Time spent on daily hair care

[flyintale]

How much time do you spend on daily hair care?  I feel like it takes me absolutely forever to rinse, brush, dry, show sheen, comb, and dry!  Is this something that has no short cuts when you want the job done well/right? 

Enlighten me!
Emily

 

[frostback]

No there is not many short cuts when doing it right. If you can afford it a double blower set up will save time getting them dry. I notice a hugh difference in the winter time drying them with it compared to the single blower.

 

[obie105]

It does take time. The only thing I sometimes do is kickout wet.  I just brush after rinsing. I usually have fans that help with drying while I blow. Rinsing, combing and putting sheen in are things that you just have to do. It all comes down to the more time that is spent the better your calf will be. I put my ipod in and singalong lol helps to pass the time.

 

[AAOK]

I know there are lots of opinions, but we never dried after rinsing, sheen, comb and rice root brush, all seasons.  Our start time was 6am, and finish by 7am.  We would bed down under the fans, and do it all over about 6pm.  The ONLY time we used the Blow Dryer was while Clipping, and Show preparation.  Every evening we would spend at least 1 hour prscticing walking speed for the ring and setting up the calves.  My girls and I did all the work and often heard the Judge comment we had the best fit calf in the ring. (Yes, I'm bragging, but really just trying to let beginners know they don't need custom fitters to clip and fit for Show)  It just takes practice and hard work.

 

[Ohio1]

You need to dry them everytime! We get up at 5:30 bring them in wash them brush, dry, sheen, dry, tie up in front of fans. We do this 4 times a day and it adds up to about 6 hours a day plus feed and turn out at night

 

[HeiferShower14]

I get up at 5:30, get my heifer up blow her out, put sheen in her. Work hair. If shes really dirty or muddy ill rinse her. Then ill feed her, and go home and take a shower. This is all before school at 7:50. i come back at 7:00 and go to school. I get out of School 3:00 go to my barn, ill blow her out and put a light coat of sheen and in her and work hair for 30 min. Then around 6 ill work hair again then feed about 7. Rinse again about 8:30 then work hair till 9:15 then kick her out. Then ill do it all again.

 

[ruhtram]

You need to dry them everytime! We get up at 5:30 bring them in wash them brush, dry, sheen, dry, tie up in front of fans. We do this 4 times a day and it adds up to about 6 hours a day plus feed and turn out at night

I'll 2nd this!! It's real important to dry every time, especially in the hotter months.

 

[BLSC]

I was at a fitting clinic put on by Bobby May a few years ago at Pioneer Showdown and he said to never kick them out at night wet. He had said that was what they used to do every night, but then a few summers prior to this fitting clinic they had a girl with cattle at their house and she insisted that she blow her steers out before they were let out. Bobby said that they had all had way better hair then their steers and after that (at least to that Pioneer Showdown, I don't know about now) that they blow their cattle out and don't let them out wet.

 

[frostback]

You need to dry them everytime!

Why?

 

[vc]

I believe the reason for drying them everytime is 2 fold, once the water heats up to their body temp they are actually stay hotter longer than if they were dry. The hair will take longer to train and tends to have more problem areas if you leave them wet when you kick them out.

We have left them wet under the fans while they ate, then worked the hair, but that is a short period of time. (We feed them tied in the morning)

 

[angus214]

We have four heifers in the barn right now and it takes us a little over 3 hours to rinse brush sheen and blow! We do it at least twice a day AM and PM. That does not count time spent feeding, cleaning the barn and working heifers. We try to bush almost dry then blow them out.

 

[shortii]

I don't always blow mine dry but I definitely make sure that the really heavy water is blown off and and let them stay a little damp and keep them under fans. I rinse again at night and blow them dry and work their hair before I let them out at night. 

 

[Steerman12]

Honestly, it sucks to hear, but its all in the genetics of the animal. If they are going to have hair, they will.. and all you can do is promote hair growth, you cant actually make it grow. That's my take on it. Of course working hard never hurt though!