Brahman Halter Breaking Technique?

[TxCoUnTrYbOy]

as some of you know, i will be getting a red brahman bull very soon. im curious, what has been your most successful method of breaking then and teaching them to walk. what has worked for me in the past is hold a treat (like alfalfa cubes) and every time it walked some i would give it a peice. many people have said brahmans are very different to raise, so i want to know if that would work good. ive heard they respond very well in learning what they are being rewarded for and what they are being punished for, so would that work better with them? any info is greatly appreciated. im just trying to get as much information as i possibly can right so ill be good and ready to work when i finally get him.

 

[la4angus]

The number one thing is to learn it to follow you when you pull on the haltar strap. You do that by pulling on him and not letting him pull on you.
It would look mighty pretty "TxCoUnTrybOY" to give his Bull a treat every time he takes a couple of steps for his treats. You would be embarassed to no end.

 

[TLCfromARK]

You can try the method you mentioned but if you have problems heres a trick my old Dad used to halter break his show calves back in the 60's. He would tie them to a crosstie ( just laying in the pasture ), anything that's heavy that they can drag around for a few days, the weight will make their nose sore from the pressure of pulling against the crosstie. They learn really quick not the fight the rope, Brahmans are very smart and will learn to respond.

Dad was known for how gentle his cattle was, someone would buy a bull from him and he would lead the bull into the trailer out in the pasture. People were amazed that he didn't have use the corral & chute to load them "wild Bremmers".

Good luck on your project.
;-)

 

[Anonymous]

We usually try to break all of our bulls to lead. We get a halter on them and tie them to a post in the barn for about three days. We give them very little rope at this time. Make sure they have plenty of water and feed of course. We try to be around alot at that time to check on them and just get them used to us. About the end of the three days if they seem like they are doing good we hook them on to the tractor one at a time and take them for a slow walk for exercise. They will pull against it at first but soon they will be leading good. We then put them back on the post in the barn with more rope at this point. We do the tractor leading thing about three or four times depending on how each one is doing. We can normally get them off of the tracor and walk them in the barn pretty good by then. I think it's important to be there with them as much as possible when they are tied up so they can really get used to you and won't get jumpy when you are tring to get ther ropes intied and retied ect.
We try to get them back on the halter about two or three times a year just so they won't forget. I saw your bull in the picture he looks good. We do this with angus and brangus bulls. Sorry this is so long. Best of luck with your attempt. Let us know how it turns out. (The treat idea isn't a bad idea while you've got him tied on the post.)
Devin

 

[TheBullLady]

Keep this in mind when halter breaking a Brahman.. they can spook very easily! So you want to work slowly with them.

The idea of tying them to "something heavy in the pasture and let them drag it around for a few days" is terrible! All that's going to do is scare him, and that is not the correct way to teach him. Please keep in mind the most important thing is to gain his TRUST.. by not scaring him or hurting him.

My recommendation would be to put him in a smaller area, but not alone. Brahmans do not like being alone. Then spend as much time as you can with him.. not hand feeding him, but brushing him. Find a spot that he likes to be scratched.. they particularly like it when you scratch between the front legs and their dewlap. When he's comfortable with you being near him all the time, put him in the chute and put a halter on him. Let him fight it for a few days, but continue to brush and work with him as if he didn't have it on. When he's good with that, you can attach a short lead to the halter, and then tie him.

I promise you the more time you spend doing it correctly, the better off you'll be in the long run. Brahmans have a LONG memory, and it takes them a lot longer to forgive you!

 

[greatgerts]

I have tried many different things with Gerts. One that works is tying them to an old piece of a telephone pole, maybe about 8-10ft. long like stated in an earlier post. Another that works well is tying them to a post in the barn for a day to day and a half and then start walking them to water. Most cattle will try to pull away from you, but as long as you plant your feet, and pull your way, within another day or so you can have them walking to water and then you can work at just leading them around the barn and getting them used to walking correctly. I usually wait about 2 weeks to start usiing a showstick on them. By then they are used to you and should not fight you too much(as long as you scratch them more than messing with their feet).