Wid cows

A friend's neighbor's cow busted through the fence and was grazing on the friend's lawn. Neighbor calmy walked out, shot the cow and butchered it right there.

Probably not a bad plan in this case (except the calf)

In Texas, where some cattle seldom see humans, there is a method that was passed down by the spanish cowboys. I took a training class taught by a Texas rancher. We had a big laugh about the guys that try to move/roundup cattle with a couple four-wheelers and every drunk they can bribe away from their bar stool. The result is predictable.
The training takes a couple days, so I might not be able to condence it down to a couple paragraphs, but perhaps even a little knowledge will help.

Lets say you have a 40 acre pasture and you want the herd to move south. Stand east of the herd, walk slowly, arms down, west towards the herd. As soon as the very first cow moves, turn north and slowly walk away from the herd. Then turn right and come back south-east. After you are well away from the herd, turn right again, facing the herd. Slowly walk towards the herd. As soon as the very first cow moves, turn north walking away from the herd.

The cows are not threatened by you while you walk away from them, but still want to be away from you, so as you walk north, the herd moves south.

Just keep up that clockwise triangle, towards the herd, behind and away, back to beginning point. Never move fast. Always turn away from the herd as soon as the first cow "flinches", turns away or even tosses her head. For some herds, that's 100 feet forb others it might be 300 yards. Better to move behind them too soon than to spook them by getting too close.

It doesn't seem like it would work. For you with cattle, go out and try it. Keep the kids and drunks away and just keep up with the clockwise triangle.

It doesn't matter what direction you want them to go. If you are on the east side and want them to move north, do as instructed above, but walk in a counter clockwise triangle: walk towards the herd, turn left walking away from the herd. Eventually, turn left again.

NOt that this really has anything to do with the OP's problem, but herd movement is indeed interesting.
I've watched my husband move 400 head of cattle several miles across open country with nothing but his horse and dog.

The real trick is to get the head cow(s) going the direction you want and the rest will usually follow. And with a bit of practice, a single rider can control the front of the herd from the back . I've seen it done when the herd is strung out for over a half mile, so long as they can see the rider. It is indeed all about creating visible pressure.

An easier way to see it is to be moving cattle and just face into the herd. They'll naturally move away from you (direction is irrelevant). Then face away. The pressure is instantly removed and they're not so apt to move away from you and will even slip right past you, if you allow them to.

__________________
~*~Erin~*~
SAHM, ranch wife, sub and quilt shop proprietress
the Back Gate Country Quilt Shop

LOL We have an old Angus Cow running through the scrub that fronts about 1000 acres of swamp behind us. She escaped from a farmer over 3 yrs ago along with 2 others who were shot. She is still in that swamp and actually came and swooned off some of my bulls last spring. (the bulls, being Dexter's who knew that their butter came from home). Hubby and others in the area have tried to hunt her down but she is quickly becoming a 'Legend'. I love to laugh about the cow who outsmarted the man!

Thanks for all of you sharing with me on this issue, every day this week the cow/calf have been feeding in the brome field. On friday the pair were bedded down next to the gate with my calves. My thoughts are to place my calfs in a smaller pen within the corral, open the gate and let the wild cow enter the larger pen to be next to my calfs and close the gate after they are in, feed wont work as she has fresh brome grass to feed on. I might try this if the farmer will pay for repairs she may cause to my brand new corral fence.
On friday she let me walk within 100 feet as they were bedded down all after noon. The farmer is to be here today to try and catch her..They will just chase the pair around and continue to keep her on the wild side. The farmer and his "cowboys" (more hat than horse) will probably mess this up again..will let you know in the next chapter

LOL
A friend of ours had a horse like that. (He'd done the Chief Big Foot Memorial Ride five or six times, and rode to Las Vegas from North Dakota one year too, just for the heck of it)

He was a Spanish Mustang and Kenny was trying to sell him to one of the other guys on the place as a "kids' horse." He had hauled him to Dennis's place, loaded him out in the corral and his horse promptly jumped out of the corral.

He spent the next 6 months, all winter long, jumping pasture fences all over the county whenever someone would get within a mile or two of him.
It became like Sasquatch sightings; people would talk about how they'd seen Kenny's horse off in the distance the other day...

What was odd though, was once spring rolled around, he jumped into a neighbor's corral and there he stayed until Kenny came over, loaded him in the horse trailer and hauled him back home.

__________________
~*~Erin~*~
SAHM, ranch wife, sub and quilt shop proprietress
the Back Gate Country Quilt Shop