Why does he do this??

[ckey0095]

For the past three weeks when ever I walk my steer he does this almost the whole time, does anyone know why they do this?? My past steers use to do it sometimes but not nearly as much as he does!

 

[GoWyo]

Looks like he has given up.  Do you constantly pull on his lead or are you giving him his head when he walks forward.?  Maybe some video of you leading him right before he goes down will let us see what is going on.

 

[ckey0095]

I don't pull on him at all, he walks at his own pace but usually keeps up with mine but lately he's just stopped and got down like that several times when I walk him. I want to break him of it so it doesn't happen when I show him

 

[LoveToShowSteers]

I had a heifer that did this and yes they will do that in the show ring and if you break them of it they will try and lay down in the ring too. We put my heifer behind the tractor and when she went to go down we took a hot shot to her. I would walk her in the morning and if she did that then when I would walk her in the evening I put her behind the tractor to walk her. Once I walked her around for 5 or more min with the tractor, I would walk her by hand and have someone follow her and if she tried to go down I would have them twist her tail before she would go down. It worked but it took about a week of this to stop her of it. Good luck!

 

[GoWyo]

First thing is to make sure he isn't sore or unsound.  If you can definitely rule that out, then move on to having someone walking behind him to add a little persuasion when he tries to lay down.  That can include poking him in the butt with a scotch comb or various means of keeping him moving.  A short (1 second zinger) with a prod could be used if he is really stubborn.  We exercise ours by driving them from behind with a longe whip as it is much easier, especially if you have more than 1 to exercise at a time.

 

[cowman 52]

He is bored plain and simple. 

 

[vc]

I'm going with bored as well, I would give him a quick tap to the nose with a show stick as soon as he starts to go down, if that does not work I would tie him as low as I could for a while every time he tries it. To me it is a bad habit he is developing, because if he does this he does not have to do what you want him to.

 

[PSC]

we had one dothat 2yr ago come to find out his shoulder and back was out never stayed sound

 

[barngoddess]

We had a bull that did that this year, he'd take a few steps and then just flop over. It was funny for a little while... Honestly I think it was just because he was lazy and didn't want to keep working. Try walking him with another animal if possible? Maybe this will keep his attention more and make him want to walk along. When you can tell that he is getting ready to go down yank his head up as high as it'll go and turn him in a circle. The tractor is always a great tool if nothing else helps!

Good luck!

 

[Ms Ray]

when my sons cow was young she used to do that too, I think it was her way of trying to get away

 

[Telos]

Does he seem to be active and stand for long periods without you leading him? If so he is probably just wanting to resist the fact he is being lead. Give him a reward of water and feed or hay after a good walk. If not, you might want to take a profile picture an then analyze how his shoulder is designed. He could have an issue with fatigue if he is too straight through his shoulder.