Esther is one of our oldest Holstein milking cows. She was born in January 7, 2003, so she's just over 14 years old. She was a 4-H Calf in 2003, though she totally had a mind of her own. Most calves catch on to halter training really quickly. With Esther, it wasn't that she didn't understand how to lead, it was that she didn't want to. Instead of walking, she'd just take off and run back to the barn, dragging whoever was trying to lead her with her.
She had a stall mate named Ashley, and they were shown together at a few local fairs.
As a cow, Esther has had 9 calves, and milked with no problems. She's a quiet cow that is fairly easy to work with, unless you want to lead her.
A few years ago, she was looking amazing, and we wanted to wash her up as if she was at a show again, and take her outside for some posed photos. I expected her to lead fine, now that she was a mature cow, so I put the halter on her, turned her around and was going to just calmly lead her out of the barn so I could wash her. She walked about ten feet before smashing me into the wall, and turning to run out the back door. It was just like old times. She's not mean, she's just sneaky. So needless to say, the professional pictures never got taken.
Esther is almost always the first cow into the barn when it's time for milking. She's the type of cow we wish we had more of.