A muster (Au/NZ) or a roundup (US/Ca) is the process of gathering livestock. Musters usually involve cattle, sheep or horses, but may also include goats, camels, buffalo or other animals. Mustering may be conducted for a variety of reasons including routine livestock health checks and treatments, branding, shearing, lamb marking, sale, feeding and transport or droving to another location. Mustering is a long, difficult and sometimes dangerous job, especially on the vast Australian cattle stations of the Top End, 'The Falls' (gorge) country of the Great Dividing Range and the ranches of the western United States. The group of animals gathered in a muster is referred to as a "mob" in Australia and a "herd" in North America.
Methods
Mustering may be done on foot, with various vehicles, horses or with aircraft. Techniques in mustering cattle or sheep will depend on region, culture, distances and the type of terrain involved, and the type of animal that is being mustered. Most sheep mustering nowadays tends to be done with utes, motorcycles or all-terrain vehicles (ATVs, commonly called "quads" (quad-bikes) in Australia or a "four-wheeler" in the US), whereas cattle mustering lends itself more towards the use of horses. The most popular horse for this job would is a stock horse or a very hardy bush horse. The people who muster animals are usually referred to as stockmen in Australia and, depending on the animal gathered, as wranglers or cowboys in the US.
Dogs are typically used where it is possible or helpful to do so. The hardy Australian Kelpie or one of its crosses is the most popular breed of dog for mustering sheep and cattle in Australia. The Australian Cattle Dog or "blue heeler" is a popular ranch dog in the US, as is the Border Collie, Australian Shepherd, and related crossbreds. It may be difficult or impossible to use dogs in hot, dry or burry conditions. The use of some dogs on cows with young calves may be counterproductive as cows will chase dogs that work too close to them. Working dogs are essential in the rugged gorge country and also in scrubby locations where dogs are able to flush out cattle from low brush. The flight zone, too, is an important principle to remember when working or mustering livestock. When mustering cattle in isolated gorge country a good dog will silently move ahead of the stockman and block up the stock until the rider appears to take control. In Australia, a stockwhip is usually carried and used as needed when mustering cattle with horses. In North America, a lasso is used from horseback, both to rope and move particularly recalcitrant animals, but also as a simple goad. However, a different style of whip, also called a "stock whip," may be utilized by handlers on the ground.
If only part of the mustered mob of cattle is required then the selected animals may be open "campdrafted away" (AU) or "cut out" (US) from the mob while contained in a large fenced area and driven away. This practice normally requires several skilled riders, but saves time and is better than yard drafting.
The seasonal mustering of cattle with horses is still very important in remote country and the stockmen will spend long days riding and camping in isolated areas. When cattle have to be castrated or ear marked in country that is too remote from fenced-in areas ("yards"-Au, "corrals"-US), they have to be thrown. This is accomplished by various methods. In the US, roping the animal and tying up its legs once thrown is a common method. In Australia, the common method is getting the beast off balance either with the pressure of a horse or in open country with a vehicle. Lighter beasts may also be thrown by holding the tail to pull them off balance. When downed the beast may have its back legs hobbled if it is too big to hold otherwise. In South America, the animal is often tripped with a bola and then hobbled or tied once down.
Livestock can also be passively mustered by trap yards (Au) or holding corrals (US), which are set up at points where enticements such as water, molasses, fodder or salt are placed. This method can be an effective and efficient technique for mustering in timbered country or for capturing feral animals. A trap yard can be set up around a designated point and the animals can be trained to use the yard over a period of weeks before the gates are closed to outward movement. Sometimes quiet coaxers (coachers) are used to assist in the mustering and droving of wild or feral livestock.