It's always important to get the start of movement going before you focus on separating out some select animals from the main group., You should have already assessed the group for the ones you want to split from the herd, so keep an eye on them and begin to ignore the rest., When you walk past these animals, they will slow down and stop. The ones still ahead of you should continue movement as long as they can see you are still applying pressure and release with your zig-zag movements.

Ignore the other animals that want to follow, unless one or more of them are a part of the group you want to gather up. The other "unwanted" cattle will soon figure out you do not want them with the group you're herding; they will soon stop and go about their own business.
If you are splitting out just one animal, and they are not used to you driving them, they may try to stop and "challenge" you or try to get back to the herd.

If they are facing you in a challenge, just stop, and shift your weight from one foot to another to allow them to think. If they make a move to go around you, step in that direction to discourage that movement. Repeat until you teach the animal to understand that you mean no harm, and you just want them to walk with you, yet you are still the boss and are the one responsible for leading or herding them to where they should go.

This may take a few minutes, but take your time, and keep watching and reading the animal.


If they do break away back to the herd, then repeat the process again until you are able to successfully drive the cow, heifer, steer, or even bull without them trying to get around or challenge you.


There is no need to worry if there's one or two extra cattle in with the group that want to stay with the group. You can split them off later on, when they move from the front of the herd to the back. Once they get near the back you can adjust your movements so that you are no longer applying pressure for them to stay with the group you've already collected.
 Your zig-zag movements will be minimal for a small group or one animal. But you are always going to be guiding from the corners and pressuring from the sides.
Perform the steps mentioned above for starting and developing good movement in a herd.
Focus on one or more animals to split out.
Begin working animals so that you are walking past the ones you don't want to bring with you.
Herd the animals, similar to that mentioned in the last section, to the place where you want to place them.
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