Am I Getting Old...Love No Fit Shows

[inthebarnagain]

I was told by a doctor that the adhesives and paint we use are so toxic that there is no way we should use them inside at all.  Think, sniffing glue is all about ventilation!

 

[blackcows]

if your cattle are good enough to win "unfit" more power to ya.  If you can't fit as good as other people and "wish the playing field was leveler", get another hobby or get better. 

It isn't  a "hobby" for us, we actually do this to help pay the bills.  The way we get better is to wean bigger calves, increase feed efficiency, and decrease opens. 

Mike

 

[afhm]

Well I guess since so many of you are so anti-fitting you need to get obama to give all the out of work fitters a bailout.  Hamm's, Sullivan's and the rest of the supply companies will probably need one too.  If you're not going to fit em shave em!

 

[justintime]

I am not anti show. I just can't be around when they are fitting  like I used to be. I sometimes wonder how this will be playing out 20 years from now, with all the products we are presently using. 20 years ago, I was  not bothered by it ( at least I thought I wasn't) but I know now that I am. I suspect that if I had to fit like I used to do, that I probably would be sitting in the emergency room at the hospital by evening. Wish it wasn't that way, but it is.  Besides that, I still love to see a well fitting class of animals entering the ring.

 

[herfchic]

I love to fit and I love to watch good fitters fit, but i usually only fit at the bigger shows.  I don't fit at a county fair unless I think that I can win the entire show.  If you have well trained hair the calf will look good without being fitted out. I don't really like when a show tells you that you can't fit.  I believe that it should be an option for everyone because fitting is part of showing a calf.  At our county fair you cannot hire a professional fitter to fit a calf for the Junior/4H show, and that seems like it splits the difference fairly well. 

 

[braunvieh]

I only go to breed shows and we don't have a "no-fit"option at this point, but we would certainly like it. In my case, I show cattle to market them, not just to show so I am self taught at clipping and fitting and am at a real disadvantage to those who can fit well. I think it is an art and I simply don't have the time to devote to it (or the skill) or the money to pay someone to do it. We try our best but it is really frustrating to lose to an animal that is of lower quality but better fitted. That is when I feel I have let the cattle down. The part about you can't teach an old dog new tricks is really true!!!

 

[shorthorn boy]

I love no-fit shows mostly because I always end up fitting my calves all by myself and I also hate dragging around our extremely heavy fitting chute

 

[BCCC]

I love no-fit shows mostly because I always end up fitting my calves all by myself and I also hate dragging around our extremely heavy fitting chute

Shoot with my knees I hate even carrying around our aluminum grooming chute. Think when Denver rolls around I am going to have to invest in one of Sullivan's half chutes.

 

[GoWyo]

I am considering making my kid wear a painter's mask when he fits his cattle at all shows from now on.  Might raise the awareness of how bad these aerosols really are for long-term health (cancer, dementia, who knows what else).  Breathing in this crap cannot be a positive in any way, shape or form.  I like seeing well fitted cattle too, but none of this is worth breathing in these nasty chemical compounds.

 

[herefordfootball]

I am considering making my kid wear a painter's mask when he fits his cattle at all shows from now on.  Might raise the awareness of how bad these aerosols really are for long-term health (cancer, dementia, who knows what else).  Breathing in this crap cannot be a positive in any way, shape or form.  I like seeing well fitted cattle too, but none of this is worth breathing in these nasty chemical compounds.

True. I wear a paper mask if the ventilation is bad. It's helped me a lot.

Chris

 

[DLD]

I am 42, my kids have been showing cattle for a few years in 4H and I must admit I am really liking the no fit shows.  In my younger years I certainly burned through hundreds of cans of adhesive and probably just as many cans of Outcast and EZ Out but it seems now that I kind of seek out the no fit shows.  Something about not loading blocking chutes and not washing after the show is really appealing to me.  We do a lot of work at home as far as brushing, rinsing, blowing, washing, and working the hair so the kids still get a lot of experience grooming the calves and in my opinion our calves still look really nice without the glue.  I realize that a good fit job can take cattle to the next level and like some enjoy sports others enjoy fitting a calf, I am just getting to the point that I like cold beer a little more.

What's everyone else think of no fit shows?

Mike

I agree completely.  I've done more than my share of fitting over the years, and I still love a great fit job, and I'm not saying we need to do away with fitting altogether, but I'm really glad that we don't do it at our county and district shows anymore, and that there are at least a few no fit jackpots around these days. Fortunately, breathing the stuff doesn't bother me nearly as bad as it does many of you, but my knees are very grateful for blow-n-shows. 

I understand those of you that enjoy fitting - I do too, just can't enjoy as much of it as I used to.  The folks that think the only people that like blow-n-shows are just too dumb or too lazy to fit are sadly mistaken.  If you don't do your homework, it shows up even more at blow-n-shows. 

 

[cdcccfite]

I wish some folks would remember it is a steer show.  The key word is show.  If you don't want to make the effort to fit your cattle it would be much eaiser to pull the hide off and hang them on the rail.  Not trying to stir things up just offering an opinion.

