Safety reminders.

[kanshow]

I didn't want to hijack SD's thread but did think it would be nice to get some safety reminders regarding cattle, shows, & etc.  Aside from the obvious of not tying or wrapping the rope around your body, what are some of your safe handling tips?

Here are a couple of ours..

If the calf is starting to run off with them, they have been told to drop the show stick so it's out of the way.   

We also tell our kids to hang on as long as possible but it is OK to let go. 

We try to teach the kids to keep the calf out of their 'space' and beside them when walking.

 

[SWMO]

I still after years of leading cattle to the coliseum at the Mo State Fair I get nervous because of the crowds of "Non cattle People" with balloons, baby strollers I always hope none of ours spooks.  Even a gentle calf can get unnerved by screaming kids, balloons etc.

 

[the angus111]

my thought is if dad cant handle it,what makes you think a 9 or 10 yr old can.cut all that 6ft of leather off your lead ,leave about a foot,dont wrap around your hand.denver was interesting getting to the show ring.rusty

 

[box6rranch]

my thought is if dad cant handle it,what makes you think a 9 or 10 yr old can.cut all that 6ft of leather off your lead ,leave about a foot,dont wrap around your hand.denver was interesting getting to the show ring.rusty

LOL......I agree. I hate the narrow isles and all the spectators that run their hands along the cow on it's way to the show ring!!!! Not to mention the people with kids in strollers even though it's posted everywhere not to take strollers in the barn.

 

[kanshow]

You know people are the hardest part of the equation to train!

We had a couple near misses involving spectators at our county fair.  A  steer got away from a kid in the ring and tried to jump the arena fence - which was full of spectators leaning on it.  He got half over the fence & cleared it but they were all back to hang on the fence by the next class.    Another case was 2 nattended little boys pushing a littler girl in a stroller up & down the beef aisle DURING the show.  They came busting around the corner as my daughter was leading her normally gentle heifer around the corner the other way.  Heifer jumped back & snorted but lucky for stroller kids, there were several adults there to get the heifer back under control & then to remove the kids from the area.   

 

[aj]

Some wheat harvest tips are......do not play squat tag in front of the combine header.....do not throw a crazed rattle snake in grandpas lap as he naps.....do not stick your finger in a auger to see if it is running.........do not make fun of Hillary Clinton over the two way when the custom cutters wife is chairman of the Dokus county elect Hillary campaign........do not shoot roman candles out across uncut wheat fields as soon as the stands open.......do not do a back flip off a moving wheat truck in order to impress the custom cutters daughter.......do not take a leak in front of the pickup headlights(assuming no one will see you cause it dark)........never pull onto the scales with a loaded wheat truck and order a big mac and fries( to the cranky elevater managers wife......never assume that your 30 foot wheat head will surely fit between the concrete bumpers on the only bridge in the county......hope this helps.

 

[SKF]

Strollers at shows drive me crazy!! Please never put your child in a stroller and push it around the calves. A calf that gets spooked is not going to stop for a stroller and you will not have time to unbuckle your child to get them out in time. Plus always watch small kids around cattle. Not all cattle like little kids. Some people at shows seem to think that all the cattle at the show are like puppy dogs. A few years ago my son had a steer that HATED small kids. That steer seemed to find great enjoyment at going after small kids. My son use to hate it when we were at a show and that steer saw a small kid it took everything he had to hang on to that steer. Another thing that drives me crazy is when I see people grooming and they have their head up under the calf. My daughter does this all the time and I am always getting on to her about it. Even the most gentle calf can still kick and you don't want your head in the way. My last safety tip NO FLIP FLOPS and yes both my daughter and I are guilty of that one. I learned my lesson on that one with a broken foot. Always remember they are animals so you can never trust them 100%. Srory one other thing never trust a heifer/cow with a new calf. My daughter had a show heifer who was puppy dog gentle until she had her first calf. She went crazy!!!!

 

[Show Dad]

AJ did you learn all that from experience?

 

[aj]

SD.......the elevator managers"cranky wife" taught me sunday school for 2 years but man......she had a pretty darn good vocabulary anyway. ;D

 

[vc]

Our county fair dose a good job keeping the cattle and the public separated, but the swine barn is a different story, they close the barn to exhibitors and family only on show days but apparently there is a severe illiteracy problem in our county. A 260 pound pig on a full run seems to hone in on strollers and small children like a heat seeking missile and if they can't find any of those they will find the person with their back turned towards them and legs just wide enough to get between and off they go for a quick "E" ticket ride.

 

[braunvieh]

Something that came up with my son at our county fair that we have not covered or experienced --  What to do when someone else's calf gets loose in the showring.  I'm glad he was too interested in what he was doing to freak out!

 

[stangs13]

fitter safety 101. DONT put your hands on a freshly fitted heifer...the fitterr might get cranky...

No flip flops is pretty important..had a friend that learned that the hard way. Dont stick your arm between the pens to play with a calf.
always keep your combs pointed towards you in your pocket.

If a calf gets loose in a show ring we always just stand still and focus on keeping yourr calf under control during the fiasco.

I see a lot of people that like to rodeo up show cattle at a particular show...they think they are cowboys, and all that it does is get our calves wound up and puts us at risk..

 

[JbarL]

might be nice to have a monthly safety tip for all.....consciousness and awareness as a group[ is never a bad idea.....maybe seasonal  farm/barn /road trip theme...?..( old union flashback)  jbarl

 

[kanshow]

might be nice to have a monthly safety tip for all.....consciousness and awareness as a group[ is never a bad idea.....maybe seasonal  farm/barn /road trip theme...?..( old union flashback)  jbarl

Exactly!!  Pay attention to what is going on around you.