CALF HELP! quick

I have a really good Amen calf that im showing in the prospects at Denver and is wanting to walk ahead and faster on the halter. I have tried everything!

I need help to figure out how to keep him from wanting to walk really fast and ahead of me any ways to slow him down? I don't know if its because he wants

to go back in the pen with the thriller steer or what but when they are walked together he does fine if he is ahead of the other steer but terrible if he is behind any steer. HELP!!QUICK!

Have you tried leading him with a showstick??? Sometimes it helps to hold it up in front of their nose to slow them down. If you have to bump it with it. Maybe just enough to get his attention and back him off. Then if he speeds up you may only have to flash that show stick up at him to slow him down. Just for a reminder.

Wear him out a little.  Lead him around for good 20 or 30 minutes to kind of take the edge off of him.  The ones I've had like that seem to respond to a little exercise and are much easier to work with after a few trips around the farm or fair grounds.

see if you can get him to lean. 

teach him to only take a step when you do.

you can teach them to lean forward and back.

they should be mirroring your steps to a tee.

start small

Try some melatonin

How much melatonin ? And the show stick helped a little

knabe said:

see if you can get him to lean. 

teach him to only take a step when you do.

you can teach them to lean forward and back.

they should be mirroring your steps to a tee.

start small

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Best advice you'll get, and it looks as though it was ignored???

AAOK said:

knabe said:

see if you can get him to lean. 

teach him to only take a step when you do.

you can teach them to lean forward and back.

they should be mirroring your steps to a tee.

start small

Click to expand...

Best advice you'll get, and it looks as though it was ignored???

Click to expand...

<rock> <rock> <rock>

A pill is so much easier and faster than the work involved to accumulate knowledge and proficiency sufficient to train the critter.

I'm definitely not ignoring I think it's great advice I just don't have time to teach him that for nwss but for fair he will lean

You now have 2 weeks til have to be to NWSS for the prospect shows.  If you aren't tying them in the barn and under fans it would be good to start now.  Being tied 10 hours a day will do wonders for getting them to handle better.  Exercise and then work out with the stick before evening feeding is our routine.  We have been tying for about 10 days now along with the exercise and show stick sessions and they are improving rapidly.

3-4 pills. Depends on mg's.

do you watch them for all 10 hours? or are they fine just alone

HannaCattle said:

3-4 pills. Depends on mg's.

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the bottle i have is 2.5 mg.. still 3-4 pills?

When they said tied for 10 hours, they are referring to tying them so they can stand and lie down, like you would at a show. I do not like to tie a calf standing for more than 2 hours at a time when there at home, if a calf has any structure issue no matter how slight, tying them for long periods can make the problems worse.
As for the melatonin, I do not think you need it, the calf does not sound like it is high strung, he needs to learn how to lead properly. When we are trying to take the edge off of a calf with melatonin, we start with 30 3mg pills and adjust from there. If 30 seems like it put him to sleep drop it down to 20, if 30 has no effect raise it to 40 and so on.  Do this at home and see what works, but like I said I do not think you need it.

We gave 33 a day just for hair growth.

it sounds weird, but if holding a showstick in front isn't helping, you can always try walking him into a fence post or something, so that he learns to follow you.

Cowgirl94 said:

HannaCattle said:

3-4 pills. Depends on mg's.

Click to expand...

the bottle i have is 2.5 mg.. still 3-4 pills?

Click to expand...

10 mg 5 to 6 pills have worked for us at feeding