No ill will despite long recovery for farmer

Gary Quinn.

It's business as usual for Hawke's Bay farmer Gary Quinn, after a long recovery from two broken legs.

Mr Quinn was lucky he wasn't left paralysed after a cattle beast "lashed out" at him back in January 2015.

Mr Quinn, 63, was working on his cattle yards near Haumoana with his wife Raewynne.

The couple were drafting their "quiet heifers" when a cattle beast weighing more than 600kg approached him.

"She got pushed by another cow and she lashed out at me, kicked me with both legs."

He was thrown 2m through the air by the kick, receiving a fractured left tibia and a fractured right femur.

Raewynne called emergency services after saving her husband from being crushed by the other cows.

"I had to keep the cattle from trampling him as he was lying in the gateway," she said.

Despite his injuries, Mr Quinn still managed to drag himself several metres across the ground to close the cattle gate.

Mr Quinn said it was just "one of those things" and harbours no ill feelings towards the animal.

"She was a lovely heifer, she wasn't going mad but was just hit in the guts and spun around while I wasn't looking."

Mr Quinn's recovery was a long one.

"I spent several weeks in a wheelchair, then went to crutches, had to go to physio and do work at Swim Gym."

For Mr Quinn, recovery couldn't come fast enough.

"Some thought it would take a little longer but I was determined to get back to work."

The incident has in no way affected the way Mr Quinn farms or treats animals. "I just carry on as usual."