Experienced trainer shares halter-breaking techniques at East Texas beef show cattle event

By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition

August 16, 2001 -- When a youngster has purchased a beef heifer or steer for their 4-H or FFA project, one of the first things that needs to be done is halter-break the animal.

Pete Lucas detailed his tried-and-true methods of halter-breaking to the 143 youngsters and parents who attended the recent East Texas Beef Show Cattle - Youth Day Camp in Tyler. The event was organized by the Van Zandt County and Smith County Extension offices, in cooperation with the East Texas State Fair.

Lucas, a Van Zandt County 4-H leader, offered his credentials for being the presenter of this topic. "I've done this so long; I've been drug so far; I've been kicked so many times ...."

"Ninety-five percent of them (heifers, steers) will have an attitude, and it's not always good," he began.

But since halter-breaking is a necessity if the youngster is going to lead the animal around the show ring, Lucas detailed a method "that is not going to get you hurt."

Lucas has had great success with a "confined-space" halter-breaking technique that will usually have the calf ready to lead within about three or four days.

"I'm not saying you can break every one of them this way, but it has been successful for us," he said.

The confined-space method involves tying the haltered calf in the front of a trailer. Then, from outside the trailer, the youngster can lead the calf to water and feed at the back of the trailer.

The calf should be tied up (with head in raised position), and tied down (with head lowered) throughout the process. The rope, that is attached to the calf's halter, is tied to the trailer's side panels at the front of the trailer.

"And we treat the trailer just like a stall, with clean shavings and all," he said. During the hot months, Lucas said the trailer is, of course, parked in a shaded, ventilated area; and if it gets really hot, he uses fans and even a water mist to keep the animal comfortable.

"Young calves have a tendency to be eaiser (to halter break)," he said. "And the Bos indicus cattle, like the Brahman, and Limousin, have been the most docile calves I've worked with. .. The most trouble, the ones with the most attitude, are the Chi-crossed, such as Chiangus."

Chi-crossed refers to those crossbred with Chianina.

Lucas is a Santa Gertrudis breeder, and has built a good reputation for training horses and bird dogs.

Being patient, easy in movements, and even-tempered are the keys to working with the calves, or other animals being trained, Lucas stressed. "Like my 21-year-old, I don't let him go to the barn for the first month (after a calf is first brought there to be halter-broke). He can mess up in one hour what I've accomplished in one month; then the calf may have to go back in the trailer."

For calves that tend to lunge, or rear up, Lucas emphasized the importance of placing plyboard in the trailer so the calf doesn't get its legs caught in the trailer's side panels. A hole has to be cut in the board for the rope to go through so the leading-the-calf-to-water process can be done.

When the day comes for the now-halter-broke calf to exit the trailer, Lucas said to tie an extension to the halter shank. Take the calf to the end of the trailer, then tie the extension rope to the trailer. "He'll bound out of there, hopefully, because the best thing he can do is fall when he's jerked around. Then he'll think, 'hey, this guy is tough.'"

Because cattle are creatures of habit, they learn from an experience(s).

Once halter-broke, it is important the calf be tied every day; two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. "That's every day, even Saturday and Sunday. Tie that calf before you go to church on Sunday, then untie him when you get home. Then do it again in the evening."

Some problems the young competitors face can also be remedied with patience and repitition.

In dealing with a calf that kicks, Lucas suggested taking a show stick and poking the calf's back foot repetitively. "Touch that foot, he'll kick; touch that foot, kick; and on and on," he said. "Eventually he'll give it up."

With some calves, using a show stick puts the youngster too close to the animal, so Lucas suggested using a water hose with a pressure nozzle. Repetitively spray directly on the foot so the calf will kick; until the calf tires and figures out he doesn't want to do that any longer.

Patience comes into play here, because this can take hours. "Just drag you up a chair and get a broom handle, or the show stick, and get after it," he said.

If the calf forgets it is halter-broke and won't lead, Lucas suggested putting them back in the trailer and do the confined-space training again. "But don't go get the tractor with the hydraulic lift and hook him up," he stressed. Cattle have a group of ligaments and muscles at the top of their spine and it can be seriously damaged by lifting on and pullling on the calf with a tractor.

"And you don't want to crank on that tail," he stressed. "I've found a cottonseed mill cube in my pocket will do a lot" to get that calf to come forward. Lucas did note the calf has an "elevator button" about a third way down the tail. "You can push that tail in just a bit" to make the calf go forward, but "don't push it sideways; just push it in."

If a calf is an "aggressive walker" and tends to run up on the person doing the leading, Lucas said to walk the calf in a small pen so it doesn't have much room to try and get ahead.

For a calf that dances around, or tries to shy away, while being brushed, Lucas said to put the calf in a railing (stall), that's welded in place, and brush the calf. It's also good to just rub a tote sack, with part of it dangling down, all over the calf to get it used to being rubbed and brushed.

One other bit of advice Lucas shared with the youngsters is to refrain from wrapping the lead rope around their hand. "I had a student do that once; he wrapped it around his hand several times. The calf jumped away from him, and the rope also got around his leg. We caught them about four acres later."