First Impressions

By: Ted Howard Production Animal Consultation

Have you ever heard the saying, “You only get one chance to make a good first impression”? This saying is very timely as we are once again preparing for the fall runs in our feed yards. Our horsemanship must be at its best this time of year.

As we invite these cattle off the trucks into their new environment, our horses must be very confident and reassuring to these cattle. The horse we introduce our cattle to in the first week must be slow footed and have a low headset. This type of demeanor will build confidence and trust in our cattle.

As these cattle are acclimated to their home pen with a quiet and well-prepared horse, the cattle’s stress level is minimized. Not only are these cattle getting accustomed to their new pen, they are experiencing the processing facility for the first time. It is very important that proper stockmanship is used to get these cattle to the processing facility, so the processors have nice quiet cattle to work with. In turn, it is imperative that the processing crews are using proper stockmanship techniques to move the cattle through the processing barn so that they are able to return to their home pen in a positive manner.

The proper receiving, acclimation, and processing of these new cattle helps minimize the stress they are going through. The less stress cattle are under, the faster they adapt to their new feeding program. The quicker we can get new cattle to eating and drinking, the fewer pulls we will have.

Once we have these cattle acclimated to their new environment, we need to move to our exercise program. Exercising cattle helps keep them stimulated and active. Cattle that are stimulated appear to be healthier as they are more consistent in the number of times they go to the bunk.

This busy time of year can be tiring for ourselves and our teammates. Remembering to be patient and consistent in our own demeanor will help with all our responsibilities and relationships. Let’s make our first impression a lasting impression.

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