Livestock: From Here to There
©2017 C. Henry Martens
Have you ever watched animals being chased down a freeway by a fleet of police cars? Boy, those guys sure like to rodeo, don’t they?
The problem is they don’t have the foggiest idea what they are doing. Their strategy seems to be “Wear them out and don’t worry about the consequences.” Sometimes it seems like the people trying to help are so caught up in the excitement that they *want* some kind of calamity to happen.
I have seen cars sliding sideways on grass in city parks, officers drug on their knees on asphalt, and animals exhausted and injured for no reason other than people being too excited and uninformed to do a simple job right.
A few rules to getting animals to go where you want them.Know where you want them to go.Understand that domestic animals are still wild animals when being chased.Animals will always take the path of least resistance… until you piss them off.Chasing an animal is usually the least efficient way to catch them.
Domestic livestock, cattle, horses, sheep, hogs, even chickens, are herd animals. That means they travel as a group. A herd always has a leader. With an established herd there will be an animal that leads the way, more or less. This is a good thing. The leader keeps the herd from panicking and keeps the herd centered on a path. If you can control where the leader goes, you can control where the herd goes. In a newly formed herd, the fastest way to make the leader of the herd the most dangerous individual is to push the herd into a panic.
You may have heard a phrase associated with animals in the wild, “Fight or flight.” This is a survival mechanism in wild animals that keeps them alive. Domesticated species have the same survival instincts. A wild animal may kill itself by leaping from a cliff before it allows a human being to touch it. Ol’ Bossy may turn around and gore you instead. Animals conditioned to be around people may see you as less threatening. But in most natural situations, as long as you maintain a “comfort zone,” an animal will neither run away nor attack. Note that I said “most.” There is always the possibility that an animal is abused, panicked, injured, or otherwise crazy to the point they will become a man-eater. Ol’ Bossy, under the right conditions, will seek you out and stomp the dog shit out of you.
How do you establish where a comfort zone is? Well, different zones for different individuals. If you see an animal grazing and you approach it slowly and casually (that means naturally, not as though you are stalking it), the animal will lift its head to investigate you. If it hasn’t been startled, it may decide to lower its head to graze again. Once it is aware of you, it will decide to move as you invade its comfort zone. Some animals will not move until you slap it on the rear end. Others will take off any time you are in sight. The easy ones are always going to be the ones that are calm. That is why you try to avoid chasing them.
Herd animals always take the path of least resistance. They are trying to avoid you. This is why you need to have some idea of where you want them to end up. Livestock flows like water, moving downhill more often than up, moving toward open spaces or underbrush depending on what they see as an advantage. Animals that aren’t handled often may see a gate as a trap, so they will avoid it unless they have the time to see a large open space beyond the gate. Another good reason to not push too hard. Spooked animals will blow right past an open gate into a lush pasture if they think you are trying to get them to step through. If they think it is their idea… bingo!
Speaking of gates… Do you know anything about building a corral to manage animals? Gates are often placed right in the middle of a fence by amateurs. Anyone who knows animals understands that a funnel is a great way to control the direction of animals. Well-designed corrals have gates in corners, and the gates are hinged at the side away from the corner. Why? Because as animals pass through, you can shut the gate on those you wish to separate and keep inside the enclosure. Oddly, I have seen beautiful corrals built to contain animals that are inside them, but they are often lacking a corner of fence that will direct animals inside as a funnel.
I was stopped in heavy traffic one day, a long line of stopped cars ahead of me. Well beyond where I was, I could see the head of a panicked horse as it was being chased between cars, one way and the next, several people acting the part of saviors for the spooked animal by chasing it. Someone was going to get hurt. The horse reared up and planted its hooves on the hood of a car when a well-meaning person opened their door suddenly in front of it. As I watched I noticed that the shoulder of the road widened ahead of me and would be attractive to the horse as it neared me. I also noticed a gate opening into an enclosed yard directly to my right. I climbed out of my car and opened the gate toward the traffic, standing as far from the opening as I could, and as the people waved their arms expecting the animals to come to them calmly, the horse bolted toward me and flowed into the opening presented to it. I closed the gate.
