[Jacob-list] crow for dinner

[Susan Nielsen]

On Tue, 22 Jun 2004, Penelope wrote:

>... having been rammed, he's had to fight the ram once he has the
> horns, work to hang on until he is on the other side of the gate from the
> ram.

It's my feeling that taking a ram by the horns is about the surest
way to get yourself injured. As you describe, they are enormously
strong in the neck, and you are putting yourself right in the path
of his greatest asset in a dispute. And once you have hold of his
head, you cannot let go.

If you take him from the side, he will not be expecting it, and he
really has no means of defeating you from that approach.  If you can
either push him hard from the side or, in an emergency, grab him
by the fleece on his back and pick him up, you will win. (Ok, so
it's hard on the fleece; we are talking about an emergency here, and
the damage to the fleece is unimportant if a ram is challenging you
with his head). Or trip him by kicking his legs out from under him.
Anything to get yourself out from in front and get him moving in a
direction he does not anticipate. If you watch young rams sparring,
you will notice that when one of them gives up, he turns broadside
to his aggressor. Force a ram to deal with you from the side, and
you are already in the winning position.

I was never so surprised as the day I found myself reacting to a
ram charge in the breeding paddock. When he got very close, I stepped
to the side, picked him up and dropped him back down. He landed
broadside, and I'm sure he was as astonished as I was. I admit that
normally I cannot pick him straight up, but adrenalin is a marvelous
chemical.

After his brief experience of flight, John got up and trotted off to
feed.

Learn judo.

Susan
--
Peace also takes courage.