Opinions on steer, please!

[SlickTxMaine]

We are still learning...only our third year, but once again my son was second in class to the Grand at our small local show.  We just can't seem to get there!  He did win Showmanship, which was nice.  We know some of the weaknesses of this steer, but was hoping to hear others, that will help us in selecting the next one.  Any opinions are welcome.  He weighed 1290.

 

[Bradenh]

pick a sounder one next year for sure. that calf is bucked over on his front end big time and if you want to get over the hump. go sounder and also more extended in his from his shoulder and neck. but with that said he was extremely well fed and you look to have your ration right

 

[Simmymom1]

Well, for what it is worth...I personally think he looks really good.  For his frame size that was around the weight he should be at.  He looks really fresh and has good muscling.  It might be the way that he is standing, but he looks really straight in his front legs.  How was he walking in the ring?  I know you had some problems back a while ago with him walking.  I just think your son should be proud of himself because the calf looks really good and well taken care of.

I wish some of the "wiser" people on here would put their opinions....I am just not really good at picking one apart!!  

Lisa   ;D

 

[SlickTxMaine]

Yes, we had problems with his front legs for the past several months....  he wasn't really bucked over in the knees, but he had some issues with his bones growing too fast, ridges forming on the bones (we had xrays taken) and then he had a lot of fluid build up.  He looks 99% better than he looked a month ago.  We had him on banamine and walked him 30 minutes steady every day for the last month.  He moved pretty well, maybe a little stiff.  The Judge said he would like to free him up a little on the front end, but he liked his finish and said he was actually deeper than the grand steer.  I am proud of the job my son did with him.  Aside from those leg issues, I think he turned out well....but I am still very much an amateur.  Thanks for the comments!!

 

[steer-guy]

from what I can see, yes there are big issues with his front leg structure. Normally calves will not be able to stand long the heavier they get. Hats off to you. With that said, the steer looks to be fed well. Looks smooth and finished good. Can't see his top line but he looks like he might carry over his shoulders good.
Aside his front legs, nice steer.

 

[ruhtram]

Good looking steer! Looks like you did everything you could of!

 

[SlickTxMaine]

Thanks for all who commented.  I attached another pic from a different angle.

 

[Jenny]

again in this second photo, he looks to be way too straight on his front end; however, from behind his shoulders all the rest of the way back, he looks great!
watch soundness next time.....
any type of unsoundness they show when they are smaller will be greatly magnified when they get to be big and heavy.

 

[texas111]

Again it looks like yall did a good job feeding.  The calf looks good but his front legs are too straight.  when you go to pick ne out look for one woth a neater front.  He could also be a little better in his neck.  He needs a touch more extension.  where the neck and shoulder come togeather look for one that is cleaner.  Other than that he looks to be in good shape.  take the attributes that he has and add the info about the front ends and you should be able to pick you a winner.  If your looking for an good calf try nix farms in tolar tx.  Dalton usually has success with his calves and he will help you along the way.  We have several that will be shown in our county and they are looking good.  I had a student take one to houston last year and he got 2nd place in class five at houston last year.  best of luck to you.

 

[SFASUshowman]

Super nice steer, got some power, got some depth, and definatley appears to have been fed/finished right!  The major point of contention for me is the front legs which everyone has pointed out.  And naturally with front leg issues he looks to be a little coarse in that shoulder and shorter in the neck.
I think the thing to work on next year as everyone else said is get one that is sound.  Unlike a lot of judges I am not afraid to use a steer with a little soundness issue a little higher in the class, but its gonna be really really rare to see one with a true soundness problem go all the way to the top.
I always tell people that when picking a prospect calf you pick up from the ground up, so the feet and legs are first thing you lookat.  So my priorities go in this order. 1. Structure/Bone Mass 2. Muscle Mass/Volume 3. Balance/Eye Appeal.  I think the hardest thing to get inexperienced people to understand is that they are naturally gonna get tighter strided and more restricted in their movement as they finish and get bigger.  So the prospect needs to be extremely long strided and free moving.  To many amatures look at them and say well he moves like grand champ did last year, the problem is at a young age they shouldnt move like that.

