noises. DON'T YELL AROUND COWS OR USE HIGH PITCHED WHISTLES.

They also have very good smell and cows will deficate and urinate when they are scared and the other cows will smell the fear.

FOR ALL THESE REASONS BE PATIENT!!

POSITION. We talk about the cows point of balance. This is an imaginary line through the cows shoulders like this. If you get in front of this she will turn and go back away from you. If you are behind it she will walk forward.

We must get our position right to get stock to move in the direction we want.

PRESSURE. We must understand how to put pressure on cows to get them to move once we are in the right position. Position gives direction. Pressure gives movement.

All cows have a flight zone. This is an area around them that they will feel uncomfortable if you enter it and they will move away. We use entering the flight zone to create pressure to move cows.

The flight zone will be different for all cows. Cows that are comfortable around humans and have had good experiences will have a small flight zone. Some cows will even let certain people pat them in the paddock.

Cows that are stressed or have had bad interactions with humans will have large flightzones.

So we apply pressure to cows by moving into their flight zone so they move away. If we have got our position right when we apply this pressure the cows will move in the right direction.

Understanding cows and using the three P's makes for safer, less frustrating handling for both the cows and us!