steer soundness

[smo]

if a steer tracks great and has great flex in his pasturns and set to his legs but when he strides out the rear legs kinda swing in and miss hitting the other hoof by maybe 3 in. how much will that hurt him in the ring i love every thing else with the calf but im looking for a state fair calf and i dont know how much a judge will dock you on that

 

[rackranch]

It will come down to the judge who is judging your SF.  Some may not care if he has made it to where he needs to be while others may put him back a spot or two because of it.  Find out who the judge is gonna be and what he likes and buy your steer to fit what he likes.  G-Luck

 

[Sambosu]

I have a steer that does exactly the same thing. I have been told it is caused by his pastern not being exactly right/sound. When he walks he reaches up and almost touches his front feet but he barely misses his other hind leg and seems to roll a little on his back feet.  Seems to be getting better with each hoof trimming. One leg doesn't roll much at all anymore but the back right leg still has a ways to go. The weird thing is when he runs, goes up a hill or just stands he normally is very wide on the back end.

 

[chambero]

Soundness is made out to be way more complicated than it is.  They can either move around or not.  It's kind of like trying to compare the walk of a runway model to that of female track star.  One might be prettier to look at on the move, but the other one gets there just fine.

With the exception of obvious cripples, 99.9% of people that look at an animal and say "this is causing that" or tells you how much worse they are going to get with weight are talking out their rear end and its just a guess.  I've had ones I thought were perfectly sound blow up and calves that were criticized for being too straight at every prospect show wind up doing very well at their terminal majors.

I have one in the barn right now that probably isn't straight enough.  He's the thickest steer I've ever had in the barn but the best way to describe his walk is "knock-kneed".  Takes perfectly long strides, but not pretty to look at from behind on the move.  But he could probably outrun a quarter horse.

In the end it just depends on the judge.

 

[knabe]

Runway models are base width negative and wing out with each stride.

For observations on soundness, look at marathon runners. Typically the smoothest moving ones minimal deviation to the side have the lowest times.

 

[GoWyo]

Runway models are base width negative and wing out with each stride.

For observations on soundness, look at marathon runners. Typically the smoothest moving ones minimal deviation to the side have the lowest times.

Guess I was looking at other things rather than runway model soundness.  Interesting observation and have to check that out sometime. 

 

[Bradenh]

Could just be a growth deal too, you see how some kids in jr high get goofy legged and clumsy, it's not a structure issue all the time and some steers get picked over because they don't get the benefit of the doubt

 

[smo]

I have a steer that does exactly the same thing. I have been told it is caused by his pastern not being exactly right/sound. When he walks he reaches up and almost touches his front feet but he barely misses his other hind leg and seems to roll a little on his back feet.  Seems to be getting better with each hoof trimming. One leg doesn't roll much at all anymore but the back right leg still has a ways to go. The weird thing is when he runs, goes up a hill or just stands he normally is very wide on the back end.

have you had any judges say much on it at any shows? i love the calf best one ive seen yet except for the bag legs doing that

 

[obie105]

I have a steer that does exactly the same thing. I have been told it is caused by his pastern not being exactly right/sound. When he walks he reaches up and almost touches his front feet but he barely misses his other hind leg and seems to roll a little on his back feet.  Seems to be getting better with each hoof trimming. One leg doesn't roll much at all anymore but the back right leg still has a ways to go. The weird thing is when he runs, goes up a hill or just stands he normally is very wide on the back end.

have you had any judges say much on it at any shows? i love the calf best one ive seen yet except for the bag legs doing that

If its a baby I would personally stay away if there's a soundness issue as a baby it's probably not going to get better the heavier it gets.

 

[Sambosu]

SMO, thanks for the kind words about my kids steer.  My kids haven't shown our two steers yet because Oklahoma really doesn't have any summer shows. We will be showing them next week at our County Fair and then the following weekend at the OKC State Fair.  I guess we will see what a couple judges say over the next couple weeks.

obie105, the steer that is rolling a little on his back feet was looked at numerous times when he was a baby by some people very knowledgeable about show cattle and no one saw him have any issues when he walked. Took him for a road trip this past weekend back to the ranch we bought him from.  Rancher and my friend that helps me fit my cattle and is on a college judging team were both surprised to see him walk that way.  Just never saw any indication when he was little. Sometimes I wonder since he is a October steer and I have been pushing him pretty good too ensure he is finished at OYE, if he grew and put on weight so fast that his legs weren't ready for the extra weight.