A Cupcake Gone Wrong

See this precious face?

He’s so sweet, he earned the name Cupcake. But this little cupcake was a real flop on day one.

My oldest daughter brought her 4H steer home last Sunday. My husband had spent time earlier in the day making sure the steer area was ready. But sometimes there’s just no preparing for a calf who doesn’t want to love his new home.

Cupcake was released from the stock trailer directly into the pen. He took a look around, trotted into the feeding area, and slammed his almost seven hundred pounds into the wood railing at one end. From where we all stood, there was nothing we could do in time to keep him from escaping. Cupcake broke loose.

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that loose steers are not uncommon on the Nelson farm, but this was exceptional. Cupcake didn’t go down our property. He didn’t take off for neighboring fields or the wood that flank the river. Nope. Cupcake headed for town. He plunged through the creek and into a field of horses. These horses were not happy to see him, but we thought we could get Cupcake loaded into the trailer from here and brought back home.

Cupcake tore through the horse’s fence and across the road into another field. Trust me when I say this is not the way to bond with your neighbors. We were fortunate to have my daughter’s friend along for the fun. He’s a big, strong guy who doesn’t mind getting dirty. At least he didn’t complain, and I baked him cookies!

So, after a VERY long time in the rain and the dark, with my last bit of pride tossed to the wind (I find singing to the steers is helpful) and my dog, Harper, well exercised for the day, the time came for drastic action. That steer managed to get my husband and my daughter’s friend on the ground. At one point, he took out a neighbor too. But he was trailered and brought back to his new home where he’s decided to be content.