Don’s “Up-Lifting” Experience

In most cases, life with our Tibetan Yaks has been….educational, to say the least. But the other day, Don had a most unusual experience. One that neither he – nor I - will soon forget.

He was out doing the chores, and stopped by the bullpen to see what “Billy” was up to. Billy is our beautiful Yak bull. He truly is a “Yak,” for the females are actually referred to as “Naks.” We also have a little yearling bull, but Billy really has a formidable-looking set of horns, and is a magnificent-looking specimen.

When Don got to the pen, he noticed that Billy had entangled himself in an old electric fence wire. He may have somehow pulled it off the side of the old steel shed. He had it wound around his hind leg, and was in such a panic that he was actually falling on the ground, trying to get away from the terrible-awful creature that was gripping him.

Don went over the fence and pulled a tool out of his pocket, as he was planning on cutting the wire to set Billy free. But as he got closer to Billy, he decided that this was probably not a wise decision. Our Yak have not been handled, prior to moving to our farm. Therefore, they are a little flighty and extremely unpredictable. And Billy, being a bull, is even more of a threat. So Don began to back away from Billy, and before he got to the fence Billy yanked free from the fence wire, and spun around. And charged.

Now, I was walking away from the chicken house on the other side of the barn. I had no clue that Don was even outside, let alone in any kind of trouble. But then I heard Don yell “YOU…(I’ll leave this part up to your imagination) …” and it did not sound like his normal voice. It was more like: a shout of pain, of shock and disbelief…and maybe even a little bit of fear thrown in there, somewhere. I don’t remember doing it, but I must have sat the egg basket down, as I noted afterwards that none of the eggs were broken. All I really remember is running as fast as I could (not easy with my back problems, let me tell you) and peeling around the corner of the barn. I started shouting his name before I even got there, and when I did, I couldn’t see him anyplace. But then he answered, and all he said was “STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY!” But I climbed the Yak fence, and saw Billy with his head/horns lowered, facing Don who had his back against the inside of the fence. He was sort of crouched, and he was holding his leg. All I knew was that he was hurt – and trapped. And then I did something that I never would have though possible. I decided right then and there that I was going in. There was absolutely no fear. All I knew was that I had to save another human being, and there was simply no fear at all. So I started going over the fence.

But Don starting shouting “NO! JUST STAY WHERE YOU ARE! DON’T COME IN!” never taking his eyes off Billy. I trusted his judgment, realizing that Billy probably would have, at that point, gone for Don. And it would have been all over with. So, I picked up weeds, twigs, rocks, clods of dirt, whatever I could find. And I started throwing them out at Billy. He was so far away from me that nothing actually came into contact with him. But, he did turn his head and look at me and at the objects that were landing several feet away from him. This did the trick, as he was now distracted. And Don was able to make it back over the fence. I still don’t know how he managed to get over that fence. Because Billy had gotten him with his horn just inside his left thigh, yanked it all the way up to his groin, and thrown him 2-3 feet up into the air. He scraped and bruised the whole inside of his thigh.

You know how bull-headed (pardon the pun) that Donald is, but he finally did agree to come into the house and sit down in the recliner. I took out a pound of frozen hamburger, wrapped it in a dishtowel, and had him place it on the (ur, um) most tender area of the encounter. And he came out of the whole ordeal with nothing but scrapes and bruises. And I think the bruising might - or might not - include his pride. And, needless to say, we both have a great deal more respect for Big Bad Billy. I can still call him over to the fence and scratch inside his ears and lull him to sleep by rubbing his forehead and his big, lovely eyes. But there will always be the memory of that fateful day, and Don’s close encounter. I guess that you could say that he had quite an “up-lifting” experience!!!

Billy, just waking up from one of our "ear-scratching" sessions!