Preparing different breeds of cattle for the show?

Answer 1

Showing cattle is a long process that takes a lot of patience and time.

Beef Cattle

At home:

First you will begin by halter breaking your animal. You will also need to get the animal used to the show stick, practice setting the legs up and scratching the belly or brisket (this helps keep them calm). Once it is halter broken, you will need to get it used to being washed, you can wash them with dish soap (Ivory is the best and for white animals I recommend Sunlight). At this point you will need to start training the hair . With Beef animals hair is key, while the animal is still wet take the brush you used for washing (make sure ALL soap is removed) work the hair down towards the ground, then work the hair in a 45 degree angle towards the head, do this with the whole body. This process will teach the hair to "pop" when dry.

To dry the hair most farmers use a blower (this is a hair dryer for cows), this will speed the time up and also help the hair "pop". While blowing the animal you can apply a conditioner or hair builder to help maintain that shine and health.

This process should be repeated at least twice a week. During hot seasons, it is a good idea to simply rinse the cow every day with a wash at least twice a week, this will help build the hair.

At least a week before the show, you will need to clip your animals, it is a good idea to find someone in your area that is familiar with this process.

At the show:

Follow the same process of feeding as you would at home (some farmers like to put a bit of beet pulp in the feed while at the show). Wash the cow thoroughly, with white animals you will want to let the soap sit in the hair for a couple of minutes then rinse. It is recommended to buy a shampoo that whitens the hair (use this only at the show as they are more expensive than the other soap). Add in the conditioners while you blow the animal.

You will now need to glue the leg hair (this is the process of applying a strong hair addehisive to the leg hair to make it "pop") to do this work the hair up with the curry comb while spraying the adhesive, spry lightly as you don't want it to clump. It is a good idea to find someone that is experienced gluing the leg hair as it is very tedious and important. Once you are done, apply a light coat of shiner to the whole body, put the show halter on and you are ready!

Dairy cattle:

At home:

You will need to get the animal halter broken, get it used to you walking backwards and setting the feet using only the halter (well trained animals will set up the feet automatically). Then you need to get it used to being bathed, use the same soaps you would for beef cattle. You don't need to take as much care with the hair as all of the body hair is clipped off of dairy animals (with the exception of the tail, topline and belly). It is a good idea to wash them the same amount that you would beef cattle, when it is hot you can also rinse them. You can remove access water by pulling down on the hair with the brush (this will help them dry faster as you don't need to blow them dry)

A week before the show have someone experienced clip your animal.

At the show:

Follow the same steps as you would at home (farmers tend to add beet pulp to feed).When washing make sure that the white parts of the animal is really white. Once she is dry and it is closer to the show time, have someone experienced glue the topline hair (this is just making the hair stand up to make the back look straight). Apply a shiner to the body, brush off any dust, put the show halter on and you are ready!

Hope that this helps you and does not confuse you, if you have any questions feel free to ask me!