A man in a dark plaid shirt and brown cowboy hat is grooming an adult Highland cow with golden-brown coat in a rural farm setting, surrounded by bare trees and greenery under diffused light. 2:34
Hamish and Kyloe's Thistle Do Farm channel icon Hamish and Kyloe's Thistle Do FarmOriginal creator 1M views Save

Brushing a Highland cow with polite horns

Hamish is a Highland cow at Thistle Do Farm, and on grooming day he doesn't bother getting up. He settles into the grass and lets his caretaker brush. more

The man with the brush works calmly and talks as he goes. Someone once asked him whether he has ever been poked by those long horns, and the answer is no. A Highland generally knows where the tips of its horns are, he explains, "kind of like us knowing where our fingertips are without having to look down."

So if a cow does poke you, chances are it was on purpose, and he calls that unacceptable behavior. A bump from the side of a horn is something else. Now and then a cow does that, usually just to get his attention.

Hamish, meanwhile, is busy with a snack. At one point the caretaker tells him to take that grass out of his mouth. "You look like an idiot," he adds.

These cows can run 25 to 30 miles an hour, he says, and getting caught by one out in a field would be "like being run over by a Honda Civic." Luckily, Highland cattle are one of the most docile breeds in the world.

Their manners show in small moves. While he brushes, Hamish often turns his head away from him. The caretaker reads that as respect, a cow keeping the dangerous parts away from the man beside him.

A man in a dark plaid shirt and brown cowboy hat is grooming an adult Highland cow with golden-brown coat in a rural farm setting, surrounded by bare trees and greenery under diffused light. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Hamish is a Highland cow at Thistle Do Farm, and on grooming day he doesn't bother getting up.

Look closely as he moves around Hamish and there's another one. The big head lifts, just enough that a horn won't swing into him. As the caretaker puts it, they don't want to give him the idea that they're trying to hit him.

A man in a hat and jacket brushes Hamish, a large brown Highland cow, with a grooming tool outdoors under a clear sky. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Hamish keeps his horns clear while his caretaker brushes him.

Then the brush reaches under his jaw, and Hamish tips his head toward it and looks up, as if to say that's the spot. When he finally stands, he turns out to be a lot bigger than he looked lying in the grass.