Western Features:
A Simple Substitute - Cutting horse trainers swap buffalo for cattle in the training pen.
By Jill J. Dunkel 2005
Loping around the buffalo not only teaches the buffalo to stay in the middle of the pen, but it also settles the buffalo and is good for a horse.
Cutting horse trainers have long looked for a way to train horses without the large investment of buying cattle. After all, cattle are expensive, and a calf can be "used up" in one short month. A trainer riding 10 horses can use up 30 head of cattle in just 14 days, which leaves him always looking for a source of fresh cattle.
Over the years, trainers have used a variety of devices to substitute for a live calf, including a mechanical calf or even occasionally a "good hearted" employee, running back and forth on foot. But many trainers have found a unique substitute for a continuous flow of fresh cattle - a small herd of buffalo calves.
Russell Harrison, a trainer from Wichita Falls, Texas, whose NCHA lifetime earnings total over $300,000, utilizes buffalo in his training program. "I use buffalo to start my young horses," he says. "They work similar to a fresh calf."
Harrison also uses cattle, but says having buffalo helps stretch out his calf supply. "Right now I have a lot of cattle, but in the summer, the buffalo work better." Buffalo are more heat tolerant, he says.
"They are a lot more resilient than a calf. One buffalo can replace 10 head of cattle," says Scott Wilbourn, a trainer near Wichita Falls, Texas, who uses buffalo a large percentage of the time. "I can work two or three horses on one buffalo. When I change horses, I let the buffalo out to get a drink and cool off."
Wilbourn uses them more as outdoor temperatures rise. "When it gets hotter, it's hard to keep cattle good. But if a buffalo is in shape and conditioned, I can work him for 15 to 30 minutes straight. Then let him cool off, wet his face and his beard, and he's ready to go again. If you treat them right, they will last a long time." Wilbourn's training business focuses on starting two-year-olds on livestock, with a limited number of three-year-olds.
His buffalo "stay good" for eight to 12 months, using them in a rotation, two or three days a week. "It depends how you use them and how you prepare them," he says. But if you do your homework, train them right, and feed them correctly, they will last.
Wilbourn says the cost to keep a buffalo is similar to that of a calf, but with a different result. "It's hard to get much gain on a calf before it's used up. But with a good feeding and parasite control program, a 300 pound buffalo can get to 700 to 750 pounds in a year."
Wilbourn feeds his buffalo a lot of good quality hay and a 12 to 14 percent protein grain ration.
Preparing or training the buffalo involves a "pressure and release" strategy. "It's very similar to the training techniques that Craig Cameron uses on horses," he says.
Tim Frasier of the Texas Buffalo Exchange says training the buffalo is very important. "How you treat a buffalo the first few times you work him will determine how he works the rest of his life," he says.
Wilbourn uses the buffalo both individually and in a group to teach his young horses. They work very similar to fresh cattle.
Frasier buys good-quality buffalo calves from reputable buffalo ranches and sells them to people in the horse industry. He gives customers a training video with every set of buffalo he sells. Frasier also trains cutting horses at his Gainesville, Texas, facility.
In today's market, Frasier sells a buffalo calf for between $200 and $300 for a light weight calf, and he guarantees the health of the calf. "These buffalo are all weaned and have had their shots. They are healthy and ready to go."
Most buffalo calves weigh between 300 to 400 pounds when Frasier sells them. "That's when they are easiest to train." After a horseman has used the buffalo for a year, Frasier will help the owner find a buyer, or in some cases can buy-back yearling buffaloes. Some go to feedyards to supply the increasing buffalo meat market and some are sold to working cowhorse trainers. "When trained right, a yearling buffalo will circle and fence just like a calf."
Since buffalo are herd animals, Frasier never sells less than three or four at a time. "Buffalo establish family groups, and leaving one animal by himself for a long time leads to mental and eventually physical problems. Ten is about the perfect number to keep in a group."
Wilbourn keeps between eight and ten buffalo at a time. "If I use them a lot, I might work a set for a month, then give them a month off," he says.
"Don't get me wrong, I still use a lot of cattle. But working buffalo extends the amount of time I can work a set of calves. A buffalo is basically a mechanical cow with a heartbeat. It gives me the opportunity to work a live animal every day without the cost of cattle."
