How to Halter Train Cattle

Last Updated: July 12, 2022

Halter-training or halter-breaking a calf for the show-ring takes patience, time, persistence, hard work and dedication. No matter what breed or type the calf is, it's always best to start them when they're quite young and not as strong as they would be when they're almost full-grown. Halter-training cattle is similar to halter-training horses, except that you are dealing with cattle, not horses. Cattle behave and think a little differently from horses, thus you need to be prepared to handle cattle in a different manner.

Halter training cattle has slightly different methods in accordance to size and age. Young calves can simply be caught and haltered then lead around for a little, whereas older ones need more time and patience to get used to the halter and you. Majority of show cattle are started when they are weaned off the bottle or from their mothers. This is the primary method that is used to start cattle on the halter. It works for both young and older calves or cattle, even though it is originally written for calves that are not at weaning age (or at least 3 to 6 months old).

Steps

1
Catch the calf. This is actually easier said than done, and there are several ways you can do this, depending on the age and size of the calf, and your available help (if you have someone helping you or you are doing this alone). Ideally, you should first have the calf in a 20' by 30' pen to make it easier to catch and to get near.
- A young calf that is only a few days old can be caught by calmly cornering it or using a cane to catch its leg and pulling it towards you so you can grab the calf by hand. Calves this age are a little "dopey," so it's easier to guide them to where you want to halter and hold them than to simply put a rope its neck and try to lead it. You could put the halter on right where you caught the calf. Just watch out for its mother, especially if she isn't halter-trained herself and isn't too happy with you messing with her calf. If she's giving signs of this, then consider putting the pair in an area where you can separate mom and calf briefly while you begin to introduce the halter to the calf.
- Calves that are a week or so older will be harder to catch, but can be roped using a lariat. Calmly approach the calf close enough you can throw the rope to get a lasso on it. Loop over the neck so that the lasso of the rope catches the head. Lead the calf to the side of the fence or wherever you wish to put the halter on. Leading will be the fun part, because you will get a calf that will resist having itself pulled along by its neck and do everything it can to get free or be the one doing the pulling!
- For calves that are quite used to being around people and aren't afraid of getting quite near to a person, you can simply use a lead rope to catch it and lead it to the fence to put the halter on. Dairy calves, or bottle-fed beef calves are most likely to be comfortable around humans, and would obviously be the easiest to catch, if at all. You probably won't even need to catch such a calf if you have its bottle with you and it is eager to try to drink from it.
2
Put the halter on the calf. While still hanging on to the rope over the calf's neck, the halter, especially if it's a rope one, should be put on head/ears-first followed by the nose. Loop the calf's ears through the halter with one hand, letting the rope fall over the ears naturally instead of you just putting it on over the head and ears. The adjustable part of the rope halter (which is the nose portion) should be put as wide as possible so that the nose can also be looped in with the halter and the rope tightened to the calf's muzzle.^{[1]
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- Leather or nylon halters would be put on the same way, and the head piece adjusted so that it is snug, not pinching. Usually with halter-training a calf, heifer or steer you would normally use a non-show halter first and foremost before introducing, and possibly wrecking the leather show halter.
- If you are working with an older calf, or a calf that is typically unruly, you may need to confine its head first with a head-gate or head-catch (usually connected to a squeeze chute or cattle crush) so that you can put on the halter without the risk of injuring yourself or the calf running away on you with the halter hanging half-on. The crazier the calf, the more likely you should put it in the head-catch.
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3
Connect the lead. Snap the lead in a metal ring that is attached on the halter under the chin.
- With rope halters, this does not need to be done as a lead rope is already attached to it when the halter was made.
4
Leave the halter on for a week or two. The halter and lead should be left on for a week or so to allow the calf a chance to get used to it and to learn to respond to the halter's pressure points when it steps on the lead rope.^{[2]
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5
Be around the calf as frequently as possible. This is much more important with calves that are not on the bottle and are a bit leery of you. Feed him range cubes or try to offer him range cubes from your hand, or even a little grain if that's more readily available. Repeat this as often as possible, and even during that time try to get closer to him. But do not try to corner him. Just let him come to you and allow him to figure out for himself that you are not there to cause him any harm, but rather be a bringer of good and pleasant things like food, and eventually rubs.^{[3]
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- If the calf is not used to the range cubes, just put some in the feed trough if he does not accept your hand-held treat the first time. Once he gets used to the texture and taste it will be much easier to get him to come for them.
- Clean up the pen of manure and old straw and such, careful not to crowd him or make him upset in any way. The best way to do this is to talk to him calmly while focusing on your job.
6
Tie up the calf. Catch the lead rope and tie it up to a sturdy post in such a way that a couple of loops around the post are made, and secured with a quick-release knot. The rope should allow no more than 8 to 12 inches (20.3 to 30.5 cm) of length between the calf's head and the post, and be tied at the height of the calf's head.
- The first tying session should last no more than around 30 minutes. You can increase the time the calf is tied over time.^{[4]
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7
Get the calf used to being handled. While tied, you can start getting him used to being brushed and rubbed. You can also feed him a couple cubes as a treat for being tied up.^{[5]
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- Cattle love getting rubbed, but those who have not been handled before may try to get away from you. Just be patient, and rub and brush him over with your grooming supplies when he's staying still. Don't reward him with rubs when he's moving around. Start at the top, from the neck to the tail head (they absolutely love getting rubbed and scratched on and around the tail head area), down the sides and down the the dewlap to under the throat. You could also eventually try to get his legs, but work on that slowly. Most cattle don't like having their feet and legs handled at first.
- Work on both sides, just like with horses. Cattle can be good with you doing grooming on one side but a little uncomfortable with the other. Make sure you pay equal attention to rubbing and grooming both sides during the training sessions.
8
Untie the lead from the post and begin trying to lead the calf. A younger calf is going to be easier to lead than a weaned calf, but you still may get a fight on your hands, so be prepared. Always lead your calf within the pen, not outside in a more open area. You shouldn't try to lead your calf in an open area until you are confident he won't try to get away from you and is leading properly.
9
Take the lead in your hand and shorten it. Take several lengths of rope into your hand (do not wind the rope around your hand) until your hand is several inches from the muzzle of the animal.
10
Start walking forward, pulling the lead as you do to encourage the calf to move with you.
- Always walk on the left side of the the animal.
- Make sure you are not walking behind the head nor shoulders of the animal. You must be in lead. If the calf tries to get ahead of you, stop and collect the calf, or get the calf to have its head beside you again.^{[6]
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- Do not simply drag the calf as you go along. Encourage it to walk with you by pulling first, then releasing when the calf begins to move, and repeating until you have the calf starting to walk beside you. This will take many attempts to get, and you won't get a calf walking with you on the first session.
11
Practice doing turns. To turn the animal to the left by walking into the head. It will swing away from you as you do so. To turn right, bring the animal's head around your left side.
12
Watch for signs of wanting to get away or turn on you. If the animal gets jumpy or excited and starts jumping around, calmly keep a grip on the lead and jerk the lead until he stops.
- If your calf bolts and starts to run, collect the calf again and bring it around to you. Do not let it get away, because if you do let him get away he will learn that he can get away from you whenever he wants. You do not want that to happen to you in the show ring! Even if it's a larger calf, make sure you hang on and don't let go. The calf should have already learned how to resist the pull of the halter from that time when he was walking around freely dragging the lead rope, and what pressure on the halter means, so even if he tries to baulk on you and get away, a pull or jerk on the lead will teach him that he can't get away even if he tries.
- If he does manage to get away on you, get him back in your control as quickly, but calmly as possible. Do not end the session on his terms, this way you are definitely teaching him bad habits.
13
End each session on your own terms. You are the leader and the boss so it's up to you and you alone when the practice and training session should end. End it with rubbing and softly talking to him, letting him sniff you, whilst slowly dropping the lead or unclipping the lead rope. Then turn and walk away.
14
Practice, practice, practice! Repeat these steps every day for 15 minutes to an hour a day to get it used to being lead and halter-broke. It may take you two to three months to get a calf, heifer or steer fully used to being on a halter and lead, and to want to walk with you. You may not be able to take the halter off the calf until it readily comes to you or willingly stands to be caught and haltered. Until then, keep the halter on for as long as possible.