One of the most common mistakes in moving animals is expecting them to enter a small space willingly. Most animals are smart enough to understand the concept of a trap. Crowd them, and they will run right over you. If you can contain a terrified animal in a larger space, allowing it some time to calm down and think, often it will be more manageable and predictable.
The most common way to move large numbers from one place to another is by invading their space from the opposite side of where you want them to go. If you have a gate to the south that you want them to pass through, you will position yourself away from the gate to the north. It’s always nice to have some assistance, and those people will flank the animals to the sides closer to the rear. If you have a really good leader in the bunch, an animal that knows where to go, you can crowd them so they move faster. If the animals are new to what is happening, take it slow and let them find their own way. Especially crucial is the point where they suddenly understand they are being boxed into a corner. Suddenly the leader will stop and begin to act nervous. If pressed it may make a break for it and you will be chasing them from a far corner and wasting your time. When you see the leaders in the bunch hesitate, stop and let them find the opening.
Understanding body language is critical. A grazing animal is comfortable. If it starts to move away, it is aware of you, even if it is still grazing. If an animal’s head suddenly rises and it looks in your direction, you startled it. If you don’t want it to stampede, don’t move. Anticipate animals breaking to the side as you approach a tight place. Pay attention to the leaders. Be ready to head off a sudden break by moving into a place where they will have to challenge their own comfort zone. Move at a comfortable pace for the leaders. All of this applies to individual animals as well. The only difference is that a lone animal is always more likely to panic.
One of the things I am always amazed at with professionals, ranchers and farmers with years, even decades, under their belts, is that they herd their animals. They jump on their ATV or rarely a horse, take the high dollar dog with them, and chase their livestock around until they, the dog, and the animals are exhausted. Sometimes the smart ones understand the psychology of herding and they have animals that know what is expected, each generation learning from the last, and they have an easier time. But there is a better way.
A couple of months ago the neighbor’s goats got out. The road they were on is fairly busy, and I watched with some delight as the neighbor and his family chased the goats for close to half an hour, here and there and everywhere, except where they were wanted. They weren’t any closer to containing the goats at the end of their effort as at the beginning. Finally, as I saw the neighbor’s face get ever more red and his kids and wife taking ever more abuse, I had pity on them. I went to the shed and got a metal bucket, filled the bottom with just a skiff of grain so I could shake it and make some noise without spilling, and I went out and led the goats into their fence. I was almost trampled in the process, because the goats were so excited and competitive to get the grain.
I cannot think of a single domestic animal of decent genetics concerning their domesticity that won’t come to a grain bucket. If you have a herd of a hundred animals and you are worried about the cost, all you have to know is that you only need to teach the leaders to come to grain. They will bring the whole bunch along with them. If it takes a half hour to herd a bunch from a pasture and into a corral, I will guarantee you that I can have them in the corral in ten minutes and never step a foot into the pasture. This works for all domestic animals. I have called two thousand pound Chianina cows from the depths of the Arkansas backwoods hollows from a quarter of a mile away. From places you would never believe they would hear you. It is an amazing sight to see these huge pale animals cavorting around like calves as they break from cover and race to get a half a pail of grain.
Some livestock owners know this happens when they feed their cattle, horses, or sheep in the winter. The animals gather at the sound of the approaching truck or its horn and crowd the gate so you have to worry about them getting out… until you realize they will be following the truck even though the gate is wide open. Those same people will not use the horn on their truck to call their animals in the summer. I prefer using my voice to call my animals. I have had many agricultural people laugh at me when I call my animals in. Fine by me. Who’s the smart one? They spend high dollars for bulls that will calm their cattle down so they are easy to handle… and then teach the cattle to panic at the sight of a man in their vicinity. Kinda make ya wonder, don’t it?
Another thing I wonder about is the police chasing animals in their cars instead of containing them in some back yard while they wait for a trailer. Cars get damaged, policemen get injured, and animals are never well off. And who pays for the damages? A little common sense, please.
