Monday 18 July 2011

Cattle Handeling Clinic

The first question Dylan Biggs asked at the indoor session of the two day clinic was:
"Who is the yeller and who is being yelled at?"
When a Dylan Biggs Cattle Handling Clinic was organised in the area,
we decided it would be a good event to attend.


After clarifying the first question and explaining why people yell,
its effects on the helpers, cattle and stock dogs,
it became apparent that this would be an informative clinic...


Key phrases that were used where things like:
create flow, voluntary movement, positioning, distance.
The hands on participants got to wade around in the wet pastures creating flow in a herd of 120 cows and their calves,
Dylan coached quietly from the side,
no yelling, arm waving or stress.


Much that was said was not new to me, as many of the things we try to strive for when training stock dogs are based on these principles.
Square movement (90 degree angle) off the cattle, some weaving motion to start the herd going, move toward the hip or head,
all things we like to train our collies to do in order to control the sheep in a quiet manner.

The weather, despite being very threatening, held up during our outdoor sessions.

Not only was this clinic informative about cattle handling,
but we also got lessons in human behaviour...

Unfortunately, Eric could not attend day 1,
so once we got home I insisted that he attend day 2...

The true test has not been ,
as we have not not needed to work cattle together yet.

After the clinic, Dylan came to our ranch to look at our operation, our guardian dogs and sheep.
We had a wonderful evening socializing and sharing experiences.
Take a look at their ranch website,
where they directly market beef, lamb and pork to the consumer:
www.tkranch.com

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