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.
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.
With rope halters, this does not need to be done as a lead rope is already attached to it when the halter was made.
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.
The first tying session should last no more than around 30 minutes. You can increase the time the calf is tied over time. [4] X Research source
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.
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] X Research source 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.
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.
