Cattle injected with air

[shorthorn boy]

Is there any way to find out if a steer has been aired? I don't think that our county fair allows airing, but I know that several steers have been aired behind the shoulder and in the butt area.
Thanks

I don't understand why everyone is out to get someone else thrown out, mind your own business. Your only upset  and want to turn someone in if they beat you.If you turn them in your just asking for them to try and find something to get you on. There is not many people thet do everything by the book,If they do they don't win very often. They will just do it to the next one earlier so it has time to fill in with fat, They'll beat you and you can't do anything about it.If you can't beat them join'em

Wow what a great thing to teach our young peolple. maybe people ought to try hard work and good feeding program and stick to the rules. the fact that you would suggest that they shoild join the cheaters is absurd

Couldn't have said it better myself, same with with your response ZNT.  (clapping)

 

[irh]

You people sure make it hard for us people that are trying to raise and show the real animal.  There needs to be classes for air or artificial cattle, then classes for the real deal.  We are having enough trouble with peta then you want to justify this crap.  How would you jocks like someone to pump air up your ass and let the fat grow around it.  Just like everything else in this world no morals......

 

[brandisshortys]

Is there any way to find out if a steer has been aired? I don't think that our county fair allows airing, but I know that several steers have been aired behind the shoulder and in the butt area.
Thanks

I don't understand why everyone is out to get someone else thrown out, mind your own business. Your only upset  and want to turn someone in if they beat you.If you turn them in your just asking for them to try and find something to get you on. There is not many people thet do everything by the book,If they do they don't win very often. They will just do it to the next one earlier so it has time to fill in with fat, They'll beat you and you can't do anything about it.If you can't beat them join'em

Wow what a great thing to teach our young peolple. maybe people ought to try hard work and good feeding program and stick to the rules. the fact that you would suggest that they shoild join the cheaters is absurd

Couldn't have said it better myself, same with with your response ZNT.  (clapping)

Ditto!  Showing cattle has become such a junior sport.  Why not set a good example for these kids.  I wouldn't want my kid getting thrown out of a show for me teaching them bad ethics!  I understand that this is part of the the showing world, but it doesn't have to be condoned and taught to the rest of the world.  Kids want to win, there's no doubt about that, but the pride of winning is so much sweeter when you know it's for real!!!

 

[herefordfootball]

Is there any way to find out if a steer has been aired? I don't think that our county fair allows airing, but I know that several steers have been aired behind the shoulder and in the butt area.
Thanks

I don't understand why everyone is out to get someone else thrown out, mind your own business. Your only upset  and want to turn someone in if they beat you.If you turn them in your just asking for them to try and find something to get you on. There is not many people thet do everything by the book,If they do they don't win very often. They will just do it to the next one earlier so it has time to fill in with fat, They'll beat you and you can't do anything about it.If you can't beat them join'em

I'm not PETA, but if I saw someone airing up a steer, I'd be pretty damn pissed and you better stay out of my way. I dont care wether or not they win or lose I'm gonna raise some hell.

 

[oakbar]

Glad to hear that there are at least a few people who still think the calf should win on their own.  Not to start another whole argument, but I get peeved every time I walk around the grooming areas at shows and see all the buckets, tubes, and pumps to "fill" the cattle.  I think anyone caught doing that should be tossed out of the show as well!!

I get very tired of the "Everybody else is doing it so I might as well do it too!" reasoning.  Its merely a way of making someone else responsible for what you are doing.  Oldest excuse in the book for cheating or cutting corners.

 

 

[GONEWEST]

Absolutely my favorite topic.

There will always be people who accuse others of cheating. It seems to be human nature to be jealous of those with success. Not all winners cheat.

You should know going in to this show animal deal that cheating is going to occur. If you can't deal with it, you might as well just beat your head against a concrete block because you'll accomplish the same thing with all of your complaints, a head ache. When we showed open shows big time I didn't care what anyone did to their cattle. In a big open show there is so much to be gained from exhibiting your cattle besides winning. Cheating is going to occur anywhere money or winning is involved.

HOWEVER, an adult who would cheat a child is the lowest form of life on this planet. You air up that calf, you use the drugs, you pump its stomach, you do whatever it is that is against the rules and you are cheating every other child in that show. DO YOU GET THAT?? You are cheating a child.

