Mr. Boo Has an Owie
When I went to the barn this morning to feed hay, I discovered Mr. Boo, my big herd sire, standing at the top of the hill near the front cattle guard. He often stands close to where I pass, so I thought nothing about it.
With my chores done, I started for the house. I was surprised to see Mr. Boo in the same spot. This was unusual for he almost always goes to the barn accompanying the few cows showing up for hay.
I stopped to talk to him. I was surprised when he limped on his right front foot. I got off and walked around to that side to see what was wrong.
I really didn’t think he’d let me pick his foot up in the same manner as I do the horses but I had to try. I was right. He wasn’t going to give me that foot. But when he stepped sideways, I got a glimpse of the bottom. Nothing was visible to give me a clue as to what was causing him to limp. There was no blood, no scrapes, and no cuts. There was a slight possibility he had hoof rot in the flesh between the two sides, though I saw nothing to indicate such an infection.
I put a scoop of gain in a rubber feed pan, and took it down to him. Needless to say, he immediately waded in. With lots of green grass available in the pasture, he wasn’t suffering from lack of nutrition. Evidently, we both felt a little grain for the hurt leg was appropriate.
After he’d finished his grain, I returned to check on him. He’d moved down on the hillside. I half expected him to stand on three legs, but he stood on all four. I again tried to pick up his foot. No such luck.
Since he was standing very quietly and patiently, I reached down to see if I could find an injury or sore place on or around his hoof. Putting one’s hand and fingers around the large hoof of a ton of bull, requires a certain amount of trust, both from the bull and from me. He never moved a muscle but stood quietly.
I ran my finger underneath the back of the hoof and felt for injury or infection. I pushed my finger forward as far as I could reach between the two halves. There was no blood, and no heat from infection. When I pushed on the lower part he didn’t flinch. The injury was elsewhere.
Sharon would have been rightfully concerned if she saw our bull limping, so I took her down to visit. Mr. Boo was lying down. He had his right front leg folded back under him. This put the hoof upside down, resting on the ground in plain sight. I was able to give it a thorough examination. I felt all over his leg. There was no obvious injury, which left me with the idea of a sprain. While I examined the bull, Sharon proceeded to wipe his eyes clean. He doesn’t allow her to pay him this kind of attention very often so she was pleased.
As we walked toward the house, one of Mr. Boo’s offspring, a smaller version of the old man, walked over to the herd sire. With obvious concern and caring, he checked him all over, even giving a lick or two to old Dad.
I think it is interesting that when he hurt he came to the house to stand near the road. I must assume he wanted me to see and take care of the sore leg. There are no obvious symptoms except for the limp. This is not something I can treat with anything more medically based than a few good scratches under the chin, a little grain, and a vigilant eye for changes.
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