Beautiful weather, so sorry for all those who are still in the grips of Old Man Winter. Of course the fact is that tomorrow it may return to Winter here also. Kentucky is like that. Last Saturday my family and I were checking cows and fences. When we went out it was sunny and delightful. No coat weather for me. Then it clouded up and began to snow--almost blizzard like. Of course the ground was warm enough that it didn't stick, but sure did look awful.
Joe has decided that he wants to participate in the 4-H livestock showing program. Sounds nice and wholesome doesn't it? Well, it is lots of hard work on the part of the parent (especially when the child in question is 10) and involves training a 600 lb heifer to behave herself when a halter is placed on her head and follow said year old while he leads her around an arena with a lead rope. Also there may be 20 other kids and heifer combinations in the arena. A judge evaluates both the ability of the child to show their animal off to it's best advantage and the grooming of the heifer. Yes, we will bathe this girl, comb her hair, trim it with clippers and use both hair spray on her body and shiny black stuff on her feet. She is expected to ignore the other participants and allow the judge to lay his hands on her. My husband participated in this activity when he was in 4-H. I did not--my family raised hogs and my father just didn't get into this kind of stuff. I did show a calf in a college agriculture activity, and I've been to my share of livestock shows, so I am very familiar with the activity.
Believe it or not, there is an entire industry built around showing livestock of all kinds. If you are not familiar with it, you should visit the livestock area at a large fair some time. It is fascinating to watch the animals be prepared for showing. If you are not at all acquainted with the agriculture industry, it may be an eye opening experience. These are pampered animals during their show career. If they are purebred breeding animals, they are still expected to produce after their career is over, and if their show career has been successful, their monetary value will have been increased.
Joe's show heifer isn't a registered purebred and her value won't increase,but for him it is a fun activity to share with his father and a means to help teach him some responsibility and respect for animals. He will show it at the County Fair, not a big show like the North American Livestock Show or the ARK-SAR-BEN or even the State Fair.
Now, if we can just all live through the training of this heifer. By the way, her name is Angel. Angel Angus, to be specific.
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2 comments:
Angel Angus? That's hilarious! I had a cow named Sirloin one time. And another named Hamburger :-)
I didn't realize all that went into the showing of cows, but I imagine it will be a good discipline for your son, and it will help teach him responsibility and compassion. Good luck!
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