Halter training a bull

[Peter thornton]

Anyone any thoughts about halter training a 20 month old bull?

[Duncan MacIntyre]

Certainly not impossible if the bull is good quiet reliable temprament, and has a ring properly fitted and the nose has healed. Have him in a pen so you can catch him on halter and put a lead rope on the nose ring, and just be content to move him about in the pen for the first effort. Do not spend too long, 10 minutes or quarter of an hour is enough time to start with. Encourage him to go forward when you ask him and put pressure on the halter, and perhaps ever so gentle a pull on the ring rope, but on no account use the ring as the main means to get forward movement. It is really only there as an extra control if needed. When he goes around in the pen without too much fuss try him in a bigger area, I have a small bit in front of my shed 20 feet by about 50, and get him to go up and down in that, then go for more space - I use the road up to our house which is tarred and has a fence up each side. It may take a few lessons to get him willing enough to go at all well but do not despair and on no account get angry if he does not do well - just persist very calmly and quietly with what you want to do. It may help to have a quiet person behind to help move him forward. But the main thing is not to be violent with use of the halter or ring rope and not to get stroppy. He will be better at that than you and the battle is lost. Remember that walking quietly on the halter at home does not guarantee that he will be the same at a show if he has not seen much of the outside world.
I have just shown one at Dumfries show who had a halter on once at a year old, then not till 2 yr old, when he had 3 walks down the road (April) and then a lesson once a week from early July till now. He goes very obediently at home but less than perfect in the show ring although we did manage.

Duncan

[Saffy]

Peter,

I think this halter breaking exercise could be quite profitable.

Have you thought of selling tickets for it? :D

Tee Hee.

Sorry I should'nt poke fun. I have never had the misfortune to need to lead a bull of any age or breed.

However I have persuaded quite a few 2 year old friesian heifers to lead in the past and I found the best way was to get them used to being tied first. Then put a couple of straw bales on the link arms of a tractor and tie them to the link arms with a quick release knot but appear to be leading them myself.

It worked very well for many years until one bright heifer lay down and refused to get up for hours and frightened me so much I gave up showing them altogether. I really thought she was hurt and the thought of hurting one put me off.

As usual The advice from Duncan sounds excellent.

Good luck, progress reports might be interesting.
Stephanie :D

[Peter thornton]

Thanks both for the advice>

Duncan, I understand the point about not being rogh with the lead rope (through the nose ring). But what happens is the bull pulls away? Do I take the strain on the halter, and probably follow at a rate of knots, or do I let him tug at the nose ring?

Also I'm not quite sure how the lead rope works. Is it totally seperate from the halter or is their some link between the two?

[Duncan MacIntyre]

Hello Peter,

I work the halter and the rope in the ring quite separate,holding the halter a few inches from the head in my right hand, and both in my left hand, but with the halter shortest so that if he pulls too hard for the right hand the left takes the pull with the halter first and nose rope second. I fully agree with what Stephanie says about tying them up but not about leading attached to a tractor - I have seen several cattle wrecked by doing that in one case a hoof pulled clean off by getting entangled in the tractor lift arms. These were not just idiots but people with the best of intentions and a lot of experience - I vowed nearly thirty years ago not to attach a beast to a tractor after treating a jersey heifer left with 3.5 feet.
I know you are asking specifically about an older bull, but as a general rule it is best to get them going as small calves, one way to do that with as little argument as possible is to halter the calf and walk it beside its mother on a halter - only works if the cow is already trained of course. But even a few turns on a halter at less than 6 months and they do not forget

Duncan

[Jo Kemp]

Duncan's bull was very good at the Dumfries Show - it was the heifer (perfect at home) who wasn't but she still came away with a 2nd (dexter) rosette..she too is very nice.
Our heifer didn't get to the show - she had taken on her handler the day before and won-twice! Now she is in the field and forgetting the whole thing I hope ... 'til next year? She was perfect at 4 months and I think The GYS was just too long for her first show (the wee 12 month old bull though was very good at the GYS so I just hope he develops into a good bull!)