Say two cowboys are out on a *very* large ranch. In the far distance is a horse.
One cowboy says to the other, “hey, there’s a horse”.
It doesn’t matter that the cowboy doesn’t know whether the horse is male or female. The word “horse” covers both male and female.
Now, let’s say that, instead of a horse, it’s a cow or a bull.
The cowboy can tell it’s a cow or a bull—it has a lower center of gravity than a horse--but not whether it’s a cow or a bull, because It is too far away to see horns or udders.
What does the cowboy say?
“Hey, there’s a cow (I.e., cow” is used as “man” and “mankind” have traditionally been used to cover both male and female human beings).
OR: The cowboy might say, “hey, there’s a hoc Taurus, as the Department of Agriculture recommends. But it would seem *real* unlikely. that any cowboy would say this.
OR The cowboy can’t say anything because, as one on line encyclopedia says, there is no unisex word for cow/bull.
SO: What does the cowboy say? (Please say whether you know the answer or are making an educated speculation.)
In my experience, the rancher generally knows what he’s running and will call it properly, i.e, “steer” or “heifer.” One can tell the difference between an adult cow and a bull from a pretty large distance, but in the case where, say, a fence has gone down and there is a potential mixture of types and that animal is just a speck on the horizon, well, I have heard “cow,” “steer,” “heifer,” “critter,” “animal,” and a whole lot of apathy towards getting it exact.
A real cowboy would squint at the faraway critter and ask his buddy “Is that a cow or a bull?” thus forcing the uncertainty and risk of being wrong onto the poor twit who didn’t speak first.
Assuming this is rangeland not hobby farming and the single beast in question is way out in the distance then it’s “What’s that cow doing out there?”
For practical purposes in identification a single beast is going to be either a cow or a steer.
Best of luck telling them apart at a distance.
If there is a bull with the herd, then he’ll almost assuredly with the cows, not on his lonesome.
If there are more than beast then it’s “What are those cows doing out there” followed after closer inspection “And one of them looks like a bull”.
(Please say whether you know the answer or are making an educated speculation.)
I don’t “know” the answer, if one exists but the PT family properties are currently running a bit over 1000 head of cattle open range so that’s our convention, so it’s educated but not speculation.
Any rancher worth his salt, knows his bulls specifically, even from a distance. You just don’t have as many bulls as cows. If it’s one of the bulls he would most likely refer to it by name. Otherwise it’s just a cow.
A doggie is canis familiaris, which even the most nearsighted cowboy would be able to distinguish from bos taurus. A dogie is a motherless or neglected calf, which does not fit the OP.
This site: Singular Terminology Issue For Cattle - Beef2Live | Eat Beef * Live Better
says “cow” is acceptable as the singular for “cattle” (of either sex). It also mentions that “beast” or “cattle beast” is used in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, “bovine” in Britain, “critter” in the western US, and “beef critter” in the Southern US. I wish I could mention “kine” since I like that word, but like “cattle” it’s plural.
