"Be a cow and a horse" is an idiom handed down from ancient times, which means being enslaved, oppressed and exploited. It is often used as a line in literary and artistic works, such as "Be a cow and a horse, and repay your kindness!" Used to emphasize a low and miserable situation.
There is no doubt that cows and horses have been conspicuous slaves for thousands of years. But we have to notice that compared with some "little guys" such as chickens and rabbits, cows and horses are not very weak animals, and people are obviously no rivals in this respect, so their slave status is worth pondering.
...
In the long years, it is certainly not aimless for humans to raise some specific animals. There are two conditions: easy to tame and control, and high economic value-except for individual pets, usually both conditions must be met.
The economic value of cattle is really high. It can provide vital agricultural labor for a long time, feed a large family, feed the whole society, and also provide meat, milk, skin and horns. A cow from birth to death, almost no waste, a great contribution. However, economic conditions are not limited to cattle. Many animals in nature are "valuable", such as tigers and leopards (figuratively speaking). Even in the era of unprotected numbers, they are more than N times more valuable than cattle.
Easy domestication and control is the basic condition, and the "six beasts" and all kinds of pets have such "advantages". Animals that attack people or escape at any time are actually not suitable for breeding-even if they are kept in cages, they should be careful.
Bison, the ancestor of yellow cattle, was an influential animal on the mainland before the rise of human beings, weighing more than 1000 kg, with a sharp head and fierce temperament. Once a conflict occurs, it has a strong lethality to human animals, and the ancients thought it was "out of control".
But then the cow was tamed. In fact, the means are not too complicated: from childhood, hunger, cow nose rope, whip.
Adult bison are basically out of control, and it is difficult to control them. Even now, smart humans still have ways to catch some weak bison, starve to death, and then forcibly control them. Not all controlled bison will be killed or hunger strike, as long as it is alive and eating grass, everything will be fine.
Moreover, cows are born with a desire to mate, and confinement has an impact but will still exist, so calves are born and isolated after weaning. Then, several macho men took the method of surprise attack and group fight, pressed and tied the calf tightly, then punched holes in the nasal cavity and put on iron rings-a bloody and cruel process, and then tied the ox nose rope-a key prop.
Gently pulling the cow's nose rope will cause severe pain to the cow. For this kind of pain, the cow has tamed a lot, and often a baby can hold it until it follows. The fact has formed an "order to pull the nose rope forward". Of course, we must cooperate with hunger. When a cow is hungry and weak, it is undoubtedly a relatively tame period.
There is not enough evidence that cows will retaliate against humans because of the pain associated with nose rings and cow nose ropes. Maybe it won't hurt so much after a long time. It is estimated that there are still some silent grievances, but grievances and revenge are two different things. Although there are always some "aliens", such as some mad cows, people say they are crazy.
At the beginning of domestication, I was led to eat grass. When you get used to it, put on an ox gear and drive me to do some work. Of course, cows don't want to work, and the cow nose rope won't cure all diseases, so they have to wear a whip-another key prop, and the cow nose rope is one behind the other.
The "whip training method" is probably like this: pull the cow nose rope forward, pull the horn or the head and neck belt forward, whip at the same time, and cooperate with a specific cry to stimulate it to move forward with pain, forming a "whip forward command" and pulling farm tools and vehicles while walking. When the "command reflex" is formed, the whip can play a role similar to the cow's nose rope, and shouting can also be used as a starting point to let a person control the cow's work in the field or on the road, and the cow slave is officially produced-of course, the actual situation is more complicated and there are various methods, but as long as the cow actually cooperates, the actual outcome is probably the same.
Obviously, the cow is extremely unwilling to be driven away, and it can't be pulled, and the state of passive resistance is obvious. Not if it hurts, just if it hurts. This series of entanglements has become the main factor of his long-term abuse and forced labor.
Maybe the cow thinks it's some kind of self-protection (to avoid fatigue), or maybe.
Of course, there are always some cows that don't give in, and they are usually killed early-it is not easy to keep cattle in captivity in ancient times, because cows are too picky about food and eat 100 kilograms of grass a day, so it is imperative to release cattle in ancient times.
...
The reason why cattle are successfully tamed is actually more critical than human malice.
Cattle has obvious mental defects, but it is actually a cowardly animal. Compared with its huge and strong physique, it is surprisingly timid. Specifically, they are afraid of pain, abuse and death, but they dare not resist, plus "muddling along".
There are five or six hundred catties of medium-sized adult cattle, weighing up to one thousand catties, and several tons of bison. For people weighing more than 100 kilograms, it is a monster. Just rubbing and leaning is plop, and knocking and stepping casually is serious injury and death. Every year, there are many casualties caused by mad cows and angry cows. It is not difficult for two or three people to forcibly control a frightened horse, but it is difficult to forcibly control a mad cow, and it is easy to hurt people.
However, cow anger is a special case. It is often stimulated by diseases or accidents-for example, Xiong Haizi pulls his nose out of the cow, which is generally not dare-besides suffering, it is also afraid of death, so it is beaten and bullied until it is killed and eaten.
Cows are timid, only people dare to bully them.
