Do you have to shave their heads?

[steergirl#1]

Hello, I am new here, but have stumbled upon it a few times looking for answers to questions I had. It has been very helpful since this is my first year showing anything.

I am showing a show steer this year and was wondering why/if you have to shave the hair on their head or poll. I like the hair on my show steers head and do not want to shave it off but if I have to I will. I have asked several people and they said all they knew was to shave it off and don't have a good sure answer for me. I have only seen show steers with shaved heads in the ring and none with any hair on their heads.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

That's a new one on me.

:welcome: to CT.

 

[Chris H]

Hello, I am new here, but have stumbled upon it a few times looking for answers to questions I had. It has been very helpful since this is my first year showing anything.

I am showing a show steer this year and was wondering why/if you have to shave the hair on their head or poll. I like the hair on my show steers head and do not want to shave it off but if I have to I will. I have asked several people and they said all they knew was to shave it off and don't have a good sure answer for me. I have only seen show steers with shaved heads in the ring and none with any hair on their heads.

You don't HAVE to, but they usually look unkempt with long hair. What we sometimes do with the Horned Herefords is clip the hair short on their cheeks, under their chin & jaw, the dewlap and down through the brisket. The top of their necks beginning behind the poll is clipped short back to the point of their shoulder, tapering smoothly into the hair on the neck. The hair on the neck varies, long enough to blend smoothly into the shoulder, short enough to make it thick, assuming they have that much hair.
Back to the head -- on the face, use a long guard on the clipper and clip in the direction the hair lies, just enough to neaten it up. When you clip the cheeks short take it short all the way to the nose but leave a bit of the longer hair on top of the nose. Leave the poll long but clip shorter over where the horn area is, blending down into the shorter cheek area.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

The point of buzzing off the hair on the head is to make it appear smaller. Smaller heads looks fancier and is better for breeding stock actually because it means their calves will have smaller heads. But still you need to buzz it off for steers.

 

[DLD]

You need to clip your steers head to make him appear fresher. Long hair on a steers head makes for an older, staler appearance. I understand about clipping Hereford breeding stocks heads like Chris H. described, as they're trying to achieve a broodier look on the females, and a more masculine look for the bulls - they try to make their heads look longer and more massive, and show off their maturity. You want to do just the opposite with your steer - you can leave a little hair (just enough to shape into a point, blended tight and smooth from the sides) on top of his poll, but draw an imaginary line straight down from the top of his poll to just in front of his ears, then from the ears down to the corners of his mouth - everything inside this line (except for the eyelashes) needs to clipped short, against the grain. Make a pass going forward (against the grain) under his neck and chin, then clip the rest of the cheek and jaw downward, with the grain - makes it easier to blend back into the neck, and leaves no clear line between the neck and the jaw. This helps the neck appear longer and smoother.

Around here (at least) we see a few people that won't clip a steers head until they're ready for their final show, because they believe once they clip the head, the calf might start shedding it's hair all over. I don't buy into that theory, but it could explain why you might occasionally see a picture of a steer that won something (like at an early jackpot) that doesn't appear to have his head clipped short. Be aware though, that many judges will discriminate against a steer that doesn't have his head clipped, no matter what time of year or at what level. So it really just boils down to how competitive you want to be...

 

[steergirl#1]

Thanks everyone for the help, also for the welcome, I had been thinking about this because I don't want my steer(Kevin) to be discriminated or overlooked in the ring for not having the proper "haircut". I think I will leave a little on the top of his head, not too much, but just enough to make it look descent. Thanks for the clipping tips and instructions, that will be very helpful because this is my first year and I am still learning, I always have questions and am a little nervous because this is all new for me. I have been around cattle all my life but never up close and personal like you have to get with a steer. Even though it is very frustrating at times, I love it and will do it again next year.

Nice looking cattle in the pics, thanks for sharing them. Its amazing how helpful and friendly people are on here, I am glad that I finally decided to join.

 

[DavisBeefmasters]

don't forget to trim the tail as well as cleanup the hair around the sheath

good luck

 

[chippie]

Good luck and take your time clipping him.
double check the top of his head and make sure that it doesn't make him look like you didn't finish clipping him. Good grooming makes a world of difference when it comes to placing.
Hope you have fun.