Halter Breaking

[Hoser]

I am helping a young girl halter break her 4H heifer and I thought it would be easy because I never had an issue halter breaking when I was in 4H.

Well this heifer is kind of a quiet pet and when I try to pull her on foot she won't take a single step unless I get behind her shoulder. I tied her to my quad and still couldn't get her to take a step. She just locks her knees and I skid her around on the grass.

What do you folks suggest I should try?

 

[Warren Allison]

I am helping a young girl halter break her 4H heifer and I thought it would be easy because I never had an issue halter breaking when I was in 4H.

Well this heifer is kind of a quiet pet and when I try to pull her on foot she won't take a single step unless I get behind her shoulder. I tied her to my quad and still couldn't get her to take a step. She just locks her knees and I skid her around on the grass.

What do you folks suggest I should try?

Get a donkey. Standard size or bigger, Put a surcingle around it, and tie the heifer to it. She WILL go where ever the donkey goes, and will eventually get tired of being dragged, and start following it on a slack lead. Have seen it done with foals as well.

 

[Hoser]

Get a donkey. Standard size or bigger, Put a surcingle around it, and tie the heifer to it. She WILL go where ever the donkey goes, and will eventually get tired of being dragged, and start following it on a slack lead. Have seen it done with foals as well.

Why did I think of that. I've seen videos of that before and I have two standard donkeys.
Thanks!

 

[MurraysMutts]

I've used my lil 8N tractor as well.

 

[Travlr]

I've used my lil 8N tractor as well.

LOL, me too...

 

[BFE]

I've used my lil 8N tractor as well.

Tie an inner tube between the tractor/truck and the rope. They can stretch all they like but won't break it. Works for stubborn horses too.

 

[M.Magis]

Something someone suggested to me when we had a stuborn steer was to tie him up with his nose cinched up in the air. Said leave him there at least an hour, longer if he doesn't get easier. Maybe I got lucky, but he started following us like a puppy dog.

 

[GoWyo]

Donkeys are a brutal way to halter break a calf. Train them same way as horses. Calf is already gentle so half the battle is done. Standing at the side, ask the calf to turn her head toward you - as soon as she does, reward her by releasing the pressure. Giver her a little scratch and ask again then release when she does. Do it 100 times if you have to in order to get a light easy response from the calf. Then ask for just one step toward you and immediately release the pressure. Do that until she gets it. Then ask for two steps and release and so on. I can usually half a calf leading in 2-3 15-minute sessions of pressure and release without all the trauma of making their head sore, swelled up chin and pinching the nerves by their ears. Cattle are way more sensitive and trainable than a lot of people give them credit for being.

 

[MurraysMutts]

Donkeys are a brutal way to halter break a calf. Train them same way as horses. Calf is already gentle so half the battle is done. Standing at the side, ask the calf to turn her head toward you - as soon as she does, reward her by releasing the pressure. Giver her a little scratch and ask again then release when she does. Do it 100 times if you have to in order to get a light easy response from the calf. Then ask for just one step toward you and immediately release the pressure. Do that until she gets it. Then ask for two steps and release and so on. I can usually half a calf leading in 2-3 15-minute sessions of pressure and release without all the trauma of making their head sore, swelled up chin and pinching the nerves by their ears. Cattle are way more sensitive and trainable than a lot of people give them credit for being.

That's good stuff!

Reminded me of that lil jersey heifer I was working with. We would go in circles in real easy!! After a while she just figured it out. If she ever got outta control I'd just take her in a circle a time or two and she went right back to leading.

 

[Warren Allison]

Donkeys are a brutal way to halter break a calf. Train them same way as horses. Calf is already gentle so half the battle is done. Standing at the side, ask the calf to turn her head toward you - as soon as she does, reward her by releasing the pressure. Giver her a little scratch and ask again then release when she does. Do it 100 times if you have to in order to get a light easy response from the calf. Then ask for just one step toward you and immediately release the pressure. Do that until she gets it. Then ask for two steps and release and so on. I can usually half a calf leading in 2-3 15-minute sessions of pressure and release without all the trauma of making their head sore, swelled up chin and pinching the nerves by their ears. Cattle are way more sensitive and trainable than a lot of people give them credit for being.

