So I'm new to winter shows. Normally in the spring i just start working hair but this year i have a winter show and i was just wondering how you keep them clean in the winter?
We wash and dry the same in the winter as we do in the summer. Our steers get slicked off and kicked out for about 6 weeks in late spring. The middle of June they get slicked again and into the cooler to get hair ready for Tulsa and the Royal. The rest of the year it's wash or rinse morning and evening everyday except Sunday and then just evenings.
My guess is you want to know how to keep them clean when it is below freezing outside. Unless you have a place inside to wash and dry, you really can't. We can dry inside but have to wash outside, therefore when it gets too cold, we work their hair as much as possible and try to keep the skin from getting too dry without a lot of product building up. When we get the occasional warm day, we take advantage of it and wash everything.
You can do a lot with a blower and a curry comb (for that manure or other dried, stuck on mess). I've curried the dirty areas, and really blown them out. Sprayed them with sheen and brushed it in. The important part is that you brush them. Rinsing them alone does not grow hair. Stimulating the hide and bringing out the natural oils does a lot. I've grown hair on calves in the pasture on their mothers in the Texas summer heat with a couple of combs and some sheen.