 

[beefy]

I wish some folks would remember it is a steer show.  The key word is show.  If you don't want to make the effort to fit your cattle it would be much eaiser to pull the hide off and hang them on the rail.  Not trying to stir things up just offering an opinion.

  i like well fit cattle as much as anyone but we need to remember those primped up hair balls will be hangin on the rail and if they dont have it to make a no fit show what are we teaching these kids about our industry? i am over our regional show and over the last 10 years only about 2-3 of the top 10 at our show grade and yield. i wont buy a star class or champ to put in a buyers freezer because i don't want to lose their support  of our show with a gain-shrink-gain-shrink show jock hair ball. sorry just my  2 cents didnt mean to offend anyone    <cowboy>

 

[GoWyo]

Cattle showing is a funny business -- it is one of the few where everyone misrepresents their product and everyone else knows it.  It is up to the judge to decipher what is under the hair and glue.

 

[herefordfootball]

I wish some folks would remember it is a steer show.  The key word is show.  If you don't want to make the effort to fit your cattle it would be much eaiser to pull the hide off and hang them on the rail.  Not trying to stir things up just offering an opinion.

  i like well fit cattle as much as anyone but we need to remember those primped up hair balls will be hangin on the rail and if they dont have it to make a no fit show what are we teaching these kids about our industry? i am over our regional show and over the last 10 years only about 2-3 of the top 10 at our show grade and yield. i wont buy a star class or champ to put in a buyers freezer because i don't want to lose their support  of our show with a gain-shrink-gain-shrink show jock hair ball. sorry just my  2 cents didnt mean to offend anyone    <cowboy>

I agree on cdcccfite, you cant eat hair or bone. But it is a show not a carcass evaluation. We went down to a county fair last week by Indy, and the judge kept going on and on about which steer he thought'd make the best hanging weight and how important the carcass values were, but in the end he picked the big boned yak to win grand. We have a carcass eval. competition at our fair, where they ultrasound the calf for meat values and then compare the results and decide who gets grand ultrasound and reserve, it's pretty neat and the steers that win always bring about .50 cents to a dollare more/ pound on sale day. I like a good hanging steer as good as anybody, but in the end they usually dont win grand or reserve cuz they have a good ribeye area. JMO.

Chris

 

[BCCC]

I wish some folks would remember it is a steer show.  The key word is show.  If you don't want to make the effort to fit your cattle it would be much eaiser to pull the hide off and hang them on the rail.  Not trying to stir things up just offering an opinion.

  i like well fit cattle as much as anyone but we need to remember those primped up hair balls will be hangin on the rail and if they dont have it to make a no fit show what are we teaching these kids about our industry? i am over our regional show and over the last 10 years only about 2-3 of the top 10 at our show grade and yield. i wont buy a star class or champ to put in a buyers freezer because i don't want to lose their support  of our show with a gain-shrink-gain-shrink show jock hair ball. sorry just my  2 cents didnt mean to offend anyone    <cowboy>

All my hairballs are heifers, don't have to worry bout them being on the hanging rail till they are old gals  ;D

 

[loveRedcows]

I wish some folks would remember it is a steer show.  The key word is show.  If you don't want to make the effort to fit your cattle it would be much eaiser to pull the hide off and hang them on the rail.  Not trying to stir things up just offering an opinion.

Then why don't they change the class title from "market steer" to "show steer"?

 

[DLD]

I wish some folks would remember it is a steer show.  The key word is show.  If you don't want to make the effort to fit your cattle it would be much eaiser to pull the hide off and hang them on the rail.  Not trying to stir things up just offering an opinion.

I get the feeling that maybe some of the folks that are most against "no fit" shows probably don't have much experience with them.  In most cases all that means is no glue or paint, or possibly no aerosol products are allowed (I know that in a few places nothing but soap and water is allowed) to be used in fitting.  For some, the terms "no fit" or "blow and show" seems to conjure up an image of half broke, dirty, unclipped cattle, but that's just not how it is.  Without a bunch of paint and glue to help you out, it's that much more important to have the kind of good, well trained hair that only comes with dedication and hard work.  Clipping is no less important, nor is showmanship.  In addition to the obvious benefits of no one having to breathe the paint and glue, there's also the benefit of not having to buy all that stuff in the first place, not having to haul it all around, not having to haul chutes (at least not as many), and having more time to relax and enjoy the show.  It doesn't make it any less competitive, just a little less stressful.

 

[farmboy]

I love no-fit shows mostly because I always end up fitting my calves all by myself and I also hate dragging around our extremely heavy fitting chute

Shoot with my knees I hate even carrying around our aluminum grooming chute. Think when Denver rolls around I am going to have to invest in one of Sullivan's half chutes.

you need to hit my brother up. he says he can make one of those fairly easy. could probably undercut Sullivan by a mile too

 

[herefordfootball]

I wish some folks would remember it is a steer show.  The key word is show.  If you don't want to make the effort to fit your cattle it would be much eaiser to pull the hide off and hang them on the rail.  Not trying to stir things up just offering an opinion.

Then why don't they change the class title from "market steer" to "show steer"?

Not for a 100 percent sure, but I think it's because "market steer" means a class that consists of steers that are finished or is a terminal show for them. But again it's a show not a carcass evaluation. I'm not a hundred percent sure about the class title, but I think that is why it's titled that way.

Chris