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Loading Bulls

WyomingRancher

Well-known member
This afternoon I taught the new bulls how to trailer load. Of course they will load if they're in an alley, but I wanted to show them how to load without much help from the corrals. When I go to pull bulls out of the cows, sometimes the corrals are a long way away and so I've learned how to load bulls like this. This method doesn't work on all of them, but it sure can save time for the ones it does work on :wink: .

The Pupils
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The Set-Up... I do this in my calving night-lot (please excuse the mess, I haven't cleaned corrals yet :oops: ). It is a large enough area to where the bulls can get away, but not large enough to where you get tired chasing them around.
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The first "student" acknowledging the trailer.
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I patrol the front of the pickup to turn them back towards the trailer. If they are really insistent on leaving, I apply pressure and take them away from the trailer with extra pressure. They soon figure out the trailer is a nice place to be :wink: . I'm still trying to figure out when to release pressure... I think that's the whole key behind this method, especially with mature bulls who may want to fight you or brush up.
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Getting closer...
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Ears forward and ready to load :D
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One down, one to go...
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The second bull was eager to load
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Both loaded
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Dan taking a short break before loading the bulls again. It was a fun project, and will hopefully make things easier when I take them out of the cows :) . I don't always have access to fencelines or corners and so that's why I do this without using panels.
BullLoading2008030.jpg
 

WyomingRancher

Well-known member
Big Muddy rancher said:
Great idea, :D

Why don't you use your dogs to load them?

I've seen videos of that being done, and I'd love to be talented enough to load them well with my dog... I'm not (the dog probably is though :oops: )! My dog has helped me load them before, just not to the extent of those REALLY good handlers. That really would be the ultimate goal, and I truly admire those who can do it!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Have you ever tried throwing a couple of little feed tubs in there with a few pellets or grain in it?

With most I've had--All I have to do is open the back- show them the grain bucket and dump a few pellets in the tub and get the H out of the way (thru the escape door)...

Just like dogs, horses, and kids-- those bulls get to loving a reward....Sure helped a time or two when I've needed to pick up a lame or footrot bull to take in to doctor....
 

WyomingRancher

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
Have you ever tried throwing a couple of little feed tubs in there with a few pellets or grain in it?

With most I've had--All I have to do is open the back- show them the grain bucket and dump a few pellets in the tub and get the H out of the way (thru the escape door)...

Just like dogs, horses, and kids-- those bulls get to loving a reward....Sure helped a time or two when I've needed to pick up a lame or footrot bull to take in to doctor....

I'm all for doing what it takes to get the job done! Yes, I've been known to use bribery before :D .

I guess I like them to load because I tell them to... BUT I'm not stupid either. These are bulls, not circus performing animals, and my "training" usually goes to waste after they turn 4-5 years old and head to the packers :) . And like I mentioned, as some bulls mature, they get harder to handle, and taking their minds off of capturing them (using cows, using grain...) is the only way to trap them.

I had a bull that got used to this loading method, and would load up by just opening the trailer door. The first time he did this, my horse was still in the front compartment! He was a one-of-a kind :lol: .
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I've told this story on here before- but I like to walk out thru the bull lot every day with a bucket of pellets- and dump a little in feedpans- just to get them used to being handled- and keep them quiet...Especially in the lot with the young bulls...When I do it I yell "Come Bull- Come Bull"...The place where some of my bulls (and this one) came from did this too when they were calves...

One day me and my son were up going around some fence when we noticed one of our bulls over in a neighboring pasture laying down with some neighbors cows...He was only a couple of hundred yards from a gate, so we thought we could maybe get around him with the pickup and chase him back in...
We drove over to the gate- and my son got out to open the gate and the bull saw him and stood up...He told me to back up a little as he wanted to try something....He stood at the gate and yelled "Come Bull- Come Bull" and the old bull (3 or 4 year old) walked over to us- back thru the gate- and mosied up toward the girls on the right side of the fence...
 

WyomingRancher

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
I've told this story on here before- but I like to walk out thru the bull lot every day with a bucket of pellets- and dump a little in feedpans- just to get them used to being handled- and keep them quiet...Especially in the lot with the young bulls...When I do it I yell "Come Bull- Come Bull"...The place where some of my bulls (and this one) came from did this too when they were calves...

One day me and my son were up going around some fence when we noticed one of our bulls over in a neighboring pasture laying down with some neighbors cows...He was only a couple of hundred yards from a gate, so we thought we could maybe get around him with the pickup and chase him back in...
We drove over to the gate- and my son got out to open the gate and the bull saw him and stood up...He told me to back up a little as he wanted to try something....He stood at the gate and yelled "Come Bull- Come Bull" and the old bull (3 or 4 year old) walked over to us- back thru the gate- and mosied up toward the girls on the right side of the fence...

That's a great story! :D I also appreciate quiet bulls, and think caking them helps. However, I don't like them to be big pets. Halter broke bulls send up a red flag for me :eek: .
 

efb

Well-known member
I like the thickness and meatiness of your bulls. Also nice job of loading. You obviously have it figured out.
 

kolanuraven

Well-known member
I train all my bulls to pasture load.

