RedAngus121":irmtlw11 said:
heres a Clear picture shes out on pasture in the last one shes in the lot.
RedAngus121- From what I can see of this heifer she is, possibly, a reasonably good herd cow prospect. And that is ALL that I can say with conviction.
The purposes of judging or analysing beef cattle, whether it be bulls or cows, of any age, is for the examination of ALL of their parts to determination their nature, proportion, function, phenotypic (how they LOOK) characteristics, genotypic (how they will breed or REPRODUCE themselves) traits - in short - what that particular beef individual really IS in it's entirety.
To Judge any animal on the bases of the above paragraph requires astute and discriminating observation of that animal - including it's Genetic (EPD's) signature. In giving an "opinion" of an animal, as we do in these posts, EPD's are seldom available, so we are limited to the Phenotypic observation only. To provide a definitive opinion of an animal based on a picture only is an exercise in futility, and becomes less valuable if the image is not optimal.
This subject has been discussed and kicked around and alluded to many times on these posts, however it seems to continue to be a source of mis-information of the subject matter, and we repetitively see 'snapshots' of beef subjects - poorly posed or in difficult-to-perceive circumstances, ( half pictures, legs not in evidence, standing in low spots, front ends lower than hindquarters, etc.) and usually ONE VIEW ONLY!
To alleviate these difficult efforts to objectively, and with at least a modicum of accuracy, present a reasonable description of the strengths and weaknesses of an individual animal, I suggest the following criteria be followed whenever one wishes the members of the Forum to expound on the virtues or discrepancies of a particular individual animal:
1. A 'straight on' side view showing the ENTIRE animal from the hooves to the topline.
2. A 'straight on' rear view showing the hindquarters from the hooves to the top of the tail head.
3. If
possible a TOP view showing the ENTIRE animal from tip of nose to end of hindquarters.
4. A listing of EPD's (if available).
5. NOT an animal in "SHOW PREPARATION" condition combed and groomed to magnify or camouflage characteristics which may or may not be present!
In this manner, a more reliable observation may be made in order to establish how the animal meets, or fails to meet the requirements that have been established as ideal. This method, then, will be more valuable to the inquirer than just a short statement - such as "Looks good" or "I like her". Those comments don't help a breeder who is sincerely seeking information to ingrain the perfect image of the ideal individual animal in their mind. If we can have more desirable pictures of the individual at hand, - that will afford us an opportunity of being able to be more accurate in our judgements of just exactly what the animal presents to us.
This is just an idea for your perusal.
DOC HARRIS