 

[rackranch]

Congrats on doing a good job..

 

[chambero]

Front leg/shoulder issues are the hardest ones to detect as babies.  I screwed up on one of the ones we kept for my sons this year and he cratered about October - bucking over.  They start out standing just like yours did in that picture.  Ours got so bad we just ate him - I refused to show him at our county.

Not sure what you mean by his bones growing too fast?  The calf certainly didn't get too big.  In all honesty, you are overthinking it with things like Xrays.  No need to waste the money there in the future.

Out of curiousity - was that calf an Alias?

When you are picking babies - if you have a decision between heavily muscled/tight calves and sound/green ones for calves in a given price range, you are generally better off picking sound/green - especially if you are looking at Charolais X calves.  Most Charolais calves will have plenty of muscle by the end.  Smoothness, soundness, and finish tend to be the differentiators.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

Front leg/shoulder issues are the hardest ones to detect as babies.  I screwed up on one of the ones we kept for my sons this year and he cratered about October - bucking over.  They start out standing just like yours did in that picture.  Ours got so bad we just ate him - I refused to show him at our county.

Not sure what you mean by his bones growing too fast?  The calf certainly didn't get too big.  In all honesty, you are overthinking it with things like Xrays.  No need to waste the money there in the future.

Out of curiousity - was that calf an Alias?

When you are picking babies - if you have a decision between heavily muscled/tight calves and sound/green ones for calves in a given price range, you are generally better off picking sound/green - especially if you are looking at Charolais X calves.  Most Charolais calves will have plenty of muscle by the end.  Smoothness, soundness, and finish tend to be the differentiators.

Chambero,
    The vet diagnosed him with Epiphysitis.  Compared it to growing pains in kids.  He did not display any tendencies of being too straight as a calf.  The breeder we bought him from was quite perplexed, stated that he stays away from the clubbies for this exact reason.  The bull was Bar A Mojito- full blood charolais and the dam was a chi-maine cross - not sure on the breeding for her. 
This calf was definitley not heavily muscled or bulky as a calf -  I actually thought he was extremely green and was not very impressed, but my son and husband picked him.  He really started putting it on quickly, and then around 1000lbs or so, went to limping on those front legs. 
Thanks for the advise. 

 

[Bulldaddy]

I agree with the other posters regarding the steer's  soundness issues.  That said I think your son is doing a great job and winning showmanship is a very big deal.  That is one award that money can't buy.  Good luck and keep trying.  I bet you will hit one over the fence before its over.

 

[Telos]

Great job feeding. The hard work shows.

Lessons learned. Being aware is the first step. Training your eye to detect faults and judging them from the ground up.

He is just too steep in his shoulder angle. The humerus and scapula should be closer to a 45 degree angle in relation to level ground.

 

[Telos]

Muscles give and pull on the skeleton and can have influence with some of these issues with structure.  Longer muscled cattle even with dimensional mass rarely have issues with structure as opposed to your more expressively shorter muscled cattle.

In theory doubled muscled cattle should be complete train wrecks but most are able to walk adequately because their structure is correctly angled and their bones are flatter and not so round and coarse. Study some photos of these cattle and you can easily see this.

Agree with Chambero on picking the Greener calves that don't already look like finished fats at 3-8 months old. Calves need to grow stouter and not be so stout at a young age. These structural problems are just hard to see when they are young.

 

[ruhtram]

Muscles give and pull on the skeleton and can have influence with some of these issues with structure.  Longer muscled cattle even with dimensional mass rarely have issues with structure as opposed to your more expressively shorter muscled cattle.

In theory doubled muscled cattle should be complete train wrecks but most are able to walk adequately because their structure is correctly angled and their bones are flatter and not so round and coarse. Study some photos of these cattle and you can easily see this.

Agree with Chambero on picking the Greener calves that don't already look like finished fats at 3-8 months old. Calves need to grow stouter and not be so stout at a young age. These structural problems are just hard to see when they are young.

I Agree (clapping) (clapping)