I start them off when they are about a yr old with ' bait' in the trailer. I can do this since I raise all my own bulls. But it will work on " store bought" ones also, just might take a bit longer.

I"ll park the truck & trailer in their lot.....let them smell around and sniff....and I keep a bright YELLOW feed bowl.

I put the sweetest sweet feed I can find and they learn that the YELLOW bowl has goodies in it.

We may have to do this 2-3 days in a row maybe.


When I want to load....I show them the YELLOW bowl going into the trailer and most times I just step out the side door as they are already in before I can get out!

Once they learn ' the bowl'....you got'em no matter where they are.



Bottom line....they're menfolks...and a good meal will usually win the day...... ( until jigs comes along and adds to my last sentence!!!)
 

I Luv Herfrds

Well-known member
OT that sounds like one of our old cows.
She would get out in the neighbors pasture so we would just drop the fence and yell to her and she would cross back over. Unfortunately she got to making a bad habit of it and we could keep chasing her so she had to go down the road. :cry: She used to try to eat the gloves off of your hands when we fed with small squares off the end of the pickup.

As for our getting our bulls to load we normally just bribe them on the trailer to take them out to pasture, but when it is time to bring them in we cheat. We run the entire herd into some stubble strips just to the north of the corral. The whole area is fenced off. There is an alley way that can be formed by the gates to funnel into the corrals. Get the bulls in there drinking water and we got them. Got to doing it this way after a horse died and the husband almost planted his 1936 truck into the reservior, but that is a story for another day.
 

WyomingRancher

Well-known member
efb said:
I like the thickness and meatiness of your bulls. Also nice job of loading. You obviously have it figured out.

Thanks! They are from Weaver Angus in Fort Collins, Colorado. I have a bunch of their females, but recently they've gotten out of my price range so I'm hoping these bulls will cross well on my heifers.


kolanuraven said:
Bottom line....they're menfolks...and a good meal will usually win the day...... ( until jigs comes along and adds to my last sentence!!!)

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I Luv Herfrds said:
As for our getting our bulls to load we normally just bribe them on the trailer to take them out to pasture, but when it is time to bring them in we cheat.

There is no such thing as CHEATING when gathering bulls... I REPEAT there is no such thing as CHEATING when gathering bulls :D :wink:
 

leanin' H

Well-known member
We found a bull with a real bad foot last summer. He was about fifteen miles either way to the nearest corral. (Wouldn't ya know it?) We knew we couldnt drive him so we backed the trailer up to a couple skunky bushes and filled the gaps with dead junipers. By the way, skunky bushes are 12 feet high or so and built like a round bale. Anyway, we got the bull in our trap and he got on the fight. My cousin kept the back door closed a horseback and I played clown. I snuck through a bush and then used myself as chum to lure him into the trailer. Thank the lord for those little escape doors on stock trailers! For a bull with a bad foot he almost beat me to the exit. Almost! Next time I'll try the here kitty, kitty method! :D
 

WyomingRancher

Well-known member
leanin' H said:
I snuck through a bush and then used myself as chum to lure him into the trailer. Thank the lord for those little escape doors on stock trailers! For a bull with a bad foot he almost beat me to the exit. Almost! Next time I'll try the here kitty, kitty method! :D

:lol: Oh yes, when I worked for a rodeo stockcontractor, that was a famous method for pasture loading bulls. It was better than getting two ropes on those nasty things and pulling them up into the trailer for sure...unless of course the bull was trying to take the horse who roped it. The tough part was finding someone to play "clown". We used to use the contractor's father :shock: . I sure didn't get paid enough to do it, and had enough sense not to anyways... ropes can break you know :wink: .
 

PPRM

Well-known member
I once had a Bull I could open the door to the trailer anywhere and he would load. I think it was because he was always hauled to Cows in heat or better feed.... There is a lot to both the release of pressure and rewards....

The same bull became hard to load. One time I hadn't paid attention and the trailer door hit a hot wire on an electric fence. He sniffed the door and was zapped.....

PPRM
 

WyomingRancher

Well-known member
PPRM said:
There is a lot to both the release of pressure and rewards....

AGREED! I think you need to release pressure as soon as they look at the trailer in the beginning. Also, repositioning your horse to decrease pressure is helpful as well.

I did figure something out while loading these two bulls... when I got the bull facing the back of the trailer, almost ready to step in, if I positioned my horse so that we were facing the trailer door (opposite direction as the bull, away from the trailer), and form a "triangle"... one side is the back of the trailer, one side is the trailer door, and one side being my horse, I could then gradually apply pressure by side-stepping towards the bull. I could slightly increase/decrease pressure by where I tipped my horse's face. By facing backwards, I THINK the bull wants to go forward, since he feels he is "going by" you. If he backs up, you're in good position to stop that movement.

I really don't know if this is the reason why that positioning seemed to help, but I did notice a difference than when I was facing the same direction as the bull.

Any thoughts?
 

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