TMJ,  if you were to call someone from my part of the country weak because they don't cheat, it'd get your mouth busted. When I was in high school  a time when a few Americans still had some guts, there was a person at a district show who was particularly arrogant about how much he had paid for a steer and all the "tricks" the people he was bringing in from IA, unheard of at the time, were going to use to make sure his little girl won the next day.  Well she did. And then 6 of the parents of the children who had been cheated put that man in the hospital that night. If people today were willing to stand up for their children like those people were this crap would cease. If people knew they were going to have broken bones, teeth out and hospital stays if they were caught, it wouldn't happen. I can't freakin believe you said someone was weak because they won't cheat. People who are weak cheat children.

The other thing he mentioned was that if you complain you will be embarrassed to no end. This is a sad statement on our society in general that the people in the right are embarrassed and the pond scum who cheat children are not and is seen to be the victim.

 

[Cowboy]

I have one very simple policy here at my little place -- and that is simply this -

My calves - like every one elses - are born natural as nature intended. They are raised natural, with the normal vaccines and health treatments as needed - period!

The policy I have is this - when I sell a calf to some one, be it an adult or especially a junior - I instil in them how I feel about all these "Treatments" the so called big time winners use at times. No calf I have ever sold or raised has EVER been given a treatment as descibed above, nor will they ever be given one as long as I own them. I tell the folks who buy from me this very fact -- and also, they are told that if I ever -- EVER - find out that the calf was injected, pumped or given steriods to win, they had darn well better be REALLY fast runners. As I will find them -- and then the game is on.

I am dead serious, I have actually turned down a very good sale to a suspected abuser before, and I will do it again. I make every purchaser promise me that they will take care of this calf as nature intended and let it win or lose on that basis. What you see here is what you get -- and get what you pay for. I do not trim feet to correct structure, I do not needle them or inject any kind of drugs to make them feel or look better than they really are.

I am absolutely emphatic about that -- you have my word on it -- so if any one buys from me, please be advised that you had better not let me catch you drugin or needling one of my calves -- end of story!

Having said that -- I hope the good kids continue to enjoy this fine business we are all in, and learn that winning is sweet but only if it is REAL -- cheating is fake -- and I don't like fake anything! Some of you may be laughing right now -- but I am not!

Terry

Now lets get back to having fun !  (thumbsup)

 

[stangs13]

I like a few of the above comments! Can you put hoof trimming in the same category as airing? I wonder how much of this goes on down here in texas with the number off steers we have and the size of the shows..I am not sure you can even begin to air slick sheared cattle without it being noticed?

 

[shortyjock89]

I like a few of the above comments! Can you put hoof trimming in the same category as airing? I wonder how much of this goes on down here in texas with the number off steers we have and the size of the shows..I am not sure you can even begin to air slick sheared cattle without it being noticed?

I bet you can if you do it enough in advance.  6 months prior to the show is when most people around here do it (the ones that do, NOT ME).  I think that airing is WAY different than hoof trimming.  There are lots of terrible things that people do to make that "great one", it's just a fact of life.  When I was showing steers, I could have cried about gettng beat by cheaters quite a few times, but beating those cheaters more than they beat me made it worth the fight. 

 

[Show Heifer]

I had stopped reading this post due to what I consider revolting and offensive remarks about "if you can't beat them, join them" , and "if you aint cheating you aint trying hard enough" and "mind your own business" and blah blah blah.

But then out of shear curiosity, I read it this morning and much to my surprise, their are people standing up for the honest folks. Their are people speaking out against abusing animals (how do you think it feels to have air forced between your skin and fat/muscle layer?) and speaking out against cheating. How refreshing.

For those that think cheating is acceptable, for those that think it is acceptable to join them, and for those that think it is acceptable to turn a blind eye, I pity all those around you, because a cheat is a cheat, I don't care if it is a show ring, or a business transaction, or a relationship. Cheaters cheat in everything. What a pathetic way to live a life.

