Breaking Clarabelle

Clarabelle is our little Jersey heifer that was born on June 20th.  She is a cute little thing, full of personality.  Each night we separate her from her mom, Rosie, so that she doesn't get our milk and she plays games, running from us while kicking up her heels.  She is an affectionate little thing and enjoys to have her neck rubbed.

It is easier to 'break' a calf to lead as young as possible and we decided to start breaking her on her 2 month birthday.  I had a goat halter on her, but she is growing so fast that it doesn't fit her anymore, so I purchased a 'breaking halter' specifically for this task.  It has a special ring that allows the tension to be released quickly.  I'll show you why this is important in a minute.

Calves, like people, can be headstrong, stubborn, ornery!  If I put the halter on Clarabelle and tried to make her walk, she would dig in her heels and resist, causing me to pull and strain.  Eventually I'd be able to drag her, but there is an easier way. You just have to be patient.  It doesn't happen overnight. I halter her and tie her about head-height, leaving about 12-18 inches slack in the rope.  We make sure that we're nearby and constantly checking on her as we don't want her to fall and potentially choke herself.

Clarabelle doesn't like this at all!

Clarabelle likes her freedom.  She doesn't like being tied up and try as she may, the Chinaberry tree she's tied to is not going to move.  That's the point.  "Breaking" Clarabelle means exactly that - we are breaking her will.  She will understand, over time, that resistance is futile.  She is not going to win in a tug of war against a tree...

Or a fence post, for that matter.  Each day we'll leave her tied for an hour or so. While she's tied, we talk to her calmly and rub her down, massaging her neck, petting her back, touching her legs and belly.  She comes to look forward to this just as you would if someone would massage your back everyday at a certain time. Despite the lack of freedom caused by the rope, she at least can look forward to the treat of rub-downs and pleasant talk.  The first several days, she pulls mightily against the immovable object, straining with all she has.  Eventually, she doesn't pull quite as tight.

After a while, she doesn't pull at all.  As I mentioned, this takes patience.  We'll continue to do this every afternoon for weeks.  When I untie her and try to walk her to the barn where she is separated in her stall, I hold her with about 12-18 slack and walk her.  At first she walks pretty good, knowing she can't out-pull me, and I reward her with kind words of encouragement.  Then her stubbornness kicks in and she pulls against me.  She gets real dramatic and falls over on the ground in desperation.  I laugh and nudge her to get up and she complies and we eventually make it to her stall. 

For getting to the stall, she gets a good neck massage.  I've read that you can also reward them by feeding them a range cube, but I've not tried that.  

Clarabelle's stall in the barn

We will continue working with her.  As with anything difficult, it is important to be consistent, persistent, and patient.  Perfect practice makes perfect and good habits instilled at an early age will continue throughout her life and like I mentioned, it is much easier to break a 130 pound calf than a 300 pound calf.  The Jefferson Davis Parish Fair will be coming up October 6 - 10th and maybe we'll bring Clarabelle for Benjamin to show if she's walking with a lead rope by that point.