This year Sprout is showing a steer, a feeder calf, a dairy heifer, several sheep and a couple of swine. The steer was a feeder calf last year so he has been shown once and is mostly trained. During school it is a bit hard to get training fitted in with sports and school projects. As Sprout ages I think she will be able to do more over the off season, but for now her schedule and bedtime just doesn't allow for much training over the winter. We are in the process of pushing his feed a little more to get him to fill out his muscle and frame to be mature by the time fair is here. This is partially what the judges look for when showing the animal.
The feeder calf was born this year in January sometime and is pretty mellow. He was bottle fed so he is used to being handled. This make training so much easier since he is used to people directing his movements to feed. He must be less than 600 pounds by the fair or he cannot show in the feeder calf group. So we will be feeding good quality food, but not really pushing him to fill out. Beginning 4Hers, in my opinion, should start with a feeder calf. They are smaller and give the young 4Her confidence in their showing techniques. 600 pounds is a whole lot easier than 1500 to 1600 pounds of a steer. The added benefit is that the animal is already used to the 4Her in the second year when they are larger.
The dairy heifer was an unexpected entry this year. We haven't shown dairy before so it's going to be a learning curve for Sprout. The cow was a feeder calf last year. It was a last minute substitution for the loss of a calf. I was reluctant to keep her, but she really is a pretty cow. Dairy show style and beef show style are very different so Sprout will be increasing her show knowledge this year. In short beef show style is to walk with the cow at your shoulder into the show ring and dairy is to lead the cow walking backwards into the show ring. There are some other subtle differences, but this is the major difference. Also the 4Her wears western wear for beef and all white for dairy. I heard all the mom groan at that last one. Yes it's difficult to keep them clean and I will be planning at least 3 total changes of clothes for show day.
Currently she has three sheep registered for the fair, but my guess is that only two will actually go. We over register sheep because they have a tendency to get sick easily. Having three will usually ensure that at least one will be able to show. We do a rough clip around a week before the fair and final clip at the fair. Sheep are shown without a halter keeping the the head up and the back level. It's definitely something that must be practiced loads at home.
Swine or pigs are probably my least favorite, but probably FarmBoy's favorite. We have two different breeds and depending on how they fill out we might take both or we might only take one. Showing, I always say, is just controlled chaos. In training you walk them and get them used to turning as you tap their shoulders, but there really isn't much else to it. The 4Her must be aware of the judge's position and be on the opposite side of the pig. The goal is for the judge to see the pig and not the 4Her. Swine love marshmallows and you can get them to do just about anything for one so we use it in training quite a bit. A marshmallow on the end of a stick waived in front of their nose will get them to move almost every time.
There are tons of tips and tricks we use on each species that we had to either learn the hard way or had some other kind 4Hers teach us. As we get into training this year I'll try to pass along a few more of them.
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