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Have you ever watched animals being chased down a freeway by a fleet of police cars? Boy, those guys sure like to rodeo, don’t they?
The problem is they don’t have the foggiest idea what they are doing. Their strategy seems to be “Wear them out and don’t worry about the consequences.” Sometimes it seems like the people trying to help are so caught up in the excitement that they *want* some kind of calamity to happen.
I have seen cars sliding sideways on grass in city parks, officers drug on their knees on asphalt, and animals exhausted and injured for no reason other than people being too excited and uninformed to do a simple job right.
A few rules to getting animals to go where you want them.Know where you want them to go.Understand that domestic animals are still wild animals when being chased.Animals will always take the path of least resistance… until you piss them off.Chasing an animal is usually the least efficient way to catch them.
Domestic livestock, cattle, horses, sheep, hogs, even chickens, are herd animals. That means they travel as a group. A herd always has a leader. With an established herd there will be an animal that leads the way, more or less. This is a good thing. The leader keeps the herd from panicking and keeps the herd centered on a path. If you can control where the leader goes, you can control where the herd goes. In a newly formed herd, the fastest way to make the leader of the herd the most dangerous individual is to push the herd into a panic.
You may have heard a phrase associated with animals in the wild, “Fight or flight.” This is a survival mechanism in wild animals that keeps them alive. Domesticated species have the same survival instincts. A wild animal may kill itself by leaping from a cliff before it allows a human being to touch it. Ol’ Bossy may turn around and gore you instead. Animals conditioned to be around people may see you as less threatening. But in most natural situations, as long as you maintain a “comfort zone,” an animal will neither run away nor attack. Note that I said “most.” There is always the possibility that an animal is abused, panicked, injured, or otherwise crazy to the point they will become a man-eater. Ol’ Bossy, under the right conditions, will seek you out and stomp the dog shit out of you.
How do you establish where a comfort zone is? Well, different zones for different individuals. If you see an animal grazing and you approach it slowly and casually (that means naturally, not as though you are stalking it), the animal will lift its head to investigate you. If it hasn’t been startled, it may decide to lower its head to graze again. Once it is aware of you, it will decide to move as you invade its comfort zone. Some animals will not move until you slap it on the rear end. Others will take off any time you are in sight. The easy ones are always going to be the ones that are calm. That is why you try to avoid chasing them.
Herd animals always take the path of least resistance. They are trying to avoid you. This is why you need to have some idea of where you want them to end up. Livestock flows like water, moving downhill more often than up, moving toward open spaces or underbrush depending on what they see as an advantage. Animals that aren’t handled often may see a gate as a trap, so they will avoid it unless they have the time to see a large open space beyond the gate. Another good reason to not push too hard. Spooked animals will blow right past an open gate into a lush pasture if they think you are trying to get them to step through. If they think it is their idea… bingo!
Speaking of gates… Do you know anything about building a corral to manage animals? Gates are often placed right in the middle of a fence by amateurs. Anyone who knows animals understands that a funnel is a great way to control the direction of animals. Well-designed corrals have gates in corners, and the gates are hinged at the side away from the corner. Why? Because as animals pass through, you can shut the gate on those you wish to separate and keep inside the enclosure. Oddly, I have seen beautiful corrals built to contain animals that are inside them, but they are often lacking a corner of fence that will direct animals inside as a funnel.
I was stopped in heavy traffic one day, a long line of stopped cars ahead of me. Well beyond where I was, I could see the head of a panicked horse as it was being chased between cars, one way and the next, several people acting the part of saviors for the spooked animal by chasing it. Someone was going to get hurt. The horse reared up and planted its hooves on the hood of a car when a well-meaning person opened their door suddenly in front of it. As I watched I noticed that the shoulder of the road widened ahead of me and would be attractive to the horse as it neared me. I also noticed a gate opening into an enclosed yard directly to my right. I climbed out of my car and opened the gate toward the traffic, standing as far from the opening as I could, and as the people waved their arms expecting the animals to come to them calmly, the horse bolted toward me and flowed into the opening presented to it. I closed the gate.