 

[vet tech]

The responses to posts like this really shed a light on the integrity of some members on this board.  It seems like some feel that airing cattle, along with multiple other unethical practices are just part of showing cattle, and that anyone that doesn't do it either can't compete or is a complainer.  I totally disagree.  I know several people that air cattle, i even know where they get it done, but I chose not too.  I don't approve, defend, nor accept it, but I don't complain either.  Heck, I even beat these counter-fit's now and then.  I choose integrity in what I do both for myself and the cattle I work on for other families.  This is the role model I want to be for my daughter and her friends and family.  If someone does not want to do business with me because I won't do ANYTHING to make them win, then so be it.  They can go find someone that will.  That's fine with me. 

I love to win, but love being known as someone with integrity even more.  I hope all of you use the posts you see on this board when determining where you are going to look at calves this fall and winter.  I think another recent post has already covered the need for local role models.  BE ONE!

perfectly said....iam embaraced for the members on this thread to say 'if you can't beat em join em" thats ridiculus! cant you win without cheating? are you scared to go into the ring and not win with a natural calf? sound like some people are just lazy and want to win while being lazy! i feel bad for some people on here.....goodluck trying to sell calves here on steerplanet....because im not buying anything from a select member who posted on this thread, thats for sure! Have fun joining the cheaters!! ill be cheering for you!

Hereford football....I think we might be the same person ;D

 

[mooch]

Its funny how alot of people on here think the that the person reporting on the cheaters is the one that should be in trouble. My guess is if your the one protesting that the loudest you have a smoking gun in your pocket.With this kind of attitudes I give steer showing about two more years until its demise,as if most state extensions don't want to kill it anyway.So all you big traders and wantabees just keep doing what you're doing anjd repeat after me "do you want fries with that?"

 

[herefordfootball]

Not even any oldtimers can tell if a steer has been aired. Most calves are aired up to six months before they are shown.If it isn't airing,it is something else.These practices have gone on for over fifty years.They will go on for fifty more.Hell,airing is the least of your problems with show cattle.Showing steers especially has been a cut throat bussiness for many many years. If you don't believe in some of the practices that occur in showing steers,may I suggest a different hobby. This business is like the big time drug dealers,they keep in business cause there are always someone to buy the product.Steer jocks,the one's that are really good in most circles will always stay one step ahead.You don't heaqr from many of the people in Texas and Oklahoma complaining about what so and so does to steers or pigs or sheep.You know why? It's because they love what they do and take pride in trying to beat one another,whether it's right or wrong.most of the complainers are folks who would not win even if they cheated and told everyone they cheated.This business is not for the weak,and if you think you or a bunch of you will put a stop to some of the things that go on with show cattle or hogs or sheep or goats,well I'm sorry it ain't going to happen. There has been hundred's of complaints with Lawyers and courts getting involved and it still happens. Sooner or later when your money runs out,and you get disgraced for being the complainer,you will realize that you didn't really stir anything up that hasn't been stirred up before,with the same result. If you can't beat them,join them or keep to yourself and keep trying as hard as you can and every once in a while you might beat the one's your complaining about. The biggest problem with complaining all the time,ninety percent of the time it's jealousy.A lot of people just can't understand that their steer really wasn't as good as the calf that beat them any ways.You have the god given right to complain at anytime,but you must realize that it can backfire if your accusations are wrong.If you think the cattle showing business is crooked,why in gods name would you try to compete?the repurcussions to you or your family members can be devastating if you accuse someone of something you can't prove.It's just the way it has always been and there is very little that can be done....Good Luck.

So they take pride in beating each other by abusing their animals for their own personal gain?
Cant beat em' join em'? Wow. You really stand up for what you beleive in dont ya?
I agree though, that you better be sure before you accuse. Bout the only good thing in your post. Sorry if I sound like a jerk saying this though.

