Having grown up in a rural area I was always taught to have a very healthy respect for cattle. We were told never to enter a field of cattle (or horses for that matter) without carrying a decent size stick.
Watch any cattle farmer, they mostly all carry sticks
and it is not because they need to lean on them!
Basically waving a stick at an inquisitive cow can give it enough pause to allow you to carefully move away, as most cattle have met sticks and are a bit wary of them. You do not want to hit it, or challenge it at all. However a stick can work like an extension of your arm and keep it at a further distance.
I pick a stick from the hedgerow if I come across a field of cattle, and leave it at the other side of the field when I leave for someone else to carry.
Remember to check the ground every time you enter a new field. Fresh cow pats are the best indication there is cattle in the area.
In one area I walked, the farmer had made a few 10’ square enclosures along the side of the footpath every few hundred yards. I was puzzled about these, and it took me a while to realise they were almost certainly refuges which people could duck into if they felt worried by his cattle.
Photo by Caner Candan on Unsplash
If you have an opinion you want to share, do let us know.