Stockmanship pays off

But do you ever consider the financial loss associated with stress when working cattle?

“Lowering stress while handling reduces shrink. Stockmanship pays off,” said Curt Pate. Montana-raised, Pate applies his experience with livestock handling to educate audiences around the world about stockmanship, colt starting, herdsmanship and safety.

His stockmanship partner, Dr. Ron Gill, is a cattle handling expert, professor and extension livestock specialist at Texas A&M. Their low-stress animal handling demonstrations were part of the Stockmanship and Stewardship event June 13 at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska, and June 15 at the Red Willow Fairgrounds Kiplinger Arena in McCook, Nebraska.

Stockmanship and Stewardship is a national program that educates beef producers and those who work on cattle operations about proper management practices. At the event, educational sessions and cattle handling demonstrations were offered in English and Spanish. Cattle handling techniques were shown both on horseback and on foot.

Before working cattle, you must first understand the importance of training them to accept the stress associated with being handled. There is no stress-free handling, but people can adopt low-stress handling techniques.

We train our kids, horses and dogs to do what we want, Gill said, but rarely do we consider training our cattle. Be consistent when training and working cattle. If you plan to use an ATV or side-by-side when working them, then teach cattle to accept pressure from that machine. If you intend to go on foot or horseback, then spend time walking or riding through your cattle prior to working with them.

Line of sight is also important. Ruth Woiwode, assistant professor and extension assistant for Nebraska Extension, explained the role of vision during her session about designing cattle handling facilities.

“Flight zone and point of balance are all tied to the eye and what the animal can see,” Woiwode said. “It will vary from animal to animal and the situation.”

The pupils on the eyes of cattle are oriented to see perpendicular lines on the horizon, she said. Cattle do not see very clearly in front of them, and they often put their heads down to do so.

Oftentimes, producers move cattle by trying to push from behind. Pate and Gill showed how it can be more effective to work cattle from where cattle can see you. They will be calmer if you stay within their line of sight—on their side or in front of them.

All it takes to get cattle to move is applying a little pressure. Staying within their line of sight, slowly enter their flight zone until they move toward the direction you desire. It may be necessary to remove the pressure for a moment by stepping back, then trying again.

You can also draw an animal where you want it to go. Essentially, you are helping the animal make the decision instead of forcing them to go. Pate showed how willingly the calves in the handling demonstration followed his horse through a gate. Using the tail of a horse to draw cattle is an underused technique in northern states, such as Nebraska, he said.

Another rarely used technique is simply rocking. Both men swayed slightly from side to side, holding the cattle tightly in a small space.

“The rocking motion is underestimated when working cattle,” Gill said., adding that small movements like that lower stress and avoid panicking the cattle.

When cattle panic, they often ball up in an impenetrable herd. Pate recommends stringing the cattle out to walk them through an opening more easily. If they are bottling up, Gill said to apply pressure until one animal moves. The next will naturally follow and so on, because cattle are herd animals.

“They want to remove pressure and be able to see you,” said Gill.

The techniques they taught involve time and patience, but training a crew to practice these same methods will result in calmer, more efficient cattle working sessions.

When your cattle are less stressed, you will notice that they gain faster, stay healthier and act more agreeable, they said. Well-managed cattle start with better stockmanship.