Training is a fun part of owning a Mini because this is where you enjoy close contact on a regular basis with your calf. It is my favorite part of raising calves. Training is also a LOT of work!

Training may be undertaken to show an animal in which case the training regimen is the most demanding. Training may involve only enough to allow you to easily and safely halter an animal; still requiring a lot of attention but not as crucial as for a show ring.

There are a lot of training video and other resources on training cattle. I won't go into detail on this post but will address some training techniques in individual posts later. (I have set this blog to allow comments so anyone who wants to share some insights.) 

I was not able to properly train the calves I wanted to show in Waco this past month. First of all, my facility it too uncomfortable during hot weather. I had to limit my training hours to the early morning and this was not enough to train three calves. I also had some recurring back problems show up in force and limited my time even more. So...no Waco show.

Training is a time consuming activity. Most people active in showing will train in the morning and the afternoon, not including the sometimes daily or twice daily washing. If it is a family activity, the load can be shared. In my case, the grand-kids live too far away and are not into showing calves. In good weather, I could probably have achieved my goals this year, but not this year.

Bottom line: Consider the time and resources you are willing to devote to training a calf before buying your animal.

Visit other Mini owners to see their facilities and get their input on what you'll need and get their insights into training. If you want calf but don't feel you can devote the time to training, you may buy an animal already trained or consider paying someone to train the animal you purchased. The learning process for Miniature Herefords or any animal is always a long-term endeavor. It will be most enjoyable if you match your goals with your capabilities.