Halter Breaking
My son, Jake, is halter breaking his show heifer. My husband is helping him. They decided to use a tractor in the process. They ran her through the cattle chute and put the halter on her head with a lead rope attached. At first they let her walk around dragging the lead rope. When she stepped on it, she was learning to give to the halter. She was learning to stop.
The next step was catching her again. She is a sucker for alfalfa cubes. You can break one into several small pieces and she gobbles them up. While she munched on her treat, Jake took hold of the lead rope.
The heifer weighs several hundred pounds, probably between 550-600 pounds. Jake is no match for her in size or strength. My brother, who is 6’7″ and extremely strong, decided to help Jake. My brother has not complained, but I bet he was feeling every muscle in his body the next day.
He wrapped the lead rope around his body to help give him the leverage needed to resist her refusal to walk. She lowered her head, planted her two front hooves, and froze. Every muscle she had was tense. Jake, who is fearless and as stubborn as the heifer, grabbed the end of her tail. She succumbed to the simultaneous pressure on her head and tail.
They walked around and around a small round pen in a battle of wills. Finally my husband, brother, and Jake decided to work smarter and not harder. They got the tractor. My husband tied a lead rope to the back of the tractor. He secured another lead rope to her halter. My brother walked beside her as my husband drove the tractor ss-low-ly. It was very smart to start off slowly because you don’t want to do anything to hurt her like break her neck.
She responded well to the tractor. She could not fight the machine. When the heifer was following behind the tractor with slack in the lead rope, my brother called Jake over. Now my son walked beside the heifer. Soon she was again walking with slack in the rope between the tractor and herself.
For days my husband and son have been working to halter break her. It is going well, but it is a slow process. Rome was not built in one day. Sooner than later her training will be done and Jake can begin exercising her on long walks. Then he can teach her to stand appropriately for the show ring.
Raising show animals is hard work. Halter breaking cattle is not what ranchers typically do. Hopefully Jake will continue to work hard and will stay safe. He is learning an invaluable lesson. You should halter break animals early. Do not wait until they outweigh by 500 pounds.
Obviously this is Jake’s 4-H animal project. It is also his first year as a Junior 4-H member. If anyone has a story to share or a tip to give, we would appreciate it if you would share it. Otherwise, I hope this story put a smile on your face. I only regret not having my camera when all this was happening.
Wow Lara, I thought teaching a goat to stand in the milking stand and not kick was a difficult task. My kids have asked for a cow and horses but I always give them the same answer, “No animals bigger than mom!”
Blessings to Jake. May he have the victory.
Have a great weekend,
Carol
Thank you, Carol. And your policy is a pretty good one, too. Lara
The earlier you can start training the better. We like to start halter training as soon as we wean at six months. It allows you the upper hand. Also a lot of touch and love goes a long way. We have broke and shown many Texas longhorns. We live in Alabama. A donkey also works well. Some are as strong as a tractor. Good luck in your showing. It is a great family activity. We have moved from cows to horses. My child is 13 soon to be 14. I love our farm. We learn everything by the seat of our britches. We have all the scars and lumps to prove it!
Hi Lara,
My daughter shows steers and heifers also. The way we break ours to the halter is to tie them and just let them stand with the halter on. Just for a little while every few days and usually there isn’t that much of a problem when she starts leading them. Of course every heifer/steer is different. The last two steers she had where as friendly as dogs, you could just lay all over them and they didn’t care. Anyway, it is hard work but if your son is anything like my dd the joy they get out of it is well worth it. Tell him I said good luck in the show ring.
Opps! My last name is Morgan not Moran. Sorry.
Jeanna,
Thanks for the advice. Jake is loving it.