Taming the Beast

Countrygrl3 · #1 07/19/05, 12:33 PM

Does anyone have suggestions for the best way to halter break a bull calf? or the best way to remind him that i am in charge

. i really want to keep this little guy as our bull, but if he turns into a complete monster then we will have to get rid of him. any suggestions are great!

Sue

james dilley · #2 07/19/05, 12:50 PM

Put the halter on him use a short pc. of rope then get a forked branch about 2" in dia. and hook the halter to this and tie it the branch to one leg that way he has to move when you want him to, Or try a nose ring with a twitch, that will tell him who's boss.

wr · #3 07/19/05, 01:52 PM

I would like to let you know that halter breaking can bring on a whole different set of problems. They do seem to loose a certain healthy respect for humans after halter breaking and in some cases when they get older they become an even bigger problem.

tatanka · #4 07/19/05, 09:43 PM

My kids have been showing cattle for years. Our best herd bulls are the ones broken to lead at weaning and shown for the first year then turned out to pasture. You can walk up to them anywhere in the pasture and pet, rub or hand feed them. They tend to stay more gentle than bulls that have never been handled.

Marla

SmokedCow · #5 07/19/05, 11:35 PM

First off...Good luck...im on my 8th year of 4-H and we have broke many-a-calves.

We get them in the shoot, put a halter on them and let then run for a few days, This helps them get use to the halter and then they also get use to stepping on it and stopping. If we dont have much time...its leather gloves and hold on! I have a feeling thats what we will be doing with this next steer. At times we have just tied them up in the box stall till they dont pull back anymore...2 or 3 days. Bring the water and feed to them. If you have any other questions...Feel free to IM me...Im on here alot!! GOOD LUCK!
AJ

tyusclan · #6 07/20/05, 05:40 AM

If he's young enough that you're still stronger than he is now is the time to start. Just put the halter on whenever you go out there and lead him around. If he's already too large for that the BEST way is with a donkey. I halter broke two calves in two days with a donkey. The first day I put the halter on the one heifer and tied a bowline around the donkey's neck and turned them out in the pasture. The next afternoon I walked to the other end of the pasture where they were, untied the rope from around the donkey and led the heifer back to the barn like she'd been doing it all her life. Did the same thing with the other one the next day.

Countrygrl3 · #7 07/20/05, 05:05 PM

thankfully he is still young enough that i am stronger than he is. his is a bit more than 2 weeks old, i have had a break away halter on him for almost a week, and he has finally stopped trying to scrape it off.

when i try to separate him from his mama, he digs his heels in and wont move. i just keep the tension on the lead rope until he steps forward, and then slack off until i want him to move again. thank you all for your suggestions, im heading out to the pasture now and im sure i will try each and every one of your ideas

Sue

twstanley · #8 07/21/05, 09:52 AM

Keep in mind that the main thing is to get him to move his feet when you want him to, so if he won't come forward when you pull, walk around to his side and try getting him to turn your way or move towards his rear end so he scoots it away. Either method gets his feet 'unstuck' and will possibly make it easier to get him following. It is much harder for them to resist your pulling at a 90 degree angle off their front end.