Any superstitious dairy farmer will tell you that when it's time to remove a calf from its mother, you need to walk it backwards out of the barn. This will prevent the cow from mourning the loss of her baby.

This is a documented agricultural superstition. Livestock superstitions often involve rituals to prevent animals from grieving or becoming distressed when separated from their young. Walking the calf backwards was believed to confuse the cow or somehow prevent her from realizing her calf was being taken away. Similar superstitions exist around various farming practices involving animal separation.