{"id":2030,"date":"2017-03-29T12:28:31","date_gmt":"2017-03-29T17:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stockmanship.com\/?p=2030"},"modified":"2017-03-29T12:39:23","modified_gmt":"2017-03-29T17:39:23","slug":"proper-stockmanship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stockmanship.com\/?p=2030","title":{"rendered":"Proper Stockmanship"},"content":{"rendered":"

While doing some spring cleaning I ran across this item Bud wrote many years ago.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

My method of working livestock consists of learning to \u201cread\u201d what the animal is telling you and change your position so that she wants to go where you want her to go.\u00a0 It is important that the animals do not consider you a threat to them. People have written articles about my Stockmanship methods, but if they use predator\/prey examples you can be sure that they do not understand the concept at all. The last thing I want my animals to do is to think of me as a predator. My goal is not only to work livestock with very little stress but also to take existing stress off of them. By handling the animals this way, you will be able to get the job done more quickly, efficiently and with less cost than by the traditional methods. Some of the other by-products are increased performance and reduced health problems in the animals, as well as still being on speaking terms with the family after a day of working livestock together.\u00a0 Do not make the mistake of thinking that I \u201cbaby\u201d animals.\u00a0 I probably pressure livestock more than most people.\u00a0 The difference is that I pressure them how and where they want to be pressured.<\/p>\n

The proper positioning and pressure application when moving cattle, sheep and other livestock is what makes them feel comfortable and willing to stay where you put them on the range. This same thing is what makes feedlot cattle gain better with less health problems or increase a dairy herd\u2019s production. It is what makes a cow perceive you as a non-enemy so she isn\u2019t “on the fight” if you need to handle her baby calf, or get overly upset when you wean. In other words, the techniques are the same when you are working any kind of livestock.\u00a0 An elk or bison (or wild cow) will tell you that you are \u201cclose enough\u201d when you are further away from her than a gentle cow or sheep will do, but she is telling you the same thing if you will only see it.<\/p>\n

In order for you to learn to work livestock the way that I do, you must first change your attitude.\u00a0 This will probably be the most difficult thing I will ask you to do.<\/p>\n

OLD\u2014I\u2019m going to \u201cMAKE\u201d that animal do what I want.
\nNEW\u2014I\u2019m going to \u201cLET\u201d that animal do what I want.<\/strong><\/p>\n

OLD\u2014That stupid\u00a0 (#%$&, miserable, ornery, wild, hateful . . .) cow\u00a0 (calf, bull, sheep, pig, goat, horse . . .) broke back\u00a0 (missed the gate, charged me, got sick, died . . .)
\nNEW\u2014What did I do to cause the animal to react that way?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The control we can have over animals is amazing.\u00a0 Thirty years ago I was considered pretty good at handling problem livestock.\u00a0 Knowing what I do today I wonder how I even held down a job.\u00a0 To me, the exciting thing is knowing that I have only scratched the surface.\u00a0 I am learning and improving every day.\u00a0 You can too.<\/p>\n

When trying to control animals the old way, you are giving up any chance of getting the kind of control I am talking about.\u00a0 Forget all of your excuses:
\nShe is afraid of the gate.
\nShe remembers getting hurt in the chute.
\nShe has never been through the chute before.
\nEtc., etc., etc.<\/p>\n

Believe that she is responding to what you are doing right at this moment!
\nI would like to talk to you about some of the things I have learned about handling livestock.\u00a0 The methods I use have proven themselves with reindeer, elk, buffalo, camels, fallow deer, horses, hogs, sheep, goats and poultry, as well as with beef and dairy cattle.\u00a0 While my method of stockmanship is quite simple, it is very difficult for people to learn because it often goes against human behavior.\u00a0 Remember, as a stockman, you are supposed to be the smart one.\u00a0 It is up to you to change to accommodate the animal.<\/p>\n

I have had the good fortune to observe people working livestock from northern Alaska and Canada to Central America, from Oregon and California in the west to Kentucky in the east.\u00a0 Everyone used the same basic principle.\u00a0 That is, to go out and chase the animals from where they were, to where the people wanted them to go.\u00a0 By now, you probably realize that I don\u2019t think that is the best way to work animals.\u00a0 The traditional method of driving livestock consists of trying to frighten the animal away from the person, hopefully in the direction the person wants it to go.\u00a0 Using fear and force to move animals is very stressful to them.\u00a0 My method takes the animal\u2019s natural behavior into consideration, but makes us change our natural behavior.<\/p>\n

