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A 65-year-old ranch hand is in the hospital after a cow attacked him during a branding operation at a ranch on Wednesday in the Cuyama Valley.

Shortly after 10 a.m., the cow charged the man and pinned him against a corral causing chest and upper body injuries. Firefighters responded to the ranch near the intersection of Highway 166 and Cottonwood Canyon Road to find the man having difficulty breathing.

Emergency medical personnel then transported the man in a medical helicopter to the trauma unit at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara.