I used to help this old man when I was young. One day we were sorting his yearling calves for replacements and he chose out one that was really nice looking but was wild and very aggressive. I told him that he was crazy to save that one.. he swore that he could get her as gentle as a lamb. We ran her through the head gate and he put a halter on her, tied it to a post beside the gate, and let her out. She bucked and tried her best to rip the barn down. I remember laughing and telling him that he was going to be the one to take the halter off. He said nope you're going to in a week or two with no trouble. He left her tied and feed and watered her right where she was. Sure enough in 2 or 3 weeks, we were able to lead the heifer around like an old draft horse. She never again was a bit of trouble. I've often thought about doing this to some of my wilder heifers that look good, but I've always just culled them. I don't have much experience with show cattle but I think this may be a common method of gentling them. The old man told me he had even done this with older cows with success.
breaking cattle
- Thread starter Lazy M
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Nesikep
Well-known member
I don't know about it... I have a line of cows that have just always lent themselves well to being pets and halterbreaking, and on others I've tried till I was blue in the face, and never got the same kind of results.. Yes, I can get them to accept being on a halter, but they'll be the ones that try and take off and tow you around the yard if they get the chance... I guess I'm just saying if you put the same effort into a docile animal to start with you'll always end up with a better behaved animal.
About 3 weeks ago I put a halter on a nice, tame bull calf for the first time, he didn't like that idea much, but was OK with it the next day and "forgave" me... a few days later I led him around the field once (with 2 fingers in the halter) and didn't get towed around too much (I did have him run a circle around me a couple times).. the next day I put a lead rope on him and led him the 1/4 mile or so up to the house and corrals and it wasn't much of an ordeal. This guy is around 750 lbs, so if he'd made up his mind not to cooperate there wouldn't have been much I could have done about it.
I have another heifer that has worn the halter a lot more, and no matter what I do, she pulls against it as hard as she can.. the only way you can get her to go where you want her to is to point her butt in the right direction and pull the opposite way.
About 3 weeks ago I put a halter on a nice, tame bull calf for the first time, he didn't like that idea much, but was OK with it the next day and "forgave" me... a few days later I led him around the field once (with 2 fingers in the halter) and didn't get towed around too much (I did have him run a circle around me a couple times).. the next day I put a lead rope on him and led him the 1/4 mile or so up to the house and corrals and it wasn't much of an ordeal. This guy is around 750 lbs, so if he'd made up his mind not to cooperate there wouldn't have been much I could have done about it.
I have another heifer that has worn the halter a lot more, and no matter what I do, she pulls against it as hard as she can.. the only way you can get her to go where you want her to is to point her butt in the right direction and pull the opposite way.
greybeard
Well-known member
I saw the same thing done with a mean old Simmental bull that was bad about tearing up anything he could push his head against, and wouldn't let you touch him for nothing but they didn't halter him. Just tied a big heavy log chain on his neck, with a big tractor tire on the other end about 30'. He drug that big old tire all over the place as he grazed--over to the hay rack, out to the water trough--even did his doin with the cows with that chain on. 2-3 weeks later they turned him loose and after that, you could walk up to him with a string, tie it round his neck and lead him anywhere you wanted and he never pushed anything else down. Come to think of it, that was a log skidder tire they used.
branguscowgirl
Well-known member
Lots of people leave cattle tied up like that to halter break them. I have a friend that ties all her show bulls up in a row, then after a couple of days leads them to water a few times per day. Their faces get pretty sore if they fight the first day or two, then they learn to give to pressure on the lead. They quickly learn that it is useless to pull. So they don't pull on the handler when you finally untie them.
It is much safer to do it this way then to have them drag you around. Once they learn that they can pull away from you, you will always have a problem. This way, they don't ever have to learn that they are capable of it.
I don't usually leave mine tied 24 hrs. per day at home, but I do leave them tied for several hours. When they are at a show they are tied for nearly a week.
It is much safer to do it this way then to have them drag you around. Once they learn that they can pull away from you, you will always have a problem. This way, they don't ever have to learn that they are capable of it.
I don't usually leave mine tied 24 hrs. per day at home, but I do leave them tied for several hours. When they are at a show they are tied for nearly a week.
bigbull338
Well-known member
a neghbor loaded us his big holstine bull to breed our cows.he just tied him out in the pasture on a big long leadline.dad got tired of untangling the bull and just turned him loose to run with the cows.
bird dog
Well-known member
Horses are often done that way. Tie them to a low hanging branch of a big tree and let them pull away. The tree limb will give some and then pull them back. It gets them used to the halter being pulled to move them. They also don't tangle as bad when tied over head.
Nesikep
Well-known member
I tried that with a goat... She ended up hanging herself.
