Three weeks until steer's final show and starting to lose hair

[Sambosu]

Alright, I know many of you have shown steers and/or your kids show/showed steers.  My son has an Eye Candy steer that is very hairy but in the past week I have noticed more and more hair on the Sullivan's sensation brush after we comb him out.  My daily routine is: blow him off in the morning and put him in the cooler with fans behind him.  At night, we blow him off and then use a fogger to put Pro Charge on him.  After I that we put the blower on low and try to blow the Pro Charge deep into his hair.  Once this is done we comb him with the Sullivan's sensation brush and roto brush his legs.  My thinking is we are doing plenty of things to keep his hair follicles stimulated and alive but it looks like we are starting to lose the battle.  Should we just keep with the same routine but quit brushing him?  I am open for some advice/recommendations.  

One more thing, we were supposed to clip him up a little/shape him up for my son's county fair next Wednesday. Since he is now starting to lose hair, not so sure I should clip him because he has to have hair for OYE but the champion steer at our county normally brings between $2k to $3K in the bonus auction.  I believe he has a chance to win it, if we clip him (didn't clip ours last year and barely made the bonus auction).  If you were in my shoes, what would you do?  I am leaning towards clipping him because he has hair now and there isn't any guarantee he will have it for OYE.  Hate to miss out on both opportunities to make a bonus/premium auction.

 

[Barry Farms]

I'd say clip him for the county fair and go from there, if you don't it sounds to me like you'll be out of both shows.

 

[HeiferShower14]

How often do you rinse him?

 

[Sambosu]

1-2 times a week.  Depends on the weather. I used to rinse more when I used revive but Pro Charge bottle says it doesn't have to be rinsed.

 

[PinkOil Princess]

I rinse my cattle at least once a day and then spray in ProCharge. I love the product. You are doing everything else well, his hair is probably just getting stale. There are supplements that you could give him such as "hide and hair" from Sullivan's that help improve performance of hair and promotes a healthy hide as well. I use "2cool" a supplement by showrite that contains tasco which is a natural ingredient used to lower internal body temperature of the calf. Good luck

 

[Sambosu]

Sounds like I will get back to having him rinsed at least once a day.  I have seen on this site a few people recommend using Absorbine Liniment.  Anybody recommend the adding Absorbine Liniment to my daily routine?  I know it is supposed to chill the hide but not sure if it is healthy for the follicles.

 

[DLD]

I doubt that the liniment would make any difference either way.  I've tried clipping, not clipping, using particular products on the hair, not using any products on the hair, you name it.  After nearly 40 years of trying to hold hair on steers for OKC, I've come to the conclusion that they're either gonna keep it or they're not.  All you can do is keep 'em cool and out of the sun, rinse, brush and blow daily, and take what you get - 'cause once they start shedding, they're gonna shed.  We feed Shag, and I believe it helps keep them fresher haired longer, but I don't think it'll make much difference if you start it at this point.

No one but you can make that decision about clipping for your county, but in the situation you described, I would.  Put it this way - Our county was this week, and I did (and our county doesn't pay as well as you said yours does). We didn't win it - had the next two steers in the sale after grand and reserve, but I don't regret clipping for it.  Odds are against all of us at OYE, not to say I'm giving up on it by any means, but that county show means something, too.  Often more to the kids than to us parents.

 

[chambero]

I believe in messing with their hair as little as possible this time of year.  In my opinion, working their a couple of times is enough.

I absolutely would clip for your county.  Your kid will be just as happy doing good at it as OYE.  I dont think it makes them lose their hair faster anyway.

 

[Sambosu]

I will keep making sure he isn't in the sun and spraying him down with Pro Charge and maybe Revive.  Sometimes I wonder if I screwed up by keeping him outside for a couple days when it snowed here.  It wasn't sunny but it seems like that is when he started showing signs of losing hair.  I will take him to the county show so my son can show a him (both the steer and my son will get some extra practice in the ring and have fun).  I totally agree with you DLD, the odds are against us at OYE.

 

[chambero]

You know, we really need to pay more attention to what makes our kids happy with these calves.  I was always taught to not show them much, keep them home in preparation for the majors.  I followed that advice for last part of this year, and in hindsight it was something of a mistake.  My boys enjoy winning at prospect shows just as much anything else.  As far as a county show goes, they probably enjoy doing good in front of their school friends as much as anything.

