Problems #2

[renegade]

I just came in from working steers and i dont know what to do with this blue roan calf.  My red calf is a natural at holding his head high, i dont tie his head "up" just tight because if i tie it up it makes his back bow. But my blue calf is the opposite. When i lead him or when im trying to set him up he wont put that head up. He wants to stick his nose out and he usually plays with my jacket. When i tie his head up he still only sticks his nose up and out, his head comes up a little but not much and he will stand like that until i untie him. I dont know if its because he kind a has a bully type hump on his kneck or if he is just being a brat. He is also very sensitive so practically anytime you touch him he thinks you are scratching him and he will lick me and he will bob his head and he lives it up. Any suggestions?

 

[showsteerdlux]

I had one like that this year and the bad thing was that hew as my best one. I just kept on working with him and he finally decided it was worth his time to keep the head up. He was pretty thick necked but at his final show he acted the best I had ever had a calf show (no he was not drugged) and basically showed himself. Point is just keep on working him and don't jar his head way up in the air or anything and hopefully he will start cooperating.

 

[BCCC]

i have a blue roan heifer just like your blue roan steer ;D and i dont know what to do with him either :'(

 

[shortyjock89]

Just keep tying their heads up, start at normal level, and slowly work your way up.  This makes it easier for the calf to adjust and be comfortable at the different elevation of his head.  Also, when you walk them, keep their head at show level if you can, it makes it easier to control them, and it helps them get used to the position.  It might be hard at first, but the hard work will pay off.

 

[renegade]

I think half of it is his fat kneck and half is wanting to be scratched and half is he isnt all of the way broke yet... wait is that 3 halves  JK. He has been getting better though. any more suggestions welcome, thanks for the help so far, you guys are great and i usually know im not the only one with a certian problem when i ask a question on here!  (lol)

 

[red]

I just keep tying them up & keep increasing it a little each week. After a while he'll get used to keeping his head up.

Red

 

[knabe]

I just came in from working steers and i dont know what to do with this blue roan calf.  My red calf is a natural at holding his head high, i dont tie his head "up" just tight because if i tie it up it makes his back bow. But my blue calf is the opposite. When i lead him or when im trying to set him up he wont put that head up. He wants to stick his nose out and he usually plays with my jacket. When i tie his head up he still only sticks his nose up and out, his head comes up a little but not much and he will stand like that until i untie him. I dont know if its because he kind a has a bully type hump on his kneck or if he is just being a brat. He is also very sensitive so practically anytime you touch him he thinks you are scratching him and he will lick me and he will bob his head and he lives it up. Any suggestions?

bowing back sometimes is from bracing rather than lifting his head up himself, sometimes gradually with the correct lifting works.  as far as sniffing, they probably learned this somewhere.  i have had several do this and one way i got it to go away was if they bumped into something, rather than it bumping into them.  ie don't prod them in the nose when they reach, but put something in front of their nose where they reach for like the end of your show stick, and be careful with your behavior that you are not actually giving them confilicting signals, ie, asking for them to reach, then either poke them or they poke themselves.  it's sometimes best that their behavior is self reinforcing.  one way to teach them to keep looking to sniff is when they sniff, then they get a reprimand, then a reward, ie scratching on the belly.  let them reprimand themselves, ignore it for a few second, (more than like 2 seconds) and continue.  somewhere along the line they got a response they liked.  eliminate the response, start and stop walking, getting their foot to move forward and backward in the air or half strides to set up quickly, keep them thinking.  lots of things to try here


in the end, maybe it's just blue roans (not really).