Community Q&A

Question

My calf is 5-months-old and still doesn't like to wear a halter. Do you have any other suggestions?

Karin

Top Answerer

You may have pushed her too hard or rushed things and confused her as a result. You may need to start fresh, putting the halter on at first for only a few minutes, the removing it right after. Leave it on for longer and longer times, and REWARD her while it's on. When ever you put the halter on, give her treats, scratches, pats, and not always the same things in that order. She needs to start to learn that the halter is a GOOD thing, and not bad. She's most like not accepting it now because she associates it with stress or pain.
Question

When I try to get my calf to lead, she starts sucking on my arm and she thinks she's going to be fed all the time, so basically she's not learning anything.

Community Answer

At least she associates you with feeding, which will make catching her easier. Try putting the halter on this time and getting her used to it. Let her drag around the lead rope, but do so for only a few minutes the first time. The next times you do it let her have it on for longer. This way, she will be learning something because she's giving you opportunity to start teaching her. Be grateful, again, that she has such a diminished flight zone as she does to make her easy to catch to start training her on the halter in the first place!
Question

My calf plants herself and won't move. What should I do?

Community Answer

Try pushing the top of her tail or walking in front of her with the milk bottle.

Warnings

Never underestimate the strength of the animal you are training to lead.

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Cattle are apt to bad behaviour like charging or trying to head-butt you. You may run into this problem while training your calf, heifer or steer. If this happens, you will need your show or sorting stick with you to teach him that it's not a good idea to be this aggressive with you.

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Never wrap the lead rope around your hand, especially when leading a large, weaned calf like one that is anywhere from just 200 pounds to over 800 pounds. You are more likely to be dragged around and injured doing that than simply looping the rope in your hands.

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