Good observation. Really not that strange that cows and horses have different kinds of bodies, though. They developed to do different things, survivalwise.
Horses protect themselves from predators by being "flighty" and explosive. If a lion or wolf were to attack a horse herd they kick hard if the poor predator is dumb enough to get close and then the horse flock accelerates like heck to get away. (You must have experienced this at a riding lesson.) Not many lions and wolves can keep up with a horse at full gallop.
Cows, on the other hand, stand their ground and face an attacker head on when they see one. As the lion or wolf gets closer the cows and bull put the calves in the middle and bunch closer together to make a big, protective wall that turns to stay facing the predator. If the predator gets close enough the bull or the mamma cows lower their heads and try to catch them under the belly with their heads and horns (if they have horns) and toss it up into the air. When the predator lands on the ground the next move is to move in quick and trample it into the dirt. This means that adult cows and bulls have to have strong neck muscles and a strong insensitive body.
Watch Athena next summer when she tries to get close to the cows and you can see some of this. Athena's way of deealing with this is to get close, bark in their faces, and then dance from side to side. When the cows try to keep facing her they come out from their buddies and expose their sides. As soon as that happens Athena makes a fake at the side of the cow, who then feels too threatened and turns away from the dog to get back to her buddies. Athena then ducks down and pretends to bite at the rear heels of the retreating cow to hurry her along. She thinks it's fun to outsmart the cows and wags her little stub-tail the whole time. When the whole thing is done she gets really cocky and celebrates by taking a huge bite out of the nearest, freshest cow pie she can find. Yum, yum.
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Dearest Marty,
Good observation. Really not that strange that cows and horses have different kinds of bodies, though. They developed to do different things, survivalwise.
Horses protect themselves from predators by being "flighty" and explosive. If a lion or wolf were to attack a horse herd they kick hard if the poor predator is dumb enough to get close and then the horse flock accelerates like heck to get away. (You must have experienced this at a riding lesson.) Not many lions and wolves can keep up with a horse at full gallop.
Cows, on the other hand, stand their ground and face an attacker head on when they see one. As the lion or wolf gets closer the cows and bull put the calves in the middle and bunch closer together to make a big, protective wall that turns to stay facing the predator. If the predator gets close enough the bull or the mamma cows lower their heads and try to catch them under the belly with their heads and horns (if they have horns) and toss it up into the air. When the predator lands on the ground the next move is to move in quick and trample it into the dirt. This means that adult cows and bulls have to have strong neck muscles and a strong insensitive body.
Watch Athena next summer when she tries to get close to the cows and you can see some of this. Athena's way of deealing with this is to get close, bark in their faces, and then dance from side to side. When the cows try to keep facing her they come out from their buddies and expose their sides. As soon as that happens Athena makes a fake at the side of the cow, who then feels too threatened and turns away from the dog to get back to her buddies. Athena then ducks down and pretends to bite at the rear heels of the retreating cow to hurry her along. She thinks it's fun to outsmart the cows and wags her little stub-tail the whole time. When the whole thing is done she gets really cocky and celebrates by taking a huge bite out of the nearest, freshest cow pie she can find. Yum, yum.
Dad
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