When we starts calves, we bring them in, halter them, tie them with their head up and blow them out, move to wash rack and rinse, then comb and blow them dry, they stand there tied as the feed is prepped and the pen is cleaned. When they are moved back to the run, the boys stop and make them set up with a show stick, the calves don't get turned loose until they set up. At first this can take a while but as they figure out the faster they cooperate the faster they get turned loose, some calves will start setting up when you stop. The hands on work with the animal, seems to calm them down a lot faster than anything else.
When halter breaking we will start by tying them but for a short period of time and only when you can be there to keep an eye on them.
For the last 3 months prior to county fair, they get tied from sun-up to sun set, they are rinsed and blown out in the morning then fed in the stall, fans on them all day, rinsed and blown out in the evening, turned out at dark. Once it heat up around here the calves are at the gate waiting to come in in the morning. Shade, fans and no flies, can you really blame them.
A good daily routine is the best thing to get them calmed down, if you're not rinsing, at least brushing, and handling them daily will work. We get them on a schedule and then keep them on it, even at the show, feed at 6 and 6, groom them the same times each day, they seem to do better on a set schedule.
The last 3 months we will tie them with their heads up for about 2 hours a day, this is so they get used to it, at the show they may spend an hour in the grooming chute, then go stand for another hour waiting for their class, if a calf has not been tied with their head up, they get tired and want to lay down on you in the ring. I have found that tying one mush longer than 2 hours strait seems to do more harm than good on them. They may end up being tied with their head up for 4 or more hours a day, between just tying and then all the rinsing, blowing, and brushing just not in a row.
Hope that helps