Shy Steer

[Kailee TheKool]

Hey everyone! I've got a problem that I've never encountered before and I need some help. One of my steers is really afraid of strangers. Background: I bought him at the end of October as an unbroken weanling who was known to be pretty nervous. His only personality trait was basically being wild and not liking people at all. By mid-November, he was super chill, being washed, blown, and walked, no problem. By February, his personality was starting to come out as a goofy, sweet little guy who loved being around people and being worked. We've got a ton of jackpots and a few clinics planned, and our county fair is in August (I'm also tentatively thinking about taking him to NILE, depending on what my parents say). Our initial 4-H weigh-in was last week, and he was pretty nervous there. To be fair, there were a lot of idiots smacking all the calves for no reason and I wasn't able to walk him due to how it was set up. He didn't make the weigh-in and we were given a week. Then, yesterday, for our reweigh, he traveled in the trailer on his own really well, loaded and unloaded great. Then one of the adults (important note- a man) in charge took him from me to load onto the scale. I go into the human part of the scale and see my steer go berserk and run around all wild. Finally, they got him into the scale, but as soon as they wrote down the weight and opened the door, the steer took off again and slammed into a fence. We all tried (with other adult men) to load him onto the trailer, but he was having none of it. Finally, he rounded a corner in the small holding pen where I was standing on my own, where he couldn't see anyone else. He walked right up to me and let me grab his lead with no problem. He immediately relaxed and let me load him onto the trailer. As we were walking past everyone else, including my brother who he knows, he got really stiff and wide-eyed but let me load him. Once in the trailer, he could see someone standing on the side (never had a problem with that before) and went wild again, so I had to get out without tying him or securing the divider. We left and while driving, we could hear him kicking and jumping around. Once at home, I managed to grab his lead and wrap him around a bar in the trailer. I then made my brother move to where the steer couldn't see him and he chilled out and let me lead him back to his stall even calmer and more relaxed than a normal day at home.

TL;DR- My steer has been really good at home since mid-November but going somewhere with male strangers he went crazy.

Anyway, sorry for the long story, but what should I do about this? He wants to be a show calf, he acts like it until he's in situations like these. Our first jackpot is undecided, but it'll be in mid or late May. I don't want to be giving him supplements because he used to act worse than that even with me so I think it can be worked through, but how? Thank you for any help, I really appreciate it! I'll keep everyone updated as we go on.

Also, a picture of him because while I'm not a great photographer and my phone distorts how he looks, I'm loving how he's improving in his look as well the last few months!

 

[Jive Turkey]

Tell them to allow you to lead him and no loud noises or slapping because he does not respond well to that.

You have every right as his owner to request such.

I am so sorry that this has happened to you.

A lot of men just try to "Manhandle" every animal that they come into contact with which results in incidents like this.

Nice calf by the way!!!!

 

[CPrice]

Your steer will definitely have to get used to other people, crowds, noises, etc. Sometimes that is hard to replicate and practice at home, and the best thing you can do is take them to a jackpot show and expose them to these things. We had a steer this past year that we took out to a jackpot show with no intentions of showing him that day. He just needed exposure. He pretty much hung out all day at the stalls. He got fed and watered at stalls, and got to experience all the sights and sounds of show life. We walked him around some as well. But this particular steer really needed this outing. He was nervous Nelly most of the day, but finally layed down and relaxed towards the end of the day. The next show we took him to, he was much better and able to be shown.

 

[BigNSoTX]

Best thing I did for a calf like that is hauled him to a jackpot and left him tied in the stall overnight. It changed everything for him From then on, as soon as he was stalled at any show we went to, he ate, drank, and laid down to rest right away.

 

[Kailee TheKool]

Tell them to allow you to lead him and no loud noises or slapping because he does not respond well to that.

You have every right as his owner to request such.

I am so sorry that this has happened to you.

A lot of men just try to "Manhandle" every animal that they come into contact with which results in incidents like this.

Nice calf by the way!!!!

Thank you!!
I'll make sure that people listen to me from now on.
And thanks!! He's not perfect but I'm really happy with how he looks right now!

 

[Kailee TheKool]

Your steer will definitely have to get used to other people, crowds, noises, etc. Sometimes that is hard to replicate and practice at home, and the best thing you can do is take them to a jackpot show and expose them to these things. We had a steer this past year that we took out to a jackpot show with no intentions of showing him that day. He just needed exposure. He pretty much hung out all day at the stalls. He got fed and watered at stalls, and got to experience all the sights and sounds of show life. We walked him around some as well. But this particular steer really needed this outing. He was nervous Nelly most of the day, but finally layed down and relaxed towards the end of the day. The next show we took him to, he was much better and able to be shown.

That's a good idea, I hadn't thought of that yet! Thanks!

 

[Kailee TheKool]

Best thing I did for a calf like that is hauled him to a jackpot and left him tied in the stall overnight. It changed everything for him From then on, as soon as he was stalled at any show we went to, he ate, drank, and laid down to rest right away.

I will definitely try this! Thank you!!