Instructions
Put the halter on the steer. Depending on the size and disposition of the steer, there are several methods. If the steer is small or docile, simply slide the nose piece over its muzzle, lay the crown piece over the top of its head and behind its ears and buckle it. If it fights the halter and is generally unruly when you let it out of the chute, tie the steer to a sturdy fence post and wait for it to lose some of its ambition.
Allow the steer to dehydrate for a few hours if it is completely wild. An afternoon without water typically takes some of the fire out of a maverick steer.
Talk to the steer. Touch the steer. Part of halter training is pacifying the animal. You need to get the steer accustomed to you moving around it, talking to it and touching it. If the steer is not comfortable with you around it, it will not be comfortable with you at the end of the lead rope.
Untie the steer. Begin leading the steer in circles. This takes away the animal's weight advantage because it gives you leverage. Pull its head to the side or back at an angle toward its rump, which takes away the steer's leverage and makes it move its feet. If you attempt to pull a stubborn steer straight away, it can simply plant its legs and pull back on the lead rope.
Let the tension off the rope. When the animal takes a step, release its head. If you continue to pull on its head as it steps, it will eventually begin fighting back. Pull its head only to start it walking again after it stops.
Lead the steer to water and food. Or, carry food with you. If you reward the animal, it is more apt to follow your lead. Reward the animal for taking a certain number of steps. Never reward bad behavior. This confuses the animal.
How to Halter Break a Steer
Halter breaking a steer requires as much diligence as know-how. Managing a halter-broke steer consumes less time and resources than dealing with a steer that a rancher must round up or herd to move, doctor or load into a trailer. Halter-broke steers are shown at fairs -- rather than penned -- and often bring a better price. The more time you spend with the animal at the end of a lead rope, the more accustomed it becomes to being led. There are measures and practices to teaching a steer good halter habits, but without long and regularly incremented training sessions, the steer fails to meet its halter-broke potential.