Kickers and Stool
Anyone who has ever milked a cow by hand will recognize this essential equipment. The stool, of course, is necessary to support the body of the person doing the milking. The kickers are for safety and peace of mind. A young cow being broken to milk will resent the intrusion and can deliver a painful blow akin to being hit with a ball bat. But even the old cow, well used to being milked twice a day, will occasionally lift a foot and kick over the bucket or step into a pail of fresh milk. The black kickers hanging on the post above are two U-shaped straps of metal connected by a chain that can be adjusted to shorten the distance between the U-shaped straps. The U-shaped straps are gently placed on the ham-string of the cow’s leg and the chain between them shortened. This does not hurt the cow but if she tries to move her leg or kick, she is constrained by her other leg. These leg irons have saved many a milker from a surprise kick and many a bucket of milk from being spilled or contaminated.
Provided by Dorothy Bayes