You may have been around cattle all your life—but you haven’t been around a zebu. Zebu are not like European cattle. There are some people who believe they are a separate species—there are anatomical differences as well as behavioral. Their reactions are faster, their instincts are stronger. I think they’re a lot smarter. And—they usually have horns.

So, you’ve just brought home a Miniature Zebu. If it was bottle-raised, it’ll adjust to you and the new
surroundings quickly. But even the tamest zebu might need some calming down. Keep your zebu separate from everyone: dogs, equines, large breed cattle. Keep human visitors to a minimum for a few days. You might keep him in a small 1/8 acre or so pasture for a while until he settles in—a week or two. Then put him in a small pen. You can make it smaller day by day. Feed him in there in a trough.

Your zebu needs to realize that all good things come from you. Don’t push him about performing for his supper—just come to the outside of the pen, talk sweet to him CONSTANTLY in a LOW voice, give him his food, and leave. The cowboys on the big cattle drives sang nonsense songs to the cattle all the time—it calmed the cows somehow—that’s how cowboy yodeling got started. Dogs prefer high, happy voices. Cattle prefer low, soothing talk. Then start sticking around a little longer every day. Then enter the pen. Give him lots of space and time. Sit around and read out loud to him, even if you have to sit around the corner so he can’t see you. I promise you he’ll be listening!

Then it’s time for touching. You need the pen as small as possible, maybe just a little bigger than him—but high enough that he can’t jump over. As he eats, start brushing him along the back—even if you have to put the brush on a handle. I had to get my calves in a “V” slant in the pen. They’d bury their heads in the “V” and I could brush their butts. Cattle LOVE to be brushed. Start out calming and slow; work up to vigorous over their bodies. Keep away from kicking legs. Some of mine don’t seem to know about kicking; others are deadly accurate— you can see them planning and calculating.

Sooner or later (most likely later!) it’s time for the halter. You might try a goat halter that crosses under the chin/throat. I prefer the “control” halters that have a chain under the chin, but I can’t find any small enough for calves. Get him in a “V” area that squeezes him. Temple Grandin, the famous animal behaviorist, says cattle feel secure when they’re squeezed—it’s like being in the herd. At one point in restraining him this way you’ll notice he’ll be still enough to put the halter on (make sure you’ve already poked extra holes in the halter!)

The first time one of my calves performed “the fainting goat act” and slid to the ground I thought I had killed him. The twentieth time a calf did that I just turned my back and ignored him. After a few minutes he got up and was fine, of course. And I thought cats and dogs were manipulative!

My zebu live in my yard, so I see them all the time and can watch out for problems. Remember—cows can scratch their ears with their hind legs, so they can easily get caught in a halter. Tree branches can catch in the halter, too. Let him wear the halter for a few days. Then attach a rope to it. Make sure he can’t catch it on anything (no loops or knots). I kept halters and ropes on my calves, heifers, and a cow all summer, training for the State Fair of Texas in late September. Sometimes they would get caught, but they’d wait patiently. They’ll step on the rope and realize how it works.

Then tie him up. Don’t stretch his head up or down. Make it long enough that he can relax and lie down. He’s going to flip out for a minute—you’ll be surprised how fast he’ll calm down. It helped me that I was doing it with three calves at once. Don’t ever let him pull you. If he does, don’t ever let him get away! He’ll always be trying that. I had to loop the rope around the bars, then pull him up to the bar. Then sit down and turn your back on him. Make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. Don’t let others hurt him. For some reason, when loose cattle see a tied cow, they won’t leave them alone. Then things can go a little faster. They need to understand that they must be tied before eating. Don’t forget to talk ALL THE TIME, and brush, brush, brush. Get sweet feed and range cubes so he’ll eat out of your hand. The cubes are best for that, because you can reach out real far.

NOW the hard part! Leading! Man, it’s hard! Get gloves and a helper—one that the calf knows. I didn’t have progress on this until I pleaded with my husband. The cows don’t like him—he doesn’t feed them, and he’s tall. Don’t face the calf and drag; he’s gonna pull back. Get at his left shoulder—face the same way as him. He will walk WITH you but not after you. Have a helper push his butt. It’ll help if he sees trained cattle walking—he’ll want to follow them. Donna Counts, another AMZA member, is an expert at taming and training animals. She has shown everything from Arabian horses to mice. Many of her Mini Zebuu were bottle raised, and they all have excellent manners. She looked at my methods and gave me lots of pointers. This is what I remember of what Donna said about tying and leading:

Don’t tie him so high that he hangs his head and slants back. Tie him a foot off the
ground--make it on his level. Wait until he relaxes the rope. Stay out of the way, but
supervise him closely. Then calmly untie him and lead him to water. If he fusses, wait
him out. It helps to get him walking if you turn him--that will force him to move his foot.
Sometimes that’s all you can do for the day is that one step, but that’s progress. Keep it
positive, and start again the next day.

Believe it or not, when I went to the 2004 Fair I still didn’t think my cattle were tame. In the ring, there was some pushing and pulling (to put it lightly!) It helps to have a strong man at this point. BUT—after 3 days in a 8’X16’ corner pen at the Fair, they were as sweet as could be— wanted everybody to pet them. I could sit in the pen and they’d lie down (ultimate sign of trust). When we got home, I took their halters off in the trailer and hollered “School’s out!” and did nothing but bring range cubes every couple of days. The herd would run to me and I’d call the name of each before they got their treat. I could pet and brush most of their bodies when they were totally loose.

Do all these things slowly and calmly. If you get frustrated, the calf will react to that. Cattle
don’t understand punishment. Jerking your calf around will make him jerk you around. Keep
your training sessions short and frequent. Good luck!

September 2005 Update

I wrote this article last Spring. Today, two weeks before the Fair, I can report: the calves from last year remembered their training and lead perfectly now. One yearling bull, Roscoe, won’t walk for anyone but me. This year’s calves--three--run the gamut. A red paint, Jimmy, is pretty calm. Gray Monroe is a stubborn monster. And little red Rocket proves her name. But-- I’ve got two weeks!

I also have to admit: I cannot train my adult cows to lead. At home, in small pens, we did pretty good. But when they saw the wide open spaces of the arena, they completely panicked. Training was a memory. If you saw a cow careening down the aisles, it was usually mine. But then I solved that problem: I’m not taking them anymore! Working with an adult--especially with horns, can kill you or the animal. Then it won't matter how many ribbon they won.Do your best to keep them calm and stress-free at all times. If you can’t handle ‘em, leave ‘em at home!

February 2006 update

Everybody performed beautifully at the 2005 Fair, even Rocket. I led them all into the trailer and out again We won lots of awards and had a great time. Now, after several months, Jimmy and Monroe are totally sweet. Rocket is still stubborn, but workable.

©2006 Dottie Love. Not to be used or reproduced in any way without permission of the author .