One of the most common mistakes in moving animals is expecting them to enter a small space willingly. Most animals are smart enough to understand the concept of a trap. Crowd them, and they will run right over you. If you can contain a terrified animal in a larger space, allowing it some time to calm down and think, often it will be more manageable and predictable.
The most common way to move large numbers from one place to another is by invading their space from the opposite side of where you want them to go. If you have a gate to the south that you want them to pass through, you will position yourself away from the gate to the north. It’s always nice to have some assistance, and those people will flank the animals to the sides closer to the rear. If you have a really good leader in the bunch, an animal that knows where to go, you can crowd them so they move faster. If the animals are new to what is happening, take it slow and let them find their own way. Especially crucial is the point where they suddenly understand they are being boxed into a corner. Suddenly the leader will stop and begin to act nervous. If pressed it may make a break for it and you will be chasing them from a far corner and wasting your time. When you see the leaders in the bunch hesitate, stop and let them find the opening.
Understanding body language is critical. A grazing animal is comfortable. If it starts to move away, it is aware of you, even if it is still grazing. If an animal’s head suddenly rises and it looks in your direction, you startled it. If you don’t want it to stampede, don’t move. Anticipate animals breaking to the side as you approach a tight place. Pay attention to the leaders. Be ready to head off a sudden break by moving into a place where they will have to challenge their own comfort zone. Move at a comfortable pace for the leaders. All of this applies to individual animals as well. The only difference is that a lone animal is always more likely to panic.
One of the things I am always amazed at with professionals, ranchers and farmers with years, even decades, under their belts, is that they herd their animals. They jump on their ATV or rarely a horse, take the high dollar dog with them, and chase their livestock around until they, the dog, and the animals are exhausted. Sometimes the smart ones understand the psychology of herding and they have animals that know what is expected, each generation learning from the last, and they have an easier time. But there is a better way.
A couple of months ago the neighbor’s goats got out. The road they were on is fairly busy, and I watched with some delight as the neighbor and his family chased the goats for close to half an hour, here and there and everywhere, except where they were wanted. They weren’t any closer to containing the goats at the end of their effort as at the beginning. Finally, as I saw the neighbor’s face get ever more red and his kids and wife taking ever more abuse, I had pity on them. I went to the shed and got a metal bucket, filled the bottom with just a skiff of grain so I could shake it and make some noise without spilling, and I went out and led the goats into their fence. I was almost trampled in the process, because the goats were so excited and competitive to get the grain.
I cannot think of a single domestic animal of decent genetics concerning their domesticity that won’t come to a grain bucket. If you have a herd of a hundred animals and you are worried about the cost, all you have to know is that you only need to teach the leaders to come to grain. They will bring the whole bunch along with them. If it takes a half hour to herd a bunch from a pasture and into a corral, I will guarantee you that I can have them in the corral in ten minutes and never step a foot into the pasture. This works for all domestic animals. I have called two thousand pound Chianina cows from the depths of the Arkansas backwoods hollows from a quarter of a mile away. From places you would never believe they would hear you. It is an amazing sight to see these huge pale animals cavorting around like calves as they break from cover and race to get a half a pail of grain.
Some livestock owners know this happens when they feed their cattle, horses, or sheep in the winter. The animals gather at the sound of the approaching truck or its horn and crowd the gate so you have to worry about them getting out… until you realize they will be following the truck even though the gate is wide open. Those same people will not use the horn on their truck to call their animals in the summer. I prefer using my voice to call my animals. I have had many agricultural people laugh at me when I call my animals in. Fine by me. Who’s the smart one? They spend high dollars for bulls that will calm their cattle down so they are easy to handle… and then teach the cattle to panic at the sight of a man in their vicinity. Kinda make ya wonder, don’t it?
Another thing I wonder about is the police chasing animals in their cars instead of containing them in some back yard while they wait for a trailer. Cars get damaged, policemen get injured, and animals are never well off. And who pays for the damages? A little common sense, please.
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To comment, scroll down and type in your comment. Under Comment As, you can select Anonymous or Name/URL (you don't need to enter a URL). Then hit Publish.
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