A New Home For Malty
Malty is pictured here getting to know her new owner Debbie.
Mr. and Mrs. Baker came to the farm with their two young sons to possibly purchase Kaylee Cow. Although they were impressed by Kaylee, they fell in love with Malty (who was not for sale). Malty has always been a favorite of visitors to the farm, so their reaction was of no surprise to me. She is the "lap dog" of the bunch and has made many friends since we brought her home as a yearling.
They really, really, really wanted her to come home with them, but I explained that we thought she was going to have a calf soon.
Eventually, we realized that their home would be the best place for her and arranged to get her there before she had her calf.
The first attempt to load her was done by four ladies; Debbie, Rhonda (the owner of the trailer), her Mother and me.
We had her in the trailer -- no sweat -- then she turned around and ran out before we got the door closed! She was then running loose in the driveway...but (after some chasing), we watched her jump over the fence and back into the pasture. We knew she wasn't going into the trailer again until she calmed down. Besides, she was pregnant, so we didn't want to get her too wound up!
I was standing in this same spot later that evening when Malty jumped over the chin-high gate!
Later that evening, Tim came home from work and attempted to load her himself. I saw he was close, so I put the kids near an open window to watch and told them I'd come right back.
As I stood next to the gate near the trailer, Malty became anxious. She paced back and forth, then jumped up over that chin-high gate (on the opposite end from where I stood). Malty wasn't trying to hurt me, but keep in mind that these critters are BIG and STRONG.
When her full weight hit the gate, it fell back, throwing me to the ground. I found myself pinned there under the heavy metal gate. That's when I realized I was really hurt...
Tim came to help when I said, "I feel a little dizzy..."
That's when he spotted the blood going down my neck. I laid down, fearing I would pass out -- Tim dialed 911. As I fought to keep consciousness, Tim stayed at my side repeating, "Stay awake...don't close your eyes. You have two babies in there that need you. Stay awake..."
At the ER they gave me a CAT scan and X-rays of both of my legs.
I ended up with four staples in the back of my head and very ugly bruises on my legs.
Side note: Tim loaded her the next day ALONE with absolutely no problems.
Go figure