I have never seen any thing brutal at all about using a donkey. When donkey stands still, a foal or calf can pull til their head comes off if they want to, but they won't budge the donkey. They learn pretty quick how to relieve the pressure. And when the donkey decides to go some where, it is like being tied to a tractor... or more like a bull dozer. The calf/foal will go where the donkey goes. and pretty soon it figures out to just follow it to relieve the pressure. I guess maybe if you had an unbroke donkey there could be a wreck, but you wouldn't use one like that.

 

[GoWyo]

I have never seen any thing brutal at all about using a donkey. When donkey stands still, a foal or calf can pull til their head comes off if they want to, but they won't budge the donkey. They learn pretty quick how to relieve the pressure. And when the donkey decides to go some where, it is like being tied to a tractor... or more like a bull dozer. The calf/foal will go where the donkey goes. and pretty soon it figures out to just follow it to relieve the pressure. I guess maybe if you had an unbroke donkey there could be a wreck, but you wouldn't use one like that.

It's still a lot harder on the calf than just taking your time and working on pressure and release. If I had to halter break 20 or 30 calves the donk might be the way to go, but for one calf you could have the calf, it just won't take very long to get it broke to lead. I never tie a calf til it leads either. It just works better to not let them get a sore head.

 

[GoWyo]

This isn't true pressure and release. As soon as the calf moves the donkey is taking out the slack again and calf doesn't get much reward. They no doubt get broke to lead, but there are better ways.

 

[GoWyo]

I prefer what this guy does, but I try to get them to take a step or two before I ever tie them up the first time.

 

[Warren Allison]

This isn't true pressure and release. As soon as the calf moves the donkey is taking out the slack again and calf doesn't get much reward. They no doubt get broke to lead, but there are better ways.

Well wouldn't call it brutal, but this is a stupid and dangerous way to do it, for sure. No way would I have other cattle running loose in the pen with them. And I would prefer to use a large round pen, or arena. Same principal though, when done right, as you are talking about doping pressure and release by hand. The calf learns to move forward toward they way the donkey is pulling it. And I have never seen one take but a day to learn. Hitch them up in the morning, and by supper that evening, the calf will lead back to its stall. That man sure has a damned good donkey for this

 

[Flynengr]

I most certainly don't have it all figured out, but this is what seems to work for us. I sell 10-12 4-H/FFA steers to local kids for fair projects. We put them in the halter and give them some tugs coming out of the chute, it's good to have some high school aged boys to take on this challenge. We work them to a stop and let them drag the lead for a week where they start stepping on it and respecting the lead, then we start with human interaction more regularly. Within a week or two thereafter we usually get them taking a step or two toward us to release the pressure, at that point we strip the halters and keep bucket feeding them with the gentling process. We let them callous up for another two weeks or so then get them back in the halter. Any that are still fighting us hard at that point go to the freezer beef pen. We make a point that we sell halter safe steers, not halter broke. We want our buyers to work with the steers and train them, that's all part of the experience, but I don't want to sell a steer to an entry level 4-H kid I have to worry about having a wreck with. Just my two cents.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

Two different times I tried to halterbreak half Jersey half Angus heifers to be family milk cows) I tried pressure and release, food rewards, leaving them in pens to step on their own lead ropes, even tried leading them tied to a 4 wheeler. It took all summer and many rope burns because they would suddenly take off for no reason. Unlike their mother I raised (pure Jersey) who followed me around right off the truck. Both times with these heifers, when I went somewhere for a few months, came back it was like no one had ever laid a hand on them. I believe they inherited the Scottish F U disposition.
These heifers were cow raised not bottle raised. Maybe that had something to do with it.