Cow Bells

[cjchambers]

A little while ago before Christmas, I was walking on the edge of the North York Moors and came across a herd of fairly rustic wild-looking cattle. A few of them were wearing cow bells. It was a lovely sound and quite familiar, probably from all the cycle racing I watch on TV!

But it suddenly dawned on me that this is actually very unusual in Britain and something I've never ever seen or herd before - has anyone else ever seen British cows with cow bells on?!

I'm also not clear on the purpose of the bell - is it to scare predators? Help the farmer find his cows in the fog? Or something else?

[Cyril Haearn]

Certainly might help finding cows on the Alm, summer pasture in the Alps
At the start of summer the cows are dressed up for the Almauftrieb, ascent to the summer meadows, at the end of the season is the Almabtrieb, ceremonial descent
Like in Wales, Hafod (summer house), Hendre (old house lower down)
OS maps show lots of Hafods and Hendres

[Paulatic]

rustic wild-looking cattle

I’m hooked...Did they have horns?
Were they a solid colour?
Were they hairy?
The closest we have to wild cattle in the UK is the Chillingham herd in Northumberland.
Bells are indeed rare and as there won’t be any predators in the North York’s Moors I think you can rule that out. If they were on difficult extensive ground they might be to help find them. If they were in an enclosure then maybe the owner likes the sound of bells.

[cjchambers]

Certainly might help finding cows on the Alm, summer pasture in the Alps
At the start of summer the cows are dressed up for the Almauftrieb, ascent to the summer meadows, at the end of the season is the Almabtrieb, ceremonial descent
Like in Wales, Hafod (summer house), Hendre (old house lower down)

Funnily enough, I mentioned the cowbells to someone at work who used to live in Switzerland and he got very excited about these rituals. I think he used to get the day off work for it! Here in the North East I think the terms are inbye (in the valley, nearer the farm) and outbye (up on t'moors)

I’m hooked...

They were moderately hairy, dirty white but no horns. Other than the lack of horns, they did look a bit like Chillinghams. I wish I'd taken a photo really, but it was getting dark and I needed to keep mooving.

[Paulatic]

Were you near Danby?

I’m wondering Whitebred Shorthorn

[cjchambers]

I was on Scarth Moor Wood between Osmotherley and Ingleby Arncliffe. It's National Trust land, actually - linked to Mount Grace Priory, I believe.

[Paulatic]

I’ll stick with my whitebred shorthorn or their crosses Blue Grey
Think this might be your man https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/en ... -1-6168195
No mention of bells other than by name.

Osmotherly had a renowned CTC tea house I went there in a sidecar on a tandem as a baby but I’ve no memory of it.

[PDQ Mobile]

Indeed unusual in the UK.
To locate animals on large unfenced pasture is almost certainly the original purpose.
Fences are rare at altitude- they get destroyed by large snowfall.

There are refinments too.
So individual bell tones can tell an owner where his animals are in mixed pasturage sometimes.
And unusual behaviour of the herd (cattle or sheep) is also conveyed to the trained ear.
A running or disturbed herd has a very distictive sound.

I have heard it said dairy cows like it and give more milk.
After all, that Glastonbury chap played rock music to his cows and said the same, so maybe!?

[francovendee]

I'd be interested why the cows are wearing bells.
One farm here had some of their cows wearing bells but after a couple of years this had stopped. I've asked a Brit. friend who's family reared cows and he didn't have any answers.

[Vorpal]

I'd be interested why the cows are wearing bells.
One farm here had some of their cows wearing bells but after a couple of years this had stopped. I've asked a Brit. friend who's family reared cows and he didn't have any answers.

Maybe they had a couple of runners & either they sorted out the social issues in the herd, or found another solution to keeping them home?

[Cyril Haearn]

They are musical instruments too, and help the animals to stay together
Bells have been worn by sheep, lamas, elephants
Senior beasts might have bigger, deeper-sounding bells
The bells are works of art/craft too

One may still spend a summer up on the Alm, awful hard work but some people love it, might be a good change from la France profonde for you, francovendee

Thread Drift to history: not so many years ago people in Switzerland were poor, working on the steep meadows it was best to secure oneself with a rope
One farmer lost two wives, they fell off the steep meadow

[Vorpal]

I'm also not clear on the purpose of the bell - is it to scare predators? Help the farmer find his cows in the fog? Or something else?

In Norway, they are used on sheep & goats, as well as cows. The main reason is to find them on open pasture, where they are left in summer. I think the bells are normally put on the herd leaders, if they are not used on all.

There is an expression in Norwegian 'Vi henger bjella på feil ku' (we are hanging the bell on the wrong cow), which means that the focus is on the wrong thing.

[Cyril Haearn]

More norge sayings please
In German we say 'I put my money on the wrong horse'

[Paulatic]

With sheep it’s a bellwether of course.
Back in Yorkshire, when I wer a lad, we referred to them as snow ploughs. No bells on them but were worth keeping as they were strong and would plough through the snow making a way through for the rest of the flock.

[mattheus]

Thread Drift to history: not so many years ago people in Switzerland were poor, working on the steep meadows it was best to secure oneself with a rope
One farmer lost two wives, they fell off the steep meadow

Did he rope them together?