Minimize Stress to Maximize Animal Health and Productivity Story and photos by Karen Conley Reprinted with permission from Bison World, Fall 2023, p26-32.Working with bison can be stressful for both the animal and the handler. A difficult situation may be unavoidable, but it can be mitigated or avoided with the right mindset and proper handling techniques. Taking the time to understand the animals and how they perceive the world around them can pay dividends in herd health and ease of handling as well as economically for the producer. Animals that are under stress can suffer from a compromised immune system, opening the door for disease susceptibility. Stress can also cause behavioral changes such as stampeding, herd aggression, or even “suicidal” actions, in which the animal becomes so panicked that they are a danger to themselves and everything around them. Fear, panic, or stress can trigger the release of the stress hormone cortisol into the bloodstream, which can ultimately...

Guest Article, Photos and Illustrations courtesy of Gene Gade Introduction of horses into the cultures of bison-hunting Plains Indians caused changes at least as rapid and profound as did the introduction of automobiles and trucks into early 20th Century America. How incredible it must have been to people who had hunted for millennia on foot. Entire paradigms of travel speed, distance, load-carrying capacity, communication, trade and warfare were transformed within a very short time. Now Indians could hunt year-round from horseback. Hunters could range much farther from camp to find their quarry. A skilled rider with a good mount could now run with the bison and pick individual animals to kill. They could load the meat and hides onto much larger and stronger animals for the journey home. They didn’t have to feed any of the meat to their beasts of burden as they had for the thousands of years when dogs served that role. As the numbers of available horses increased, tribes were less...