Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Horse dreams dashed, German teen turns to cow Luna

Just in case Moos didn't know:

"Anne Wiltafsky, who trains cows near the Swiss city of Zurich, said Luna's talents are not particularly surprising and that, historically, it was quite common to ride cows and use them as workhorses.

"Especially younger ones can jump really well," Wiltafsky said"

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By VERONIKA OLEKSYN, Associated Press Veronika Oleksyn, Associated Press – 53 mins ago


LAUFEN, Germany – When Regina Mayer's parents dashed her hopes of getting a horse, the resourceful 15-year-old didn't sit in her room and sulk. Instead, she turned to a cow called Luna to make her riding dreams come true.

Hours of training, and tons of treats, cajoling and caresses later, the results are impressive: not only do the two regularly go on long rides through the southern German countryside, they do jumps over a makeshift hurdle of beer crates and painted logs.

"She thinks she's a horse," the golden-haired Mayer joked on a recent sunny afternoon as she sat atop the impassive brown-and-white, grass-munching cow.

It all started about two years ago, shortly after Luna was born on the Mayers' sprawling farm in the hamlet of Laufen, just minutes from the Austrian border.

They started off with walks in the woods during which Luna wore a halter. Then Mayer slowly got her cow more accustomed to human contact and riding equipment.

About six months later, it was time to see how Luna would respond to a rider on her back. Mayer sat in the saddle, and all went as planned — at least at first.


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4 comments:

  1. I love it. I can tell you their ride is not as smooth as a horse but I guess in a pinch! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. Now there's a waste of steak...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm bettin' Bossie is real glad Moos' boys were past the wanting a pony stage before anyone saw this..

    ReplyDelete

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