I need advice on breaking a heifer to lead

[forbes family farms]

I have a Chi heifer that is okay when she's tied up, but when we go to lead her she tries everything to get away but she's never got away. What do i do? Please help!

 

[lowann]

We have a Monopoly/Friction/ Chill Factor steer that we are having a time with too. He has been washed, tied, and does ok with this, but freaks when we get close to him. We have used all TLC on him, but he is just a tough nut to crack. (likes to kick too,  he looks first, and aims!!)
He's a pretty good steer too. We hate to give up on him.

 

[lightnin4]

I had to break a heifer similar to that when I was in college.  She was crazy and afraid of everyone.  The first day we put a halter on she drug two 250 lb guys through the barn.  She acted like a fool when we first tied her up but was ok with that after a couple of days.  But she tried to get away as soon as we untied her.  She pulled away from my partner and then her boyfriend when he tried to lead her.  Finally, (I asked permission from the farm manager first) I hooked a long rope to her halter and tied it to a post then holding the short rope I tried to lead her.  When she tried to get away I held on to the lead rope as best I could until she found the end of the long rope.  It jerked her around and stopped her.  All she knew is that I still had the lead rope, so I must have done that to her!  She never tried to get away again.

I don't recommend that method with anything you think much of though.  It was dangerous for everyone involved, especially the heifer.  But, I got her to the show ring 3 weeks later and we placed 2nd in showmanship.  <party>

Apparently I didn't rid her of her craziness though.  I don't know how many times in the next 3 years the farm manager said to me..."YOUR heifer..." (insert "ran through a fence", "ran over me", "tore up ____", etc... ;D)   

 

[farmboy]

^^^ I wonder how many broken necks have happened from that?

 

[Silver]

I hooked a long rope to her halter and tied it to a post then holding the short rope I tried to lead her.  When she tried to get away I held on to the lead rope as best I could until she found the end of the long rope.  It jerked her around and stopped her.  All she knew is that I still had the lead rope, so I must have done that to her!  She never tried to get away again.

If you use this method get two people to do it. Don't just tie to the post have somebody there to dally and take slack and move the  rope as she walks in circles. That way they can't get up enough steam to hit the end of the rope too hard. Just makes things easier on the calf.

 

[OLD WORLD SHORTIE]

First you need to desensitize her to everything, get in the stall with her not tied up rub her everywhere with the show stick for a couple of days  and im not talking 15 minutes you need to spend hours with your heifer. She will let you get close enough to her to scratch her with a rice root brush, use the brush all over the body for hours. After that do the same thing with the halter i rub them all over the body with the halter this way they know it is not a threat to them. Eventually she will let you put the halter on her, she will want you to put the halter on her. I start lead breaking in the stall, i start by just turning their head, literally turn her head to the inside. Move around her while keeping inward pressure and rubbing her every where with the stick. As you may notice you are making small circles in the stall very small circles. As she gets more used to it, turn  her to the farthest corner she will start to come around. Eventually you will need to tie her down so she can get some slack, but still know the the rope is in control, after that you will be able to tie her up so she knows the rope is not playing. Every time  i work a heifer i follow these steps, on everyday, dont skip a step because she did a good job on it yesterday, always stick to the method.

You cant expect an animal to just know what you want it to do. You have to break it down, as you would a child. Look at what you are trying to teach and break it down into small steps. This helps me i have broke 7 calves this summer and this is my easiest year to date. Watch one of those horse whisper movies , there is a lot to learn from those guys.

 

[farmin female]

I hooked a long rope to her halter and tied it to a post then holding the short rope I tried to lead her.  When she tried to get away I held on to the lead rope as best I could until she found the end of the long rope.  It jerked her around and stopped her.  All she knew is that I still had the lead rope, so I must have done that to her!  She never tried to get away again.

If you use this method get two people to do it. Don't just tie to the post have somebody there to dally and take slack and move the  rope as she walks in circles. That way they can't get up enough steam to hit the end of the rope too hard. Just makes things easier on the calf.

We have had luck with this method also.  It does work better with two people and you can move her around a pen going from one point to another using your fence posts or whatever a a dally post.  Breaking calves to lead involves trust building.  People laugh at that but it is true.  If you are successfull using this method, she trusts that she can't get away.  Then you build trust that you will  not harm or hurt her.  Then trust that you will feed her.  Trust that you will make her feel good by brushing and rubbing on her.  It takes time and patience.