Day 1 Halter Breaking (Winchesters Diary)

This is going to be a little series outlining the breaking process of Winchester, one of our 3 steers heading to Wingham Beef Week in May.

Our yards are a little bit big for the usual method I use as you can see, but we make do.
I try to start off by getting them to stand still as I lay the stick over their back and attemp to give them a scratch(this dude was a bit spicy for that to start). Then use the show stick to halter the calf. After the halter is on I pull the animal straight to the fence, giving about a forearm length of slack on a low rail so they aren't likely to choke themselves if they lay down/flop. Any other cows nearby are tied high and short so he can't tangle in their leads. I leave them be mainly on this first day, when I'm done I'll let them go using the showstick, hooking the loop over their poll. I untie them before I let them go and don't let them go until they are standing with a loose lead.

Plans change with the cows behaviour of course! one size rarely fits all.

Gear used:
-XL CARBON FIBRE CANE from limitless show supplies.
-12mm thick 12ft long cattle halter from Jesskah's Rope Tack.