4-H calve needs to walk.... HELP

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cah

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Hi Everyone..

We have a calve that is tamed down will let us wash it, blow, ect... but when it comes time to walk it just don't want to walk...we are running out of time. there are times when he will walk if we walk behind it constantly but then he will stop and you can push and pull all you want he just won't go. I am only 5'2 and not real big, my husband is working a lot so I don't have the man power to pull him. My fourteen year old daughter wants to be able to show him at our fair but we are down to days before check in... any ideas on getting him to walk for her. He has gotten away from her twice so I am not sure if that is the problem or not???? Let me know your thoughts

Thanks
 
this is right up my alley i love showing cattle. i am braking one of my own. it just takes time they are stubborn when they are young. we have actually pulled some of ours behind trucks just make sure to go slow. i dont like doing it this way but sometimes you have to. i am also very short and show brangus heifers but your daughter will love showing its just a lot of work. have u tried a chain halter, it kinda get the point across a little faster for a stubborn calf. just do your best not to let go because once he figures out he can do that he is gona keep trying. if you can hold him the next couple times he tries then he will probably stop. is he a very crazy animal or just stubborn?
 
Many, many years ago when I showed cattle and they were like this, we tied them to the bumper too. Pulled them until they learned that a slight tug on that rope meant for them to walk.
 
Try not to drag him when you walk him. He won't like it and you won't like it. Get on the end of your lead rope and pull, gradually increasing the pressure. As soon as he takes one step forward, release the pressure (don't release the rope). Let him stand for a moment, then pull again until he takes a step, then release the pressure. Continue this and ask him to take two or three steps. When he learns that moving forward will release the pressure, he will be more willing to go, and it will take less and less pressure to get him started.

Don't get me wrong, I've used the truck method, it just isn't ideal.

Good luck and hang in there, it gets better. :)
 
Take a medium weight chain and hook it to the halter on both sides and hang it off his buut so it's about hock high. When you pull the halter it will pull the chain and they will usually give way to the chain. Doesn;t take long and you can discontinue the chain. That was the method I;ve used to break oxen to lead and it worked good for me.
 
also when i have done this especially if they arent crazy is to tug on them when they take a step stop pulling and pet them or give them a cube. i know it sounds crazy but it has worked with some of my nicer animals kind of like a big dog. you give them treats and they kind of understand that. Hang in there i sware it will all work =)
 
Try taking his water out of the pen, then lead him to get a drink. At our fair you can't leave water with them anyway. We used to use a donkey on them and that helped. We've had a few that we were not able to change much and I'm no expert, just a few ideas. Good luck.

Larry
 
Since your calf sounds like it is gentle here is a couple of things, make sure your hand is not right at the end of the halter, should have around 18 to 22 inches of lead between your hand and the halter, most calves walk better if they have a little slack in the rope.
We never win when we play tug of war with them. The last steer we had would walk if you pulled up at a 45% angle and released, to get him started we had to pull & release, pull and release a few times and he would walk. Just pull, the brakes came on.
Try walking him somewhere new, even the calves that walk well give you fits if it is something they do not want to do.
 
Have you been tying him up? For me this works the best. Tie him to a good sturdy post, and let him learn that when he comes forward the pressure is released.
 
You might try a trick I used to use for halterbreaking colts. Take your lariat and run the loose end thru the halter so that you can hang on to it and the lead rope at the same time. Then take out all the slack so that there is just enuf left to build a pretty good loop and loop it around his butt. over the tail preferably.

Then just tug on both ropes at the same time the loop around his butt will make him move forward and after a while you won't need it anymore. I think this may be the same a Dun does with a chain, but it works well and one very small person can do it by themselves.
 
3waycross":38qnm7un said:
You might try a trick I used to use for halterbreaking colts. Take your lariat and run the loose end thru the halter so that you can hang on to it and the lead rope at the same time. Then take out all the slack so that there is just enuf left to build a pretty good loop and loop it around his butt. over the tail preferably.

Then just tug on both ropes at the same time the loop around his butt will make him move forward and after a while you won't need it anymore. I think this may be the same a Dun does with a chain, but it works well and one very small person can do it by themselves.

The reason I use a chain is so they get used to chain noises. But the lariat should work the same.
 

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