ABSTRACT
Until the 1950s, most cattle in Switzerland were kept in cow barns "chained", which means individually fastened by a chain or a halter. Most of today's dairy cows live in a freestall. This new form of animal housing enables cows to move more or less as they like, at least within the borders of the cowshed and according to the rules of the farmer. It was much more the utopia of bringing cows to work in the cowshed and becoming agents of rationalization. It was in this context that the freestall started to interest Swiss farmers too. This chapter explores Swiss farmer's case; it is the only country where historical sources make it possible to study the emergence of the freestall in detail. The freestall enable cows in a certain way to become farmers in their own right. It reveals both the impact of new materialities and topologies, and the cows' agency.
