2010 Simmental Heifer ?Show?

[SimmentalShowGirl]

This is a Feb 14th spring heifer I am brining down to state fair in 4-h . I was wondering some opinions, Pictures of her right out of the pasture... so she's not fitted for the pictures; I just brushed her before the picture. She is a Heifer out of Trade Mark and a three year old 3C macho Cow. I would like some tips on grooming for her so I can improve her (cover up her flaws and show off her good) so I can show her to her full potential, I know the basics but would like some info to make her stand out in the show ring, been researching grooming a ton just have the need to learn more.

Some Questions

1. How do I stand up the hair on her legs more?
2. Should I clip her to her naval for the show by her girth area?
3. Should I clip the interior of her ears or just trim them up but leave them hairy?
4. Is there something else I can do to stimulate hair growth? (She gets brushed two to three times a day, blown twice a day, gets Sullivan's revive put on her so her hair does not dry out, Sunny/hot days she's inside with a fan, and she is rinsed once a day with cold water)
5. How do I make her tail more elaborate?
6. Should I black polish her hooves for the show?

Any suggestions would be great


Thanks


1st pic from rear

2nd pic is a side profile

 

[sim.-ang.king]

She looks nice to me she a little lose in her neck but she looks good to me. Give her some feed to put some more weight on her and it would make her a pretty comptive heifer

 

[Keren]

agreed she has potential

she is a very long heifer so when you brush her you want to brush forward and up at a 45 degree angle ... this will give her more thickness without sacrificing her length. As to your specific questions ...

1. How do I stand up the hair on her legs more? - use a glue that you are comforable with - leg and tail adhesive, prime time or ez comb ... you pull the hair up with your scotch comb and spray at the same time, be careful because it sets pretty quick ...
2. Should I clip her to her naval for the show by her girth area? - trim the untidy guard hairs from the belly to give her a clean underline, but I leave the belly hairy. Just tidy.
3. Should I clip the interior of her ears or just trim them up but leave them hairy? - I clip them out - gives a cleaner look.
4. Is there something else I can do to stimulate hair growth? (She gets brushed two to three times a day, blown twice a day, gets Sullivan's revive put on her so her hair does not dry out, Sunny/hot days she's inside with a fan, and she is rinsed once a day with cold water) - just keep doing what you are doing. I also find that a bit of horse sweet feed incorporated into their ration does wonders for the coat.
5. How do I make her tail more elaborate? - some just dont grow a big nice tail, and especially not when they are young ... do your best with it, on show day you can tease it and put some glue in it to make it all fluffy and nice
6. Should I black polish her hooves for the show? - I just spray a bit of final bloom on them to make them shiny

She has a pretty strong neck and front end so I would clip that down to try and give her a bit more femininity, also try and blend the tail head in a bit. She looks like she is probably the type of heifer that looks better when stood up with the back feet offset - remember, the one closest to the judge should be further back. Also she looks likeshe has a bit of a lazy back (not surprising with her lengt) so hook the show cane in her navel and give her a good yank to straighten the back (when the judge isnt looking)

Good luck with her! Have fun and let us know how it goes

 

[sim.-ang.king]

I use forumal ONE adhesive
Has more hold than ez-comb but not as much as tail adhesive.

And for hair growth you can feed them beat pulp too just like sweet feed

 

[Chris H]

Most of the advice you've gotten is good, except a couple things might not be allowed at your show. We're in Ohio so our rules might be more in line with your rules. DO NOT put anything on her hooves! Nothing is allowed at our shows.
Clipping ears -- no rules that I'm aware of, but most shows we attend the hair is not clipped clean inside the ear. Fold the ear closed, clip around the outside edge to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch long. Let ear open and trim any real long hair. Hair in the ears protects, and if the calf is going back outside it needs that protection.
Tidy her belly line, as short or as long as you need. If she needs depth, leave it long but only if the hair is thick and you can't tell how long it is (think how 'comb overs' don't fool anyone!).
A lot of brushing and blowing the legs can train the hair. But if the genetics aren't there, it won't make hair magically appear.
A neck sweat might help that neck a bit for show. Personally, I think it shows an easy doing cow, but trimmer necks are more desireable in most shows.

 

[KNERSIE]

Clipping ears -- no rules that I'm aware of, but most shows we attend the hair is not clipped clean inside the ear

The reason for the hair inside the ears to be clipped is for the tattoo to be readible at breed shows, don't think it would matter much in the case of clubcalves. (Not that I've ever seen a judge try and read the tattoo)

 

[SimmentalShowGirl]

Thanks for all the info! We went up to a local beef show only about 100 cattle and Zoey my heifer calf she placed 1st in her age group 1st in overall Simmental and took RESERVE overall champion female which was a class of 25 or 30animals! I will post pictures, I am replying over my phone. Also the judge said she was fitted very very well.

Two more questions though,
The judge said I should think about splitting her tail head instead of standing it up I was wondering about that,
- Is it common?
- Is it a good idea?

The judge said her shoulders were very heavy from a side profile but from the front they came together perfect
- How can I slim down her profile from side?
- He suggested going with the grain of hair a little over half way through her shoulders Would love input and will post pictures


- I haven't showed at the huge shows and wanted to start this year, Do you think this heifer would get a second look?

(Wish us luck this weekend for the 4-h state fair)

 

[KNERSIE]

Well done!

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Just thin the hair with your clippers and brush at a 45 angle down to lighten up the front shoulders.
Sounds like a good start to showing so good look and my your show string grow and prosper. :clap:

 

[showjock401]

1. How do I stand up the hair on her legs more?
use a rice root brush and work that hair up everyday. at show use tail adhesive since its stronger. just take i easy on it or you'll glue your comb to her leg.(yes i've seen it happen)
2. Should I clip her to her naval for the show by her girth area?
since her naval does hang down you do clip that down and only that. if it didn't hang down then you wouldn't have to do it
3. Should I clip the interior of her ears or just trim them up but leave them hairy?
you could trim them up but i personally never mess with the ears. just make sure there clean.
4. Is there something else I can do to stimulate hair growth? (She gets brushed two to three times a day, blown twice a day, gets Sullivan's revive put on her so her hair does not dry out, Sunny/hot days she's inside with a fan, and she is rinsed once a day with cold water)
sounds like your doing everything you should be doing. mabey only blow her out once a day. dont stress the hair out.
5. How do I make her tail more elaborate?
6. Should I black polish her hooves for the show?
i never polish the hooves. at shows i might spray them black with the sullivans black finisher but i normally don't even do that. there going to be mainly covered with dirt or sawdust anyways.

any other questions feel free to pm me!

 

[sim.-ang.king]

I just was trimming my bull i had under fans for 3 weeks and he has gained 1/2" of hair he is a light red bull so he looked blonde.