How to Get a Horse Familiar With Cattle

Start your horse training by giving your horse the chance to observe the cattle from a pen. Walk him around the area where the cattle are fenced. Observe whether he is drawn toward them out of curiosity or set to flee away. Keep walking him for observance until he no longer shows fear.

Get your horse acclimated to the noise of the herd. Play pre-recorded cattle heard noises. Pick up a disc or download sounds from online and play them while you work with your horse.

Practice commands with your horse. Work with him on stopping, turning and changing speeds. You want him to listen to you if he is spooked by a cow, and wants to flee. You don't want him spooking your herd and causing it to scatter in all directions because he's afraid.

Walk your horse in a locked pen with at least one or two cattle. Walk the horse around the pen and around the cattle.

Ride your horse around the pen with the cattle in the pen at the same time. Do this for half an hour a day. Avoid pushing your horse into a stubborn cow to get him to move.

Move the cattle out of his way. Cows can be stubborn and won't shy away like other animals. Get off the horse or have another person there to manage the cattle. Allow the horse to see you move the cows, to show the horse you are in control of these animals. This helps to show them not to be afraid of the cattle.

Let your horse hang out with other horses who have been cattle trained. Let him learn from the other horses that the cattle are not to be feared.

Turn your horse loose on his own in the pen with a cow. Monitor him to see that the cows don't bully the horse around.

Practice directing smaller calves while on the horse's back. If you will be roping cattle, get the horse used to you swinging a rope and dragging a heavy object behind him.

Practice dragging a log behind the horse on a rope so he gets used to carrying the weight of a cow you roped. Use a large bale of hay if you can't find a log heavy enough to mimic the weight of your cattle.

Practice using your legs and body cues with the rope and log attached. Get the horse familiar with telling the difference between the tension of the rope and your signals. Rancher R.J. Safely writes that your horse "will learn to work the rope under tension and to respond lightly to your leg and body cues (you sure don't want to be on a horse that has to be yanked around by the reins), putting to a meaningful use all of the various movements that you would probably like to build together such as side-passing and turning about the fore- or hindquarters."

Get in the pen with more cattle than you used before. Spend half an hour to an hour in the pen, following the cattle around on horseback.

Ride your horse regularly through a herd of cattle. Once he is comfortable maneuvering between them, teach him how to track and follow cattle. Start tracking the rest of the cattle in your ranch before you actually start roping. Get the horse used to following and tracking the cattle once he loses the fear of the animals.