[plowjockey]

They are very curious. As they can't just pick something up to examine it, they do the next thing which is to sniff it and then taste it. At that point it's on a one way trip down the gullet!

Other times they try to eat things they shouldn't like "hedge apples" which are the "fruit" of Osage Orange, a.k.a. hedge trees. These apples will start falling to the ground during late summer and early fall and for whatever reason cattle like to eat them. After they lay for a while they get mushy and there is usually no problem but early on they're hard and can get lodged on the way down or on the way back up when they chew their cud. Usually it takes a stiff hose to clear the blockage and after a day or so things are fine.