I reckon there can be no doubt that handling cattle is a skill. Whether its mustering in extensive paddocks, moving them through the yards or undertaking routine husbandry, all producers need to handle their cattle at some point. While every producer may have to handle their cattle, there is a huge variation in the handling skills producers possess.
One of the big misconceptions I run across is producers who think they were born with stock handling skills or that these skills will just develop because they live on a farm.
I reckon the truth is, like any skill, safe handling skills are a result of education, knowledge and practice.
So how much time do you put into your handling skills? Have you done any training, or at the very least thought about how your actions cause your animals to respond to you? Do you think much about how your stock behave and try to modify your actions to work with their natural behaviour patterns?
One of the best things I have done in my career was to have participated in a stock handling school. The two days I spent encouraged me to reconsider the way stock behave, and the ways my actions cause them to respond.
Some of the things I learnt weren't new. There were some ideas and actions I was used to using. But there were plenty of new things I picked up.
Building your skills is one thing. Maintaining your skills takes practice and requires commitment. In our business I reckon we need to spend more time working on our skills and recognise that we don't always know it all!
There are some simple principles which underpin good stock handling skills. The first is to have patience. The second is to have a sense of humour. And third is to remain alert and respond positively to the animals. If you can do that, the animals will respond positively to you. Essentially, good stock handling skill is about having the right attitude and the right skills.
If you're not too sure about your skills, ask yourself these questions.
Can you identify the flight zone for the group of animals you're working with?
Can you pick the lead animal?
Can you get the mob to move without making a lot of noise or by physically touching those animals?
Do you know where you should be standing or riding to get the mob to stop or slow down?
These are just a few questions which you could use to check on the state of your stock handling skills. If you weren't too sure about them, I reckon its not a bad idea to think about a stock handling course.
Even if you could answer those questions easily, I still think its not a bad idea to do some skills development. Consider it refresher training, but I reckon you will have a similar experience to me. And that is, you will be challenged, excited and enthused about your skills and how much you will enjoy working with your stock.
If you'd like to arrange for some training or skills maintenance in stock handling, feel free to get in touch with me, and we can arrange some training for you and your team.