Creature Feature: Buffaloed On The East End
Calverton is home where the buffalo roam for Art and Marilyn Binder. They share their spacious ranch with three dogs, two horses, and three yearling buffalo named Taurus, Brook, and Lyn.
Sitting on the patio overlooking their land while sipping coffee graciously served by Mrs. Binder, it is easy to forget that one is just a few miles north of the Riverhead shopping strip and not in the horse and cattle country of Texas.
It was Mr. Binder's love for horses that led to the buffalo . . . in a roundabout way. He's always been a horse enthusiast. "I was definitely the cowboy in the family," he recalled.
Cutting Horses
Quarter horses were and are his breed of choice. Initially, Mr. Binder was heavily involved in showing in reining classes. Reining is an exacting and beautiful competitive event in which the horse and rider adhere to a prescribed course of intricate patterns designed to test the suppleness and agility of the animal as well as the communication skills between rider and horse.
But, after considerable success in this area, Mr. Binder got bitten by the cutting-horse bug.
"Cutting is truly addictive!" he said. The function of the cutting horse is to separate a steer from its herd and keep it separate for a designated length of time. Not an easy task, for the herd instinct of the steer compels it to return back to its comrades.
Bovine Dodges
The horse must move quickly and alertly to block all the bovine dodges and dashes. Most interesting of all, the horse carries out this task on its own. With no guidance from the rider, a top cutting horse relies entirely on its own anticipation of the steer's next move - and on its ability to beat the steer to it!
Horses usually take to cutting like ducks to water. It is, after all, a sport that utilizes all their mental and physical skills in abundance: an extreme, almost intuitive, ability to read body language, suppleness, quickness, and a great love of being bossy.
"It's the only equine sport that the horse likes more than the rider," stated Mr. Binder.
Enter Buffalo
But being a cutting-horse competitor based on the East End had its pitfalls. There are no cutting-horse competitions locally, and, worse, there are no cattle.
Mr. Binder used to make a trek to Pennsylvania every few weeks to pick up cattle to use for training sessions. It was a long, tiring, and expensive haul that always ended up proving somewhat fruitless. The cattle would very quickly become acclimated to the horse and rider and would refuse to show any moves but would stand gazing placidly at Mr. Binder and his steed. Not very good for practice!
Enter buffalo. "Cutting-horse trainers in the Southwest have been using buffalo for years," observed Mr. Binder.
Even when raised in captivity, buffalo retain much of their natural wariness. They do not become acclimated to a horse and rider!
Ferry Ride
Buffalo are also tremendously athletic. Mr. Binder cautions that people shouldn't judge them by their awkward, shambling walk. "They're the quickest, fastest animals. They can easily outmaneuver and outjump a horse."
He waxed eloquent on the conformational structure of the animal, noting in particular the strong square hindquarters that serve the buffalo so well in its turning, running, and jumping abilities.
Taurus, Brook, and Lynn are descended from North Dakotan stock but were raised in northern Connecticut. Last fall the Binders picked them up and transported them to their new Long Island home.
This necessitated a trip on the ferry. The buffalo were not particularly impressed with their maritime adventure; they just lay on the floor of the stock trailer chewing their cuds. But their fellow passengers were enthralled. "There were people peering into the trailer during the whole trip," Mrs. Binder recalled, "saying, 'Look, look, it's buffalo!' "
Taurus And Harem
When unloaded into their spacious Calverton pasture, the young animals were "completely terrified," Mrs. Binder said. They spent the first several days in the corner of the field farthest from the house and barns.
Being a cutting-horse competitor based on the East End had its pitfalls. There are no cutting-horse competitions locally, and, worse, there are no cattle. Enter buffalo.
But gradually, as Mr. Binder encouraged them with feedings of grain placed close to the barns, the animals began to relax. The buffalo now show an amiable curiosity toward human beings and approach willingly and of their own accord.
They are still quite immature; Taurus is not even halfway to his ultimate weight of 2,000 pounds. But he carries himself with the lofty dignity of a bull and is quick to herd his youthful harem of two away from too-close proximity to humans.
Brook And Lyn
Brook and Lyn are more sociable . . . at least from a distance. They stare back at people with as much fascination as people evidence toward them.
Brook's lack of one horn gives her an endearing look of deshabille, like a little girl who's forgotten to do up one pigtail. "She's a little daffy, that one," Mr. Binder remarked.
Lyn is sturdier and tougher looking, though quite beautiful in her way, as she warily studies a two-legged visitor, turning her head to the side and peering through a rolled-back eye to get an alternative view.
"They're very intelligent. Way more than cattle. And much cleaner, too," said Mr. Binder with pride.
Wild And Wary
The buffalo look like cattle, but with something very wild thrown in the mix. "Wild is the word," Mr. Binder observed. "They'll come to 20 feet or so and stand watching you. But if you so much as say boo to them, they're off."
This wariness has certainly aided in the conditioning and training of Zaculena, Mr. Binder's cutting horse, for he's now rated in the top 10 of the East Coast Cutting Horse Association.
But, apart from their aid in the training of his horses, Mr. Binder has become a buffalo aficionado, and plans to make a business out of his herd. The three will come of breeding age next year and, with any luck, in several years the "plains" of Calverton will hear the rumbling hooves of a large buffalo herd.