Ducking steer

[T Diamond]

My son's show steer is suddenly discovered that he can duck his head and take off. We raised him so he has been halter broke when he was a baby. He gets his head tied up almost every night. He just started doing this and our fai is in Sept. He has gotten so bad that we had to put the control halter on him. Any suggestions on fixing this problem are welcome.

Thanks

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Do you have another equally as large or larger well broke animal. Tie a lead between them. Have someone holding & walking each animal so that this steer thinks the handler is holding him back when he tries to duck & go.
The absolute only way you will break him is to HOLD him from doing it. Once they learn they can get away - it's an uphill battle. Also, if Dad or someone stronger CAN stop him from getting away - just put a 2nd LONG lead on him & let 4-H'er lead him. When he takes off & Dad stops him, he will think the 4-H'er did it & will eventually quit. But, NEVER, take him out without backup, until he quits testing. Then, when going alone, be sure to stay in small areas so handler can hang on.

 

[grand chaser09]

normally if i can feel them trying to put ther head down i knee them in the chin hard. normally they might run back a few steps just stay with them. but what jeanne works too.

 

[aussie_cowgirl]

normally if i can feel them trying to put ther head down i knee them in the chin hard. normally they might run back a few steps just stay with them. but what jeanne works too.

This is what I have always done. If he gets a little pull it turns into my boot under his chin. Fortunately I'm about 5'8" and strong so I can generally hold them. Jeanne is right though. Once he knows he can do it it's hard to teach him otherwise.

 

[showing71]

When we've had those, we did what Jeanne said, got dad to lead them or we lead them in a tiny pen so even if they put their head down they could never get going far enough for us to lose the lead. On occasion, that didn't work, so we tied the calf to the loader on the tractor and raised its head up and whoever's calf it was walked beside it. Then after a few rounds (or days) with that, we would let the head down and the person showing it would hold the lead with the calf still tied to the loader. Gradually we'd untie the calf but still had the tractor there and would walk them around like that (so they thought they were tied to the tractor still), and if that went well it was lead by itself.

 

[Keren]

Nose dog - when he goes to put his head down to run, yank up as hard as you can on his nose, and I mean HARD.

Never fun when they learn to do that

At various times to correct this behaviour I have used hackamores, nose dogs, bull rings, tractor and donkey.

 

[show steer up]

we go through this from time to time. It will always be my daughters animals. They get to testing her and when they get this way its nose ring time, works like a charm.

 

[L Weir]

My daughters one heifer this year used to do that when she thought it was time for her to go in. I had my daughter keep walking her until she stopped. It seems to have worked.

 

[Daisy452]

Ive had three steers like yours. I am female, 5'6' and 159lbs, and they can pull me around like a puppy dog. But when they first began to duck their heads, i corrected them either by, giving them the boot to chin, pinching the nose or my favorite they got the heavy duty chained halter. Works like a charm, they never acted up again. The key is to fix before it becomes a habit, once it becomes a habit, its hard to break.