At 15:45 this afternoon, the cattle were gathered at the side of the pond, resting in the sunshine. They were all friendly, taking turns to step forward and say hello, happily accepting a few head strokes. Unfortunately, the sunshine had brought out the flies, but the cattle didn't seem too bothered. Steer 200 was quick to position himself for a shoulder rub, which I was only too happy to provide.
After our initial greetings, the cattle soon gathered around me to relax and chew their cud. They were happy to stand close and appreciated having the flies gently brushed from their eyes. Cow 201 is normally a little shyer than the others, but today she was very relaxed and happily enjoyed some neck scratches while resting. Steers 200 and 208 both enjoyed long back scratches. By 16:20, steers 200 and 207 had drifted off to lie down and relax in the sunshine, while cow 201 and steer 208 moved under the shade of the trees, where they continued to chew their cud.
I noticed that steer 200 had some damage to the outer claw of his left forefoot. A section of the hoof wall at the toe has broken away, leaving a partially detached flap of hoof horn. Although he didn't wander too far today, he was still walking tentatively on his front feet, but his walking was nowhere near as bad as last weekend. He also hesitated for a few minutes before lying down. Once he was lying down, I noted that the detached flap of hoof horn extends to the edge of the sole. I have included a few photos for reference.
I said my goodbyes shortly after 16:30, leaving them resting peacefully.
There was still plenty of drinking water in the pond, with the level looking similar to last weekend. Before leaving, I took a walk over to the Fire Hydrant sign to check the water levels, where I found plenty of water remaining in both the main pool and the surrounding run-off areas.
With the exception of steer 200, the cattle were all good today.
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