Halter breaking???

dk_40207 · #1 07/25/06, 11:42 PM

Yep, I'm begging. Please help me(okay my husband) halter break the very scared little Jersey we just brought home. Took almost 2 hours to go just over 100ft. She threw herself down 4 times....I'll be suprised if he can move tomorrow...
I need to milk her too...but she is very nervous....she was a handmilked family cow for a few months, so I know she can be gentle, it's just getting her to be. We were'nt expecting her to be THIS difficult...please help

Up North · #2 07/26/06, 12:23 AM

Training a cow to lead by a halter isn't going to happen in 1 nite. You can work on that in days to come. Right now be content if you can get her in a pen or stanchion where she cannot overreact and hurt herself. She has just been moved into a new setting, is probably just off a hot trailer ride, she has activated her fight or flight instincts. Get fresh water in front of her first, then a small(1-3 lbs) of grain to her and some hay or grass. Let her get used to surroundings. VERY hard to do at this time, but try to avoid raising your voice. talk in calm, measured tones and move about her steady & slow.
DO NOT tie her with a rope where their is ANY concievable possibility of her hanging herself and then go in for the night.
If she calms down and let's you milk her great, if not, wait till morning to do that. Not the best, but a cow will not die from missing a milking. First you need to get her calm and used to her setting. Hope this helps you.

Ronney · #3 07/26/06, 05:32 AM

Ditto to all of that.

She will be stressed to the max and the best thing you can do at the moment is to tip her into a paddock, give her some hay or cow nuts and let her find her eqaulibrium again. In the morning both of you try to get her into the bale. It won't be easy, be prepared to waste some time, your patience will be stretched and she may kick like 7,000 bastards -BUT it will come right.

Don't worry about halter training at this point - it will only make matters worse and as Up North has pointed out, it doesn't happen overnight. None of mine are halter trained, all come to the call - even the bought-in cow. Believe me, your little cow will settle down but it will take a week or so to do so and then you will be home and hosed.

You haven't bought a lemon, you've just got an upset animal on your hands.

Cheers,
Ronnie

ozark_jewels · #4 07/26/06, 06:06 AM

Very good advice above. And if she won't halter break(its much easier to halter break when they are young), its not the end of the world. None of our milk cows are halter broke. They come to our call and all stand to be tied and milked.
Best things to remember are to move and talk slowly and keep your voice low and gentle. Never raise your voice near her till she has gotten comfortable around you(and I know that can take some tremendous willpower the first couple of weeks....

). She is one scared lady at the moment and trying to halter break her right now is going to scare her more. One big step toward halter breaking is just getting her used to being tied while you milk her. Whatever you do, make sure you tie her with something that will not break and to something she can't pull loose. You don't want to start by teaching her she is able to break loose.

Slev · #5 07/26/06, 07:31 AM

Another thought, make sure you are correctly using the halter. Sounds silly, but an ill-fitting or halter put on the wrong way can cause some problems. I like the training halter with a small chain on the underside. Used correctly, it can aide in her training, but don't just pull, pull, pull. You need to pull just a little pressure on the halter, then when she steps forward, allow the pressure to release for a minute. (Training the cow that moving correctly will release the pressure) if you're just tugging and constant pressure, she may be thinking even if I step up, I get no release and she will fight it more. Luring her with a small treat for little improvements. Make sure she doesn't ever win.