How to Train a Cow to be Ridden

Last Updated: July 31, 2024 Approved

Riding cows has been popular for centuries and this is how you train to ride a cow. Riding cows takes a lot of training from a young age and here's how to do it.

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Build a relationship with the calf. You want the calf to feel comfortable around you, and you also want to be comfortable around it. ^{[1]
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- This means getting it eating out of your hand and getting used to you touching and petting it. This may take several weeks, so be patient, yet consistent.
- This is also a good time to halter-train the calf, and teaching him to stand tied.
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As you get the animal used to your touch and your trust, try putting a little pressure on the animal's back each time, by pushing down with your hand, then progressing to planting your arms and chest on the animal's back so your legs are off the ground. Do this briefly, but repeat every time, make sure to give the calf praise every time that it calms down. ^{[2]
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The animal may try to jump around a bit or move away from you, but you also need to persist until he learns that you are not trying to hurt him.
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Have him face a wall or fence, and climb on his back. Pull left or right on the reins and he will have to go either way you tell him because he can't go forward. ^{[4]
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This will take quite a bit of time to get from the initial training to actually riding the cow.

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If you train your cow to be ridden, and a stranger just jumps on her, will she buck the person off?

Community Answer

She might, but if she is trained right and the stranger is told and shown how to ride the cow, it shouldn't happen.

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Question

My steer is halter broke and we take him to shows. He's been to two or three now, he's really calm and lets me touch him all over. He's 9 months, do you think I could train him?

Karin

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You could start training him now by getting him accustomed to having weight on his back, basically turning him into a pack-steer. But, he won't be ready to actually ride until he's about two-years-old. At least before then you can gradually get him used to having a saddle on his back.

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Question

How do I train them to do jumps without a rider on them? My calf is about 3 months and is halter trained, but she keeps going around the jumps.

Karin

Top Answerer

How big or tall are the jumps? If they're too tall, start off with a log on the ground, and get her to step over that, then progressively get to higher jumps. The problem is that you're starting her off at the deep end, so it's no wonder she'd sooner go around them then over them. Start at the shallow end, and work your way up.

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Tips

Remember that this is a very long process, and it's not something that can be done overnight. Practice makes perfect.

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The best time to start actually riding the animal is when it is around a year old. Cattle should be halter-trained before being taught to be ridden.

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Don't ride the calf at first. Work on its reining before riding it.

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Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

Never ride a bovine under 2 years for large breeds and 3 years for small breeds. Also, make sure you weigh less than 20% of their total weight. If you don't follow these guidelines, you could injure the animal by stunting their growth and hurting their knees and back
The calf's face maybe too small at first, so don't worry about halter training it immediately (like right after tagging). Leave some time for the face to grow, even if this means that the calf's strength will grow too.
It's best if you bottle-raise the calf. Then, the calf will get used to you the more you feed them.

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Warnings

Do not ride a cow or calf that is too small for you as this can cause damage to cow's back. Remember cows can carry up to 50% of their body weight and calves can carry around 35-40%.

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Don't rush into things as you could both injure yourself and the calf you're attempting to train.

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