Spooky heifer

[jmbadavis]

My daughter has a 2 year Charolais heifer with a calf she is working with for the fair. This will be the first time she has showed her. We got her on May 14th. The heifer seems nice enough, likes attention. She has caught onto being lead in a reasonable amount of time except for no reason at all she seems to spook and runs off. We have 30 foot rope she drags around so we can catch her. As soon as she feels pressure on the rope she stops and will let you get up to her and lead her. For an example, the kids caught her today, she was leading beautifully and then my son when to put the rope around the post and bang she was gone. Of course there is no way to stop her when she decides to run off. We leave her tied for hours. When she is tied we go over to mess with her, she licks us and doesn’t seems shy or scared of us. Not sure how to cure her of this “spooky” problem. I have chickens and ducks on open range, so she is used to things moving around her. My daughter is getting on bit on the frustrated side and having second thoughts about taking her to the fair. I am trying to stay positive for her, but I don’t know much about working with cattle.

 

[Pooog1]

Over the years and with various show cattle one would find out there were a few that just seem to enjoy this behavior. We have had our share that if they have gotten away a couple of times would try it with anyone. It's hard to hold even a yearling heifer who wants to get away when your a teenager. It seems they learn how to put that bow in their neck and get loose. Are you using just a nylon halter or do you have one with a chain under the chin? I think she just needs more manors, but once this is a very learned thing she may not be able to be trusted.