training weaned/older calves to stop

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  • May 9, 2009 at 8:33 pm #40529
    bivol
    Participant

    Hi!

    i just run out of ideas what to do with older calves or mature cattle when teaching them to stop on command. at that point they should be accustomed to me, halter-broke, and accustomed to the yoke. how do i teach them to ABSOLUTELY ALWAYS stop? something less harsh than running w or nose rings….
    or am i worried too much?
    well, one thing i’d do is walk em with yoke and halters and then put the goad down in front of them, but is that enough for older calves or mature cattle?

    May 30, 2009 at 1:44 am #52246
    ivy
    Participant

    My calf also doesn’t always stop on command. He always stops with the stick. I, too, don’t know if he will eventually “get it.” Right now I spend time saying “woah” and giving him a second to respond before I use the stick. Some days he will stop at my voice but then the next day it will be as though I never stopped him with anything but the stick.

    May 30, 2009 at 2:16 am #52248
    Tim Harrigan
    Participant

    You just need to stay with it. Practice stop and go every 30 feet heading away from the barn and do it 20 or 30 times per day. Also, if he is pulling a load that he has to work at to pull he will be glad to stop. Stay with it and use the goad if necessary. They will figure it out.

    May 30, 2009 at 8:44 pm #52247
    ivy
    Participant

    Hi Tim,

    Thanks for the encouragement. Yes, it is definitely true that he stops best going up hill with a load. 🙂

    ivy

    June 4, 2009 at 5:58 pm #52249
    Tim Harrigan
    Participant

    So he does know what whoa means. No excuses then. I guess it is his call whether or not he gets wacked on the nose.

    June 10, 2009 at 12:52 pm #52245
    Vicki
    Participant

    Especially in training: Don’t say the command “whoa” unless you can be sure of compliance or you can enforce it. For instance, if they start picking up speed on the way back to the barn and get away from you, (am I the only one who has ever had this happen?)wait until they have to stop at the gate, then say, “Whoa.” That way in their minds Whoa ALWAYS is linked to stopping.

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