Cattle eat too much and are afraid of being hungry, so food has become a depressing factor. Food or feeding channels are controlled by people's hands. If you don't work, you won't eat. Smart cows know this very well (they dare not break free to feed themselves), and human beings do have some food that cows can eat (even if they don't give straw), so food becomes an excuse to give in. You can live with food (even if you don't have enough food for the poor), and you can get along.
Muddle along until you can't get along anymore. Isn't this a "born" slave character? Plus cowardice, that's about it.
Except for some indescribable factors, wisdom is the key to mental defects and cowardice-the so-called "casting pearls before swine", the incomprehensible amorous feelings of cattle should be more comprehensive.
The IQ of cattle is not low, at least not inferior to many medium-sized animals, but IQ is not equal to intelligence. Ignorance and normal IQ can actually exist. If you don't think clearly, you will be stupid, if you don't think clearly, you will be timid, if you don't think clearly, you will die, and if you don't think clearly, you will be bullied.
Or you're not thinking clearly.
According to historical records, in Europe in the17th century, bison were basically extinct (or the number of bison was very small), while the corresponding butch and leopard raged until the19th century, and wolves went further. Cattle are big and fleshy, so they are clumsy and can be domesticated to some extent, which induces people to hunt them, except for killing some of them and putting them into the domestication system. ?
Why don't people kill precious tigers and leopards It is only a small part of the factor that the tiger and leopard are not provoked. The main factor is that the tiger and leopard do not accept domestication.
...
From the first half of this century in the world to the1980s in China, horses have been widely used and made great contributions: horses are the main means of transportation and source of strength (1), and they can also provide meat, skin and milk. Nowadays, people have money to buy cars and show off cars. At that time, people had money to buy horses and show them off. Horses, like cattle, are major economic animals.
The original source of human horses is wild horses. Wild horses are fast, unruly and aggressive, so it takes a lot of skill and courage to catch them.
I won't talk about the technical problems of capture for the time being, and I'll talk more after capture.
Horses are not so stubborn. Although they will take the initiative to escape after being caught, they will generally not be killed, as long as there is grass to eat.
When you get used to it, train the horse. To put it simply, violence is mainly used: riding forcibly, beating if you are not convinced, and all kinds of insults until the horse or rider is exhausted. At the same time, look for opportunities to harness and restrain it. After tossing n times, some wild horses will show frustration and obedience. At this time, a little sweetness will be given as one of the means-food or salt, and horses will continue to drive when they are in a good mood ... until they are tamed successfully-of course, this is much more complicated in the early days of their horse-raising career.
Some people may find the flaw: a horse owner will own many horses, so such a horse will be exhausted even if it dies unharmed. But it's actually not that troublesome: horses are national animals, and there is a "head horse" as the leader. Clean up and control the leadership, and others will naturally submit.
If you have tamed horses, you can tame wild horses more easily-assimilation tactics. Even if wild horses really refuse to go with the flow, there is a physiological need for mating-male wild horses will give birth after mating with their mares (which will produce spillover benefits), and the foals born will still be "promising" as long as they are "well trained". It's no use, Dad. It may turn into horse meat. )
An important aspect of the so-called training is "cutting off the penis". The principle is to greatly reduce the influence of androgen and make horses docile and easy to control, although this will destroy their health and reproductive rights. Sometimes mares will be abandoned, because the general owner's control ability is limited, and Matado will also impact the market price, so it is impossible for horses to breed indefinitely.
So in the late ancient times, many horses used in the market were used. Sometimes buyers will berate horse dealers and profiteers-try to choose some horses that have been sold, and buyers can't breed any more. In fact, besides profiteers, there may be good intentions.
Horses are an obvious target of work abuse. Its endurance is not as good as that of cattle, but it is usually in poor condition because it has to run with a foreign body equivalent to one third of its weight for a long time, or engage in heavy work such as pulling carts and plowing fields. There are countless horses alive and tired! A tired horse lives much shorter than a relaxed horse.
...
There are similarities and differences in obedience between horses and cows.
Horse's physique is not as good as cattle's, but it is still much stronger than human beings and has the advantage of speed. However, horses are not courageous-bison at least dare to defend themselves and sometimes dare to retaliate against hunters. Wild horses are easy to escape. When they are in a hurry, they are blocked by people or dare to hit them, but their natural purpose is to escape.
Domestic horses are timid, partly because they have been abused since childhood and are as afraid of people as conditioned reflex.
Although life is miserable and there is no freedom, since there is grass to eat, there are occasionally some concentrated feed (similar to the role of engine oil in special periods). It seems that this kind of life can still be mixed?
Since you are so timid, try bullying. Since we have to muddle along, let it be, isn't it grass? -of course, according to the rules of the host.
A horse is actually an animal with a high IQ, but like a cow, its intelligence is really not high.
...
Natural cattle and horses don't like to accept forced slavery and exploitation, but they finally accept it, which contains some subjective elements. The road is often your own choice.
Some people may understand cattle and horses better, because humans are too powerful, guns and cannons. If they don't surrender and accept slavery, they will die. Surrender can live for at least a while-or euphemistically, it is the "right choice" to love life.
