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QUEEN FIGHTING
Val d’Hérens
At any moment, the Hérens cows feel an instinctive need to know who is dominant and who is dominated.
When in doubt - and especially when they meet for the first time at the Inalpe, the first day of the alpine pasture season - they engage in impressive head-to-head and horn-to-horn confrontations to determine which is the strongest.
A very precise hierarchy is gradually established between all the cows, each one knowing exactly which ones are stronger than it and which ones have already been defeated. But throughout the season, this ranking is constantly challenged by new confrontations that may lead to a gain in rank.
The cow that dominates all the others is declared Queen and takes command of the herd. The cow that holds this title on the day of the desalp is designated Queen of the Alp for the current year, which brings great pride to her breeder and to the whole family.
These natural fights that take place within each herd and on each mountain pasture have fascinated breeders for centuries. As early as 1920, they had the idea of organising official jousts to compare their cows while at the same time organising a festival, the profits of which are used to develop projects aimed at improving breeding conditions.
Pierre : Each year, the Hérens Arena in Les Haudères hosts at least one of these games at the end of April. We sometimes hear that our cows are "pushed" to fight. I assure you, it is really their natural behaviour ! And don't worry, although the fight may seem violent, injuries are extremely rare !
When in doubt - and especially when they meet for the first time at the Inalpe, the first day of the alpine pasture season - they engage in impressive head-to-head and horn-to-horn confrontations to determine which is the strongest.
A very precise hierarchy is gradually established between all the cows, each one knowing exactly which ones are stronger than it and which ones have already been defeated. But throughout the season, this ranking is constantly challenged by new confrontations that may lead to a gain in rank.
The cow that dominates all the others is declared Queen and takes command of the herd. The cow that holds this title on the day of the desalp is designated Queen of the Alp for the current year, which brings great pride to her breeder and to the whole family.
These natural fights that take place within each herd and on each mountain pasture have fascinated breeders for centuries. As early as 1920, they had the idea of organising official jousts to compare their cows while at the same time organising a festival, the profits of which are used to develop projects aimed at improving breeding conditions.
Pierre : Each year, the Hérens Arena in Les Haudères hosts at least one of these games at the end of April. We sometimes hear that our cows are "pushed" to fight. I assure you, it is really their natural behaviour ! And don't worry, although the fight may seem violent, injuries are extremely rare !
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