Tips for a first year showman

[amcookie]

I have had my steer for about 2 months and his final show is the end of July he is around 800 lbs. He is getting 45 lbs of corn a day ( I have show feed coming soon) and I am giving him a hair skin and nail supplement as well as 40 mg of mellitonin for hair. What should I do to make him look his best. This it’s the first steer I have owned so please give honest opinions.

 

[Haley Fossum]

he looks really good! i would back off on the corn and prioritize a more rounded mix instead of sheer amount… which it sounds like you’re doing! structurally i think he’s a beautiful animal! i would clip those hocks tighter to his skin and really work and style the hair to round out that butt so his muscle back there pops-it’s a little blurred by the hair at the moment. also you’ll want to really work that tail head to extend that hip. so much of that will be showday stuff that you don’t have to worry about rn but i can give you more details if you would like.
i would work on his set: you’ll want that left leg to be the one that’s staggered because that will be away from the judge (you want the show side to be the straight leg to accentuate his booty) and i would avoid stretching him out too much. i’ll attach a pic of my steer to show you kind of what is most pleasing to the eye and what the judge will look for. i think you and your steer will do great, and i wish you great luck at your next show!!!

 

[vc]

Get him on a good feed and they need 2.5 to 3 percent of their body weight, you can cause problems by over feeding him. Rinse and blow his hair forward and up at 45* avery day to train his hair, wash once a week. Teach him to lead into setting up, if you can get him to stop with his front feet in place it is easier to just make adjustments to his rear feet. I think it is also important to remember close can be good enough, I see a lot of kids who try and get the feet perfect, they get aggravated and the animal gets aggravated and starts to fight you. better to be close and you both look relaxed then the animal moving around. If you do a search for almost anything show calf related from leading to clipping you will find very informative and helpful videos. Stockupsupply has very helpful videos.