 

[Jill]

I wasn't going to post on this thread, but I just can't seem to help myself.
To answer your question, yes you can tell if a steer has been aired, the problem comes in proving it, unless you have pictures of it being done you don't stand a snowballs chance in hell of making your accusations stick. 
I believe in showing cattle there are black and white, and then there are gray areas, there are things we do to cattle that are in the grey area that I don't have a problem with, tubing them would fall under that category for me as long as it doesn't state in the show rules it isn't allowed, we give our cattle the opportunity to drink, but if they won't I don't have any problem tubing them, it does not hurt them in any way shape or form.  To me trimming hooves is no different than clipping your toenails, nothing wrong with that.  Airing, oiling, sugar solution or any of the other things injected under the skin fall into the black and white column, they are wrong!  You can say that “everyone does it” and “it is different in TX and OK”, but that just isn't true, there are honest people that win majors all the time that don't air steers.  There is a lot of crap that goes on in this business I will agree with that, it's not for the weak, I agree with that, I don't agree with the attitude that if you can't beat them, join them, why not just produce a better product and compete honestly with them?
I know this much for sure, if we don't police ourselves, PETA will make sure that there is a government agency that WILL police us. 
I love this business, we serve on several boards and committees to make sure that some of these bigger shows are still in place when my children are old enough to participate, it makes me sick to hear this type of thing so openly bragged about because I can guarantee you that some of our biggest sponsors would pull sponsorship and monies if they ever got wind of some of the things that go on in this sport, please before you make decisions think about how it affects the industry as a whole, it isn't just you and your family it affects, your mistakes affect every kid out there.

 

[oakview]

We have had Shorthorns for 46 years and this will be our 44th year showing at the Iowa State Fair.  Showing cattle has certainly not been our life, I've never had the desire to spend countless hours in a show barn, but don't have a quarrel with those that do.  In 46 years, I've heard more rumors and complaints than I can begin to remember.  A person I know that transported some of the first Exotic bulls around the continent for display told me how he personally aired those animals almost 40 years ago.  This is certainly nothing new.  I don't like it, don't approve of it, but it happens along with thousands of other things.  Anytime there is competition, someone will feel the need to gain an edge.  Say it ain't so, but even Miss America has been 'altered'.  We're taking two bulls to the fair, I've been wetting them down each morning and night and keeping them in front of a fan for a couple of weeks growing some hair and feeding them better than normal.  I'm proud of the bulls and believe people will like them for what they are.  Fortunately for me, I continue to do what I do for more than a $15 trophy.  I have been so fortunate to meet so many good people, make so many real friends, and travel to so many interesting places.  No, I don't like all of the things that happen in any competition, but am thankful we are all free to support and assoiate with those whose traits we admire. 

 

[DL]

I guess I am not surprised by the posters who think "if you ain't cheatin' you ain't tryin'" etc - their lack of ethics is evident from multiple posts over time. I am however fairly (no greatly) appalled those posters who brag about this as a usual practice without regard for the welfare of the animal, the integrity of the industry, and the education of our children - it takes a selfish insecure individual to put winning above welfare, integrity and education.

When you arrive at the Pearly Gates (if that is the direction you are sent) you better hope like heck that St Peter isn't really a bovine and that he doesn't have a big fat needle to blow your sorry a** to oblivion

 

[herefordfootball]

I guess I am not surprised by the posters who think "if you ain't cheatin' you ain't tryin'" etc - their lack of ethics is evident from multiple posts over time. I am however fairly (no greatly) appalled those posters who brag about this as a usual practice without regard for the welfare of the animal, the integrity of the industry, and the education of our children - it takes a selfish insecure individual to put winning above welfare, integrity and education.

When you arrive at the Pearly Gates (if that is the direction you are sent) you better hope like heck that St Peter isn't really a bovine and that he doesn't have a big fat needle to blow your sorry a** to oblivion

I agree 100%!!!!

 

[knabe]

When you arrive at the Pearly Gates (if that is the direction you are sent) you better hope like heck that St Peter isn't really a bovine and that he doesn't have a big fat needle to blow your sorry a** to oblivion

my butt is small, i might need one in both cheeks.

for clarity, tee hee.  i'm still laughing at my own joke.  my wife is rolling her eyes.

 

[DLD]

I like a few of the above comments! Can you put hoof trimming in the same category as airing? I wonder how much of this goes on down here in texas with the number off steers we have and the size of the shows..I am not sure you can even begin to air slick sheared cattle without it being noticed?

???
Would you explain what you mean by "Can you put hoof trimming in the same category as airing?", please?

 

[stangs13]

Well...is hoof trimming as bad or cruel as airing..I thought that was pretty clear myself..lol.