The Value in Training Cattle

Recently I had an appointment in town; as I drove up to the office I noticed a man hurriedly exit through the front door, race to his truck, and speed off. Unfortunately, the man in the truck had been the person I was to meet with; he left suddenly because he had received the dreaded call that all cattle owners hope to never receive, “the cattle are out!” I concluded my business with another employee and while driving home I was reminded of my own experience with the cattle getting out; I doubt I will ever forget that day.

Our original herd started with eleven heifers; from the day they arrived on the property, I began taking steps to train them, and all subsequent cattle, to come when called. This proved to be invaluable the day the cows, with their calves, managed to get through the perimeter fence onto the county road.

Luckily I was home the day this happened; but I was alone. I was working outside in the garden and just happened to look up and see the cows moseying down the roadway, calves by their side, stopping periodically to graze on the roadside grass as they moved towards an intersection less than a mile from our gate.

Now, when something like this happens timing can be critical to avoid disaster. Depending on where the cattle have escaped to, a cattle owner has some options:  1) try to muster a neighbor(s) to help herd the cattle back home,  2) locate a professional cowboy(s) with horses to help round up the herd, or 3) get them back yourself. The problem with the first two options is - you are dependent on other people being available and it takes time to get them on sight. In my case, I did not have time to wait for help; the cattle were not in a neighbor’s pasture, they were on the roadway and headed for the intersection!

I ran to the store room, filled the red bucket I used to give range cubes (treats) to the cattle as part of their training program, jumped in the Nissan Xterra, and stopping just long enough to open the front gate, drove onto the county road and eased up to the herd. The cows recognized the bright yellow Xterra; they stopped to watch it and moved to the side of the road as I slowly drove through and past the herd about 30 yards, then I turned the vehicle around and headed slowly back through the herd. The cows were still standing and staring at the Xterra; immediately past the herd I held the red bucket out the window at arms-length, rattled the treats in the bucket, yelled as loud as I could “come up” and very, very slowly drove back towards the gate to the ranch.

I just kept shaking that bucket extended out the window and yelling “come up”. My arm and hand were aching, my heart was pounding, I was praying those girls would obey me and no other vehicles would come down that road and frighten the herd, especially the calves, or hit one of them! I was about 60 – 70 feet from the herd, watching them in the rear view mirror, when as a group the cows turned and started to follow the Xterra. Yes, yes, yes!

Down the road we went like the Pied Piper, but with really large mice, to the music of those treats shaking in the red bucket, and my yelling “come up” – the calves bringing up the rear  - through the front gate and to the back pasture where I secured the herd. As I drove back to the house, the cows were happily munching the treats I poured from the red bucket!

The fence failed for several reasons – this pasture was originally just used for hay; its perimeter fence was composed of 4 strands of 2 barb wire with pull posts at each end of a 500 foot run of a fence line which was slightly curved as it followed the property lines along the roadway.  Shade is provided by trees along the roadway. As temperatures heated up during the day, the cattle sought relief from the heat by spreading out along the fence line and laying underneath the shades trees. This particular day, the cattle were attracted to a neighbor’s cattle across the roadway and so were concentrated together and pressing on the fence in one area.  This combination of factors exerted enough pressure on the fence to break two wires, thus creating a large enough opening for the cattle to escape.

We replaced the fencing with 6 strands of 4 barb wire, replaced all the metal t-posts with stout wooden posts, and additional pull-posts in the curved areas to better tighten the wire.  This not only gives more strength to the entire fence, but discourages the cattle from pressing on the wire or putting their heads between the wires and stretching it out of place.

Lessons learned – 1) we changed the use of this particular pasture - we should have reassessed the fencing taking into account the possibility of cattle across the roadway and strengthened the fence before it failed, and 2) the time and effort put into training the cattle paid off; when I needed it most the repetitious training kicked in and the cattle trusted if they came when called they would be rewarded, it’s just that simple. Not only did this training allow me to easily move the cattle within our pastures or into the corral as needed; it ultimately saved an unexpected situation from becoming a disaster.