Getting "The Hair" look

[ChristaCheatham]

Hi! I'm new to showing cattle and I want to be able to ge them to grow the best hair possible! Last year starting in May I brought my steer in and washed him in the morning and at night as well as put a fan on him during the day! I think I'm going to get another fan or two and get a misting system. Is there any more ways to get hair besides a cooler?? I also sprayed Double Dip conditioner every day... but do you blow that in? Or just spray and brush in?? I need a good routine for every day... and are there any other sprays or conditioners out there that will help without making me broke? ANY comments will help!!

 

[The Show]

Below is a link to the Hair Growth 101 thread in the Hall of Fame section. I would suggest reading it first. Contrary to popular belief you don't need a cooler to grow hair. I don't like double dip conditioner personally. A lot of people, myself included use Kleen Sheen. After I rinsing I spray it in, comb, blow dry, and blow in some Pink. You can get Pink at the dollar store for pretty cheap. The cheapest way to buy clean sheen is to buy a gallon from sullivans($25), and then when you run out just save the jug and buy the concentrate($16). Put one bottle of concentrate in gallon jug, fill with water, shake it up, and your ready to go. I would read the link below though and it should answer most of your questions. If it doesn't don't be afraid to ask  (thumbsup)

http://www.steerplanet.com/bb/index.php?topic=14591.0

 

[ICF]

yes you  can blow in the double dip!! make sure you are blowing them dry after you rinse them espesially on a hot day. i have found if you don't blow them dry and it is hot outside they shed. rinsing in the am and pm is great!!  if it is really hot you can fogg them with ice water. also brush brush brush untill your hands bleed!!LOL also having 2-3 fans is great!! also try to keep it as dark as possible!! oh and also getting calves in beofor it gets hot and let them out once it cools down!! hopefully that helped

 

[ChristaCheatham]

Ok thanks! Yes I just printed out the Hair Growth 101 page and the info is great! Hopefully it works!! And I didn't know that about blowing them out on a hot day! I thought maybe after rinsing them and putting them before a fan would make them cooler? lol Well I will definitely try that! Looks like I need to do some shopping next spring! What do you guys do in the winter with the hair? Just blow it out once in awhile? Or what about if the calf becomes caked in mud... u can't rinse it in 30 degree weather can you? My parents already think I'm crazy enough! They aren't as enthused about the whole thing but they don't mind it. They are just not into "show" cattle that much. But I REALLY enjoy it for some reason.

 

[The Show]

Down here in our Texas "winter" we still rinse and blow dry every day. Just because it's cold and they'll grow hair isn't an excuse not to work it. If you don't it will get caked in mud like you said, it won't have an quality, and you won't be able to work with it. Granted it's not as big of a deal if you miss a day though. We rinse 2-3 times daily in the summer, and 5-7 times weekly during the winter. The middle of December for us will get down into freezing temps some, and the coldest we ever see is the upper teen's. As a rule of thumb, if we have to shut the water off for freezing we don't rinse. I say that because I can almost count on one hand how many times it gets that cold during the winter. We just blow them out and blow in a little kleen sheen. The only exception is being at a show and I've blown icicles off a calf before. I'm not sure how people do it up north where their average day is our coldest day.

 

[Pipeliner]

We get down to -30 in the winter and when we're getting cattle ready for Denver  we rinse once a day. We just have them in a heated barn and make sure they are dry dry before kicking them out. The suns only out from 9 in the morning til 4 in the afternoon so keeping them out of that's pretty easy haha

 

[ChristaCheatham]

Wow! OK I will try to do that as often as I can... It's just REALLY hard with school and everything and trying to keep the grades up at the same time.

 

[3dfarms]

We all want you to make straight A's and win banners!  Hopefully this thread and Hair Growth 101 will help you out a lot.  Some calves just grow hair better than others, but a lot of work pays off.

You might have to get up earlier than you'd like, but if you are serious about making a go at showing cattle it takes lots of hard work, but will pay dividends in the show ring.  Your parents will also be proud of your hard work and dedication to making your animal the best it can be. 

 

[ChristaCheatham]

Haha thanks! This year I think I'm going to get a shorthorn steer... they grow good hair right? And last year I had to get up at 4 in the morning before school to rinse and blow dry my calf... he didn't have much hair bc I only had a fan in his stall but his hair looked decent when blown up.. and he got some first places!! So it all paid off in the end.

 

[smo]

if you spray him in the morning i wouldnt blow dry him you want him to stay cool as long as you can maybe comb it up but leave wet

 

[farmboy]

Blow them out. Water insulates the calfs body heat

 

[The Show]

Blow them out. Water insulates the calfs body heat

X2

Blow it out.