Ranchcraft

Ever looked at a field full of cows and thought, “Why can’t I actually herd these properly?”

That is basically why Ranchcraft exists.

Ranchcraft is a behaviour-focused livestock herding mod built around working animals from horseback. There are no magic whistles, special herding sticks, menus, commands or new mobs to learn. Get on a horse, ride into position, and use pressure and movement to work the herd.

Livestock pay attention to player-ridden horses only. An empty horse standing in a field means absolutely nothing to them, but once somebody gets in the saddle, things change.

Approach a herd from behind and they will move away from you. Work around the sides and you can steer them. Ride too aggressively straight through the middle and they will scatter, because sometimes the quickest way to turn an organised cattle drive into chaos is to put a horse exactly where it should not be.

Herding

Animals no longer behave like a collection of completely unrelated Minecraft mobs when being worked.

They form temporary herds, stay loosely grouped, follow the movement of nearby herd members and travel together rather than all choosing different directions.

Different livestock also behave differently.

• Cattle are steady and predictable.
• Sheep stay tightly grouped and really do not enjoy being separated.
• Pigs are a little less cooperative and more awkward to steer.
• Chickens react quickly at close range and scatter readily.
• Llamas are more reluctant to yield to light pressure.
• Horses are faster, more sensitive and much harder to work cleanly.

Apply enough pressure and livestock will run, not slowly wander away while your horse politely waits behind them.

Cutting

Ranchcraft also allows you to cut individual animals away from the main herd.

There is no target button involved.

Move an animal toward the edge of the group, place your horse between it and the herd, and hold the gap.

The animal will initially try to get back. It may try to slip around either side of your horse, so you need to reposition and keep pressure on the return route.

If you maintain the separation successfully, the animal eventually stops desperately trying to reconnect and can be worked separately.

Adult livestock are intentionally easier to leave behind. Once an adult is being properly cut, the rest of the herd will not turn around and come collecting them.

Babies are different.

Try separating a baby and the herd may turn back for it, making the job considerably harder.

Good luck. 😅

Precision Stock-Working

Your position around an individual animal matters too.

Work from behind and you encourage forward movement.

Move toward one side and the animal turns away.

Get ahead of its point of balance and you can slow it, redirect it or prevent it from pushing forward.

This makes it possible to work individual animals toward gates, keep them from slipping back into the herd, and perform much more precise cuts without needing any artificial control system.

Work Together

Ranchcraft supports multiple riders working the same herd.

There are no assigned roles or team menus. Your role comes entirely from where you ride.

One rider can drive from behind while another holds a flank.

Two riders can create pressure on both sides and keep livestock moving through the open space ahead.

Another rider can hold the main herd while somebody else cuts an individual animal away.

If several riders surround livestock too tightly, the herd may bunch up until somebody releases pressure and gives them somewhere to go.

Riding position matters more than simply throwing more horses at the problem.

Do Not Ride Through The Herd

You absolutely can.

You may regret it.

Working around the outside of livestock creates controlled herd movement.

Driving your horse directly between them creates a herd breach, causing nearby animals to break formation and scatter away from the horse.

Sometimes that is useful.

Sometimes you have just launched Gerald into another postcode.

Leads

If an animal is attached to a lead, Ranchcraft leaves it alone completely.

Leashed livestock are not herded, cut, scattered or precision-controlled by mounted horses.

They simply behave according to Minecraft or whichever livestock mod they belong to until the lead is removed.

Compatibility

Ranchcraft has built-in optional compatibility for:

• Genetic Animals
• Realistic Horse Genetics

Both integrations remain optional. Ranchcraft does not require either mod to run.

Ranchcraft supports their relevant livestock and horse entities without replacing their genetics, breeding systems or other native behaviour.

Configurable

Ranchcraft includes a full server-side configuration covering the major parts of the behaviour system, including herd formation, spacing, pressure, movement speed, scatter behaviour, cutting, precision handling, cooperative riders and species-specific behaviour.

The default settings are designed around the intended Ranchcraft experience, so you can simply install the mod and start working livestock without touching anything.

Modpack creators who enjoy turning config files into a second occupation are also very welcome.