Farm Life

I’m a bull.

No, not the animal…my zodiac sign is a Taurus. Not that I’ve ever put much stock into such pseudoscience crap, but, both my mother and my sisters do. When you grow up around it, I guess it sorta starts to stick.

We live on a cattle farm. My plan had been to leave years ago, but when my father passed, I knew my mother and sisters would never be able to manage the land and animals by themselves, so here I was; a 25 year old farmer, with no sight of leaving in the near future. Not that I ever would have said a word to my mother, but this was definitely not the life I ever wanted.

However, that all changed when I got Ryder. Though we already had a couple of lovable collies, they weren’t very effective at keeping predators, or frankly, anything away. Not only did we have a pack of coyotes that had recently taken up close residence, but the kids of some local, country, roughnecks had decided that trespassing on our property and tipping cows was their new favourite activity. So, one day, in a fit of rage, I searched the internet for the two most effective predator deterrents; a donkey, or a llama. Instead, I found Ryder.

Ryder was a bull too; young, still technically a calf, but old enough to have a small set of potentially dangerous horns. The farm family who currently had him found he was acting way more aggressively than they could handle.

Perfect.

I picked him up that day, and brought him home without so much as a warning. Not that this was a surprise to anyone anymore… I ran the farm, and I alone decided how to keep it going.

Ryder was not happy at first; especially when he found he couldn’t attack me without getting a nice zap from the cattle prod. Not that I ever used it when it wasn’t needed, but, I can’t deny, there was a good feeling whenever that bull backed off. It made me feel powerful, to control such an animal.

Then one day, he heard me use it on one of the cattle. I had been doing some hasty repairs on the side of the barn, and failed to notice the proximity of one of my cows. Before I knew it, she was unintentionally coming close to pressing me up against the wall. I needed to somehow prevent her 600 pound frame from crushing me; Ryder however, did not appreciate my method.

When he heard the high pitched bellow of the cow, he came running. Up until this moment, I hadn’t really noticed, on his part, any particular fondness for the herd; he usually kept his distance from them. When he heard this sound however, he came charging…and fast. Luckily, I was able to hike myself up and away from the reach of his horns, but for once, that cattle prod offered no protection. I had fucked with a member of his herd, and nothing was going to stop him from protecting them.

Though his anger and aggression was directed at me, for the first time, I actually appreciated it. This was a creature who would protect every one of his ladies, even if it caused him pain or discomfort. The situation felt almost...familiar.

From that day on, things were different. My attitude around him had completely changed. Being regarded as alpha male no longer seemed like such a necessity, and on his end, well…he was smart enough to understand that screwing with me, would cause him a lot of discomfort. We developed what I would describe as a healthy respect for one another. I became more patient with the animals, and they in turn became calmer around me.

One day, about two weeks after Ryder arrived, I had asked my sisters to bring me some crab apples from our orchard. Though they had always loved feeding the cows, now that the bull was around he was very touchy about strange people approaching the herd. He recognized me as the one who cared for them everyday, but my mother and sisters he did not trust near as much.

I was in the middle of hand feeding some of the cows - something I’d never cared to do before - when I felt something slimy on my arm, and a sharp tug on my t-shirt sleeve. I turned my head quickly, and froze.

Ryder was right beside me. He’d gotten my shirt in his mouth, and was gently nibbling it. Though my initial instinct was to grab for my prod, I suppressed it, and instead, slowly reached my other hand around, and offer him a single, small crab apple.

His wildly long, alien like tongue coiled out, almost enveloping my whole hand.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

He finished the apple quickly, and moved in closer for more. This time, I grabbed a handful and held them out, while placing my hand on his head. This time, he froze for a split second, before eating the apples, and allowing a small scratch on one of his little horns. I didn’t push it past that, but something in me shifted drastically in that moment. To earn the trust of this creature was really something special.

Ryder taught me a lot; both about myself and nature. Maybe it was from all the years of isolation, but I started seeing myself very strongly in this bull… and, amazingly enough, he started making me feel like I wasn’t wasting my life.

I’d had so many dreams and aspirations, and had become so bitter because I thought this farm would prevent me from ever reaching them. Ryder taught me that sometimes, what you think you want won’t always be the key to your happiness.

One day, I was doing some work around the electric fence that surrounded the corral. Being just a quick fix, I decided not to turn the electricity off; big mistake! I got zapped, and although I didn’t have it turned up high enough to hurt a cow, the shock was definitely strong enough to get a scream out of me.

Once again, Ryder came charging. Immediately, I looked around for my prod, but it was nowhere in sight. I threw my hands up to protect myself, but no contact was ever made. When I lowered my arms, Ryder was still standing in front of me, sniffing, poised to attack, but not directed at me. It seemed he was almost…guarding me?

It took me a second, but I realized he was defending me…from what, he didn’t know, but he knew he heard me cry, and he came to help. If I’m being honest, it almost got a tear out of me. I had not only earned his trust, but his dedication. Something I truly had not expected.

A bull will literally dedicate their life to protecting those around them; they’re loyal, stubborn, and fiercely protective when a loved one is threatened. Once you reach past the tough exterior, and earn their trust, a bull will be your best friend. I’ve come to realize, bulls and Taureans aren’t really all that different.