 

[Tallcool1]

Alright, I know many of you have shown steers and/or your kids show/showed steers.  My son has an Eye Candy steer that is very hairy but in the past week I have noticed more and more hair on the Sullivan's sensation brush after we comb him out.  My daily routine is: blow him off in the morning and put him in the cooler with fans behind him.  At night, we blow him off and then use a fogger to put Pro Charge on him.  After I that we put the blower on low and try to blow the Pro Charge deep into his hair.  Once this is done we comb him with the Sullivan's sensation brush and roto brush his legs.  My thinking is we are doing plenty of things to keep his hair follicles stimulated and alive but it looks like we are starting to lose the battle.  Should we just keep with the same routine but quit brushing him?  I am open for some advice/recommendations.  

One more thing, we were supposed to clip him up a little/shape him up for my son's county fair next Wednesday. Since he is now starting to lose hair, not so sure I should clip him because he has to have hair for OYE but the champion steer at our county normally brings between $2k to $3K in the bonus auction.  I believe he has a chance to win it, if we clip him (didn't clip ours last year and barely made the bonus auction).  If you were in my shoes, what would you do?  I am leaning towards clipping him because he has hair now and there isn't any guarantee he will have it for OYE.  Hate to miss out on both opportunities to make a bonus/premium auction.

I can't tell you how bad I feel for you.  I can tell you that I feel your pain.  We had one last year that we were feeding for a July 15th county fair, and the boys had him looking good and really hairy.  Two weeks before, for no apparent reason, he just started losing it.  This is what I learned.

Handle the hair as little as possible.  Rinse and blow only.

Don't put ANY chemicals in his hair.  No matter how good the chemicals are for the hair, they will heat the hide.

Clip him and go to the county show.

Good luck.

 

[DLD]

I'm a big advocate of the rice root brush, but I agree that brushing for the purpose of stimulating hair growth this time of year (at least in this situation) isn't proving much.  I can see not messing with the hair too much, but some people stop combing and brushing altogether.  I can't agree with that, as I believe if they're shedding, the dead hair needs to come out to try and keep the remaining hair coat as fresh as possible.  I don't mean to the point of using shedding combs or grill bricks, but at least routine combing (with a plastic skip tooth or fluffer) doesn't need to stop, IMO.

You know, we really need to pay more attention to what makes our kids happy with these calves.  I was always taught to not show them much, keep them home in preparation for the majors.  I followed that advice for last part of this year, and in hindsight it was something of a mistake.  My boys enjoy winning at prospect shows just as much anything else.  As far as a county show goes, they probably enjoy doing good in front of their school friends as much as anything.

Absolutely right.

 

[AAOK]

I have a slightly different philosophy as I'm a live for today guy. For our family, the next Show was the Only Show.  During our years of cattle shows, the girls never missed a day of rinsing, brushing, blowing , walking and set-up. God gives us only today, to work, play, worship and pray. Make the most of every opportunity you have, particularly the time you get to spend with your kids. Lots of good hair, or a little great hair, the Family Experience should be your goal.  Neither the Purple Banners, or the Premium Awards will mean a thing 10 - 20 years down the road.

 

[Telos]

Showing at the Oklahoma Spring Show (Now OYE) numerous times when I was a youngster (about 45 years ago) I remember hair coming out about 3-4 weeks before the show. I think the longer days and the end of winter play a crucial role in shedding hair. I would keep him in a dark cool environment at this point which might prolong what hair is left. Clip him and show at both shows. Enjoy.

 

[Barry Farms]

I have a slightly different philosophy as I'm a live for today guy. For our family, the next Show was the Only Show.  During our years of cattle shows, the girls never missed a day of rinsing, brushing, blowing , walking and set-up. God gives us only today, to work, play, worship and pray. Make the most of every opportunity you have, particularly the time you get to spend with your kids. Lots of good hair, or a little great hair, the Family Experience should be your goal.  Neither the Purple Banners, or the Premium Awards will mean a thing 10 - 20 years down the road.

YOLO!

 

[estspx]

I have a slightly different philosophy as I'm a live for today guy. For our family, the next Show was the Only Show.  During our years of cattle shows, the girls never missed a day of rinsing, brushing, blowing , walking and set-up. God gives us only today, to work, play, worship and pray. Make the most of every opportunity you have, particularly the time you get to spend with your kids. Lots of good hair, or a little great hair, the Family Experience should be your goal.  Neither the Purple Banners, or the Premium Awards will mean a thing 10 - 20 years down the road.

That is an wesome quote!