But with profound humanistic thinking, long-term pain may not be better than short-term pain, or even worse. But cattle and horses can't see that far, and they prefer to live by muddling along.
In fact, after a long time of hunting, some wild cattle and horses are still alive (including some relatives) in Africa, America and Europe and Asia. In some places, they are protected animals and cannot be caught and killed indiscriminately. Wolves can be killed because wolves are also protected.
In fact, many animals have obvious economy, but they have not surrendered, and some of them are protected by law, including some wild animals. Although their living environment may not be ideal, they enjoy freedom after all.
Tiger and leopard, which used to eat cattle and horses all over the mountain, are now national first-class protected animals and international key protected animals. Before eating cattle, horses and people, wolves were everywhere, and they were national second-class protected animals.
Sika deer and Tibetan antelope that eat grass are first-class protected animals. The humble rock sheep (a relative of domestic sheep) is a second-class protected animal.
Some omnivorous birds are mixed with national first-and second-class protected animals. Even pandas that have no advantage except selling cute pets are mixed with "national treasures".
Cattle or horses belong to livestock, slaves and meat, or property-so stipulated in human culture.
...
Miscellaneous items
Grass has low nutrition and limited energy, which can't be compared with meat with high protein and high energy, but it is really easy to obtain. As large herbivores, cattle and horses eat grass most of the time. If the cow doesn't eat grass, it doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't want to eat it, but the grass it ate before has not been digested and needs ruminant treatment.
On weekdays, grass with strong vitality is everywhere, and sometimes it will die in a large area (such as drought), which is not enough for those who eat food in a large area. At this time, many cattle and horses will starve to death or be extremely weak, or be hunted by wild animals because of this state.
In nature, the collective strength of bison herd is so strong that wild animals dare not provoke it easily. Young bison are not weak in fighting capacity. But there will always be some marginalized old and weak people who are lonely and hunted in the turmoil. In contrast, cows can better protect their young.
In view of the constant predation of wild animals, bison herds are not immune to violent self-defense, but the counterattack is rare and difficult to last, let alone revenge and preventive drive and attack. However, it is recorded that African bison have a strong desire to attack humans or retaliate against hunting, but what about revenge on lions? It doesn't seem much.
Wild horses usually respond to the threat of wild animals by running away. As soon as the speed is fast, some people, old and young, will inevitably be hunted after being dragged up. Some people say that this is natural elimination, but no matter people or horses, there is always a time when they are young and energetic.
In captive horses, the number of mares is usually far more than that of males, because mares have to keep breeding. Stallions are more popular because of their strength. Sell it after cutting it-the rest that can't be sold becomes meat. Moreover, there are more stallions in the herd, and there will be more fights, which is not conducive to "horse mouth control", so stallions are often the objects to be cleaned up.
Studies have pointed out that the life span of cattle and horses who have been abused and enslaved is usually only one-third of the normal life span.
When cows or horses can't do any work, they usually become meat and other economic uses. Some people will say that their own cattle are not willing to kill, and it is the same to sell them to others for slaughter and sale.
Market price, production demand and feeding cost often affect people's enthusiasm for raising cattle and horses. Kill if you don't want to raise it, sell it or resell it. So cattle and horses may not be alive to do anything, not to mention the existence of meat, cattle and horses.
Compared with cats and dogs, cattle and horses have fewer pets, mainly because they eat a little more and don't (or don't like) selling cute pets.
Cattle and horses are killed and shed tears, which is considered to be real sadness, but unfortunately nothing is on it.
Commercial milk is often formed in this way: get the cow pregnant (intensive often depends on artificial insemination), remove the calf after delivery and treat it separately, and squeeze out the milk of the cow to sell it (sometimes some exciting tricks are needed). Cows are in a state of repeated pregnancy and lactation except for a small amount of inevitable lactation.
If the calf born before has the value of continuous feeding or resale (the previous generation of excellent cows is preferred), you can eat a small amount of milk-if there is excess, it may not be breast milk, or add some substitutes. An "extra" calf will kill the butcher.
Dairy farms are strict with benefits and sensitive to storage costs, milk sales, prices and other factors. Once "uneconomical", it is inevitable to eliminate some cows and calves-often killed.
Many of the beef we ate before were eliminated. Now, many cows and beef cattle have been eliminated. Cattle are more and more like typical food.
In 2020, according to different regions, the national average net beef price will be 30+ to 40+ yuan. A 700 kg cow can provide about 300 kg of meat, as well as buffalo bones of cowhide cows. , are valuable.
Cavalry had a very high position in ancient China. The original quality of military horses was one or two grades higher than that of civilian horses, and the horses used by generals were more valuable, not inferior to a luxury car in later generations. In addition to forage, military horses also enjoy a certain amount of rations every day, and the welfare amount is much higher than that of small soldiers. Unofficial history knows that some grass-roots teams secretly rent out chargers (pulling carts for farming, etc.). ), at the same time, it will be accompanied by greedy horses, and it will be recalled urgently when something happens-in fact, the charger at this time is too bad to be used for riding and marching.
————————
The prodigal backpacker says hello.