Seeing the Barnyard in a New Way

"Anything you can do, we can do better."

Stephanie Hurd said that from the seat of a cart hitched to a Scottish Highland steer. She wasn't bragging. She was just right.

Stephanie is an Assistive Technology and Activities Specialist with Future In Sight, whose mission is to advance the independence of people who are blind or visually impaired.

"Each summer we pick a theme to explore," she told me. "One year it was the New Hampshire rail trails, then gardens, and this summer we chose farm experiences." Which is how, one July afternoon, eighteen people from all over New Hampshire ended up at Miles Smith Farm for the Ultimate Cow Experience.

I'll admit I was apprehensive. What's the point of a cow experience for people who can't see the cows? I said yes anyway, figuring I'd learn something. That part I got right.

Half the group was sighted helpers who described the animals they met, including Curious Bleu, our one-horned steer, calves, and Owen, who pulled a cart. Owen gave a cart ride to Stephanie, who also has vision loss, and her blind companion Jan. I led Owen around the barnyard while Stephanie steered.

"Sitting in the cart, I could just reach out and touch Owen," Stephanie said. "He was right there. I could feel the texture of his coat."

Suanne, who had lost her sight, was joined by her husband. He rested her hand on Owen's back and guided it along the harness, up his neck, to his horns.

"Oh, his horns stick out straight," she said.

Owen stood there and let her explore his face. He didn't swing his head. He didn't shift his feet. He didn't do a single one of the things a steer is entitled to do when a stranger touches his face.

A favorite activity was feeding carrots. "It took trust," Stephanie said. "What if they munched on a finger instead of a carrot?"

Fair question. Bovines don’t have bottom teeth, but they do slobber, especially when eating carrots. No fingers were lost, but not one hand came back dry.

The only obstacle to a good time came from Owen, who chose the middle of the walkway to deposit a fresh pile of manure. Word traveled fast. There was laughing, there were course corrections, there was a great deal of specific navigational advice — until I turned up with a manure fork and ended the drama.

Turns out you don't need to see a cow to know one.

You definitely don't need to see the manure.

Carole Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm in Loudon, N.H., where you can visit the farm on Aug 29 from 1-3 p.m for the Cow Crew Experience. Carole can be reached at carole@cow-coach.com.