There are certain things animals want to do as long as they are in a normal mental state.
\n1. They want to see what is pressuring them.
\n2. They want to move in the direction they are headed.\u00a0 This may seem obvious to you, but if this is the
\ncase, why would you move behind an animal to make it go when moving into the animal\u2019s blind spot
\nwill cause it to turn to see you?
\n3. They want to follow other animals.
\n4. They have very little patience.<\/p>\n

Proper position on your part and nothing more is enough pressure to allow you to move livestock any place they are physically able to go.\u00a0 By you being in this position, the animals will want to move in the desired direction.\u00a0 Excessive pressure will put the animals into a panic condition where none of these things apply.<\/p>\n

Loud noise that is directed to the animal is almost always excessive pressure, especially yelling, revving the motor on your 4-wheeler, etc.\u00a0 It is not only stressful to the animals, but it is detrimental to your objective.\u00a0 They are quite willing to accept general noise such as banging chutes and normal motor sounds.<\/p>\n

As pressure is applied to move the animals, some of it must be released when they move.\u00a0 Either by you stepping back, or by the fact that they moved ahead and that takes some of the pressure off.\u00a0 Do not lose contact with the animal by releasing all of the pressure.\u00a0 Constant pressure with no let up, or excessive pressure is what panics animals.<\/p>\n

Do not apply pressure from behind an animal.\u00a0 Now listen to what I said.\u00a0 \u201cDo not APPLY PRESSURE from behind.\u201d\u00a0 You can walk along behind livestock all day and not cause any problem as long as you aren\u2019t pressuring them.\u00a0 There is always a correct position.\u00a0 This spot moves as the animal moves.\u00a0 The angle you move in relation to the animal determines if you will maintain the proper position.\u00a0 The speed you move is important, but not as important as the angle.<\/p>\n

Read your animals.\u00a0 They will tell you what your position should be.\u00a0 Don\u2019t try to anticipate what the animals will do as this will put you out of position and likely cause the very thing you are trying to prevent.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhatever you anticipate, you will create\u201d.<\/p>\n

Moving back and forth while getting closer to the animals will tend to cause them to move away from you.<\/p>\n

Moving parallel to livestock in the same direction the animals are going will tend to slow the animals down.\u00a0 This is true if you are at the front, the side or behind the herd.\u00a0 This is very helpful if you are trying to settle animals that have too much movement.\u00a0 It is very detrimental if you are driving a herd since you tend to kill the movement that you are trying to generate.<\/p>\n

Moving parallel to livestock in the opposite direction (front to rear) will tend to speed them up.\u00a0 Animals want to continue in the direction they are headed.\u00a0 When they see you coming, they will try to hurry past you.<\/p>\n

I am not a good enough writer to be able to write a \u201cHow To\u201d book.\u00a0 The 5-hour DVD set that Eunice and I have for sale of our presentation at the 1990 Stockman Grass Farmer Grazing Conference is quite complete as far as teaching my Stockmanship methods though it is far from being a professional product.\u00a0 However, at this time it is the only thing available.<\/p>\n

If\u00a0\u00a0 you have watched our video or attended one of our schools . . . .<\/p>\n

If\u00a0\u00a0 you have truly changed your basic attitude about livestock as I have suggested. . . .<\/p>\n

If\u00a0\u00a0 you will look to your animals to see if your position is right or wrong. . . .<\/p>\n

If\u00a0\u00a0 you will take responsibility for what the animal does. . . .<\/p>\n

Then\u00a0\u00a0 you will be able to continue learning on your own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While doing some spring cleaning I ran across this item Bud wrote many years ago. My method of working livestock consists of learning to \u201cread\u201d what the animal is telling you and change your position so that she wants to go where you want her to go.\u00a0 It is important that the animals do not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stockmanship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stockmanship.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stockmanship.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stockmanship.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stockmanship.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stockmanship.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2030"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/stockmanship.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2040,"href":"https:\/\/stockmanship.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2030\/revisions\/2040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stockmanship.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stockmanship.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stockmanship.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}