Cattle Fads over the years

It seems that over the years certain fads in the cattle business has either come & gone or have been through the cycle effect. What are some of the fads in cattle or the show ring you've seen? Anything from types of cattle to ways of fitting to equipment & products?

I remember back when I was showing the taller & bigger the steer the better off you were. People were looking hard at the newer exotic animals such as the Chi's & Simmys & anything else that was newer.
Lot's of twine, horse hair & graphite was being used to build legs. Also, kids actually dressed up to show! Not many torn jeans, t-shirts or bellies showing.

What have you seen over the years?

Red

When I showed it was extreme.  I showed alot of Chi's and Simmy's with a little limmy.  We were still using glycerin and showwax on the legs and tailhead.  We ratted theirs tails and tied them as high as we could.  I look at pics of the long legged, high flanked, heavy fronted cattle and wonder what we were thinking.

Count me in that era too.  If you were a bit on the tall side, you stooped over to make the calf look even taller.  Remember clipping the belly hair, spray auto adhesive, Orvis soap, & using a curry or line comb to curl the hair?      We were cleaning out some boxes in the tack shed and my daughter found a jar with some glycerin & saddle soap bars in it.  I told her what it was for and she looked at me like I had grown a horn.       

I still remember when I was little and just starting the whole BALLING the TAIL and putting in a bag like someone getting a perm. Also Roisen was used as well. And Dint forget the ol Super 77 adhesive that stuff would make anything stand up. Boy things sure have gotten easier or at least more practical and the cattle look more natural nowadays then with all those weaves and stuff.

what about homemade wooden show boxes? I still have mine & use it to store creep feed.
Gee, it's almost an antique!!!
Red

cattlejunky said:

I look at pics of the long legged, high flanked, heavy fronted cattle and wonder what we were thinking.

Click to expand...

this is the draft influence coming out that was rooted out, as well as the unbalanced maines.  a lot of stuff was being experimented with and this increased the distribution of phenotypes.  this has been ratcheted back a lot since the late 70's early 80's.  this was one reason ohlde club calves were awesome in the old days.  he had a higher percentage of calves that were longer bodied, stylish, deeper, and had some muscle compared to what was out there. also, some holstein influence out there.  at some point, people willl look back at the heatwave era with some what were we thinking mixed feelings.

This may date me, but...We have shown cattle for over 40 years and have gone from the 'miniatures' to the 'giraffes' and everything in between.  I showed an Angus steer and a Shorthorn steer my first year in 4-H.  We bought the Angus at a club calf sale for $155, we raised the Shorthorn.  The Angus steer weighed 965 pounds and won the 2nd heaviest class of Angus steers.  The champion was the heaviest steer at the fair, he weighed 1,035.  We washed with Orvus and wet them down for show preparation with dip.  We used a liner on the rear quarter and pulled the hair up with a curry comb.  The heads and tails were clipped, the belly hair was evened out, but not shaven.  I used a white show halter on the Angus and a brown one for the Shorthorn.  The halters were about 5 times as thick as today's.  When we showed heifers the next year, we put horn weights on to bend the horns down.  Prior to the show, we used sandpaper to smooth the horns and sprayed lacquer on the horns and hooves to make them shine.  The minimum weight for steers was 850 pounds.  My second year in 4-H, I had a steer that weighed 840 pounds.  The scale man told me to go water him and bring him back later.  Of course, he wouldn't drink and weighed 835 the next time.  An old timer came up to me and said, "Son, bring your steer over here and we'll get him to make weight."  I was 11 years old and assumed he had a magic potion or something.  He told me to tie him up short in the wash rack.  He then hooked up a water hose, stuck it down my steer's throat, and to my astonishment turned on the hydrant.  I remember almost crying because I was just sure my steer would blow up.  The old timer then told me to re-weigh my steer and he weighed 855.  We still show cattle on a limited scale today.  I could go on and on about all the changes in cattle types and fitting techniques.  The cattle and styles have changed, but the people haven't.  They're still the greatest.

I had a chain that went around my Jersey's horns for decoration. It had a little hadlock w/ my initials. I'd spend hours polishing the horns!

Red

red said:

what about homemade wooden show boxes? I still have mine & use it to store creep feed.
Gee, it's almost an antique!!!
Red

Click to expand...

ami the only one who has a wooden box  ???

atleast mine has wheels

I still have my old wooden showbox - no wheels - just took lotsa muscle to move it.    I  wish I could remember what kind of paint we used.. it still has the same high gloss today as it did back in the 70's.  It's just sitting there full of stuff we dont' know where else to put.    We also have some of those really wide show halters but as I recall in the 70's, they were already moving to the rolled leather.    My old showstick is also around...  it was a custom job - with a bent nail in the end because most of them just had a little stub back in those days. 

My dad has pix of his 6'2" self showing a Hereford steer back in the 50's..  now that is really far cry from where we are now.    He still has horn weights.. I guess he thinks he might need them someday. 

kanshow said:

I still have my old wooden showbox - no wheels - just took lotsa muscle to move it.    I  wish I could remember what kind of paint we used.. it still has the same high gloss today as it did back in the 70's.  It's just sitting there full of stuff we dont' know where else to put.     We also have some of those really wide show halters but as I recall in the 70's, they were already moving to the rolled leather.    My old showstick is also around...  it was a custom job - with a bent nail in the end because most of them just had a little stub back in those days. 

My dad has pix of his 6'2" self showing a Hereford steer back in the 50's..  now that is really far cry from where we are now.    He still has horn weights.. I guess he thinks he might need them someday.   

Click to expand...

It would be cool if you could post some of those pictures!!

I have a wooden show box. I built it myself in ag class. I painted it with a dark stain and sealed it. I also painted a picture of some steers on it more recently.  It's heavy but I guess this way I don't have to worry about it getting stolen. 

we have two wooden show boxes. One that was my made by my step dad that is painted bright orange : and it even has a place to mount a fan on it. and then we have another that we bought at an auction for 5 bucks, and its a nightmare to move (cow)

zach said:

red said:

what about homemade wooden show boxes? I still have mine & use it to store creep feed.
Gee, it's almost an antique!!!
Red

Click to expand...

ami the only one who has a wooden box  ???

at least mine has wheels

Click to expand...

haha Me too. My showbox is wooden. My uncle made it for Christmas one year, and its great! Its polished up with varnish and we've had several compliments on it before.

mine is huge, biggest at the fair usually, but its got wheels so who cares how big it is lol.

probably gonna build me another one soon, gonna be a tad bit smaller, padded top, wheels shelves.... gonna be nice  <cowboy>

Will global warming 50 years from now mandate that cattle need to be red to reflect the sun better...and not be black because it absorbs the sun so much worse. People will be trying to get rid of that damn dominent black color trait.