Moving cows is very much like what they describe here. You can roar around on a quad and work them up, and make it very difficult, or you can calmly target lead animals and move them with slight movements. As little as shifting your weight from one foot to the other or raising an arm at the right time will change their directions, even split them from the herd. And they will watch your eyes to see if you’re targetting them. Generations of handling have given them the same sort of attention to body cues that dogs have.

Age can also change how you handle an animal 180*. Calves will always try to pass you, so you don’t push them the direction you want them to go, you walk away from that direction and they will run past you towards it. If you’re far enough back, you might be able to get them pressured up enough to try to get away in that direction, but there will always be one that tries to circle behind you, out of sight. He will run back to the rest of them as soon as you pressure him though.

They’ll also know when you’re not maneuverable and change their escape tactics. On foot, they use speed or intimidation, on quad, they use sharp turns. On horseback, they try all three a couple times and get beaten out by the horse every way, then just do exactly what you want because they don’t have anything else.