blower\ grooming question (new to show cattle!)

[WS Ranch]

Hi,
So happy to find this great forum
We are new to cattle (horse folks), and my 11 yr old son now proudly owns his first 4H steer.  My question is... does anyone ever use a livestock vacuum on their show steers?  I have a two in one blower\vacuum that we have used for the horses.  We use the blower for his steer, but would the vacuum mode work as well for non-rinsing days?  Or would it damage the hair?
The other part to this question is, Do we need a blower with a heating element for during winter months?  The one I have only heats a little from the motor.  Rinsing off the animal on cold days is kinda foreign to me, but our 4h leaders assure us we need to rinse weekly for a good haircoat... so I'm wondering if we need a heated blower as well.  His fair isn't until June, but he wants to have his steer looking his best, so he's starting now.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
My boy's steer is a Chi-Maine cross, so a hairy little guy.

 

[vc]

I'm there is all kinds of different advice you could get but here is what I have. We don't really ever use the heater portion of the blower, we are in So-Cal, and not sure if the horse blower is as strong as the blower for cattle.
Here goes, we try to rinse once a day but on the days that we just can't rinse they comb and blow them out. We wash with soap once a week, once all the soap is rinsed out, we pour a quarter sized dollop of conditioner in a five gallon bucket, fill the bucket, dip the tail in the bucket, pour the remaining bucket from tail head to crest. You do not rinse out just blow dry.
We blow from rear to front and work the hair forward and up at a 45% angle, comb the same way. You are trying to train the hair and get it to pop (that fluffy cow look).
You want to get a good stiff rice root brush, work the leg hair, you are working it so it stands up.
If you were to use the vacuum, I would use it just to get the loose water of him, hit the back and the flank, 2 of the harder areas to dry.
That should get you started.

 

[bk2005]

Buy the Kirk stierwalt vids. U can get them from weaver. Dave Guyer did some too.

 

[herfluvr]

Hello and welcome to show cattle!  We too were horse people and still are and I know the vacuum you have and the power of it.  I don't believe it has the same power as a cattle blower.  You should be able to find a used blower if you don't want to buy new but we have has our blower we bought new for 12 years and still using it.  One of the products from the horse world that is wonderful for hair is that Hair Moisturizer that comes as a concentrated pink liquid and you dilute it for use.  It has lanolin and is great for the hair and skin to reduce dander.  If you have any other questions about coming from horses to cattle just pm and have a great time. The worlds are similar and if you can pick a good horse you are probably gonna pick a nice calf.  One of the things we are more critical on is soundness.  You will see what I mean as you show.  Animals I consider unsound will still make the call in the pen.  It is interesting to see what they consider passable.

http://www.healthyhaircare.com/hairMoist.php

 

[OH Breeder]

HEaters on Blowers depends on the weather in the winter months you have. Where we are in the midwest we have cold winters and use a heated blower because we wash in the winter months. We have an indoor wash rack. If you are in an area that the climate is more mild you could get away with blower. The heater just helps dry faster. We purchased 2 blowers used rebuilt and have been using them forever. Check with Sullivans. You definitely want to rinse and blow dialy. The thing with oils is watch the weight of the oils you are using. Summer months you want to stay light. Using Kleen Sheen and light oils. WInter you can use heavier oils like Revive. Dave Guyer made a daily hair care video I think is great for beginners.
The vacuum is not something we have used with cattle.

 

[WS Ranch]

Wow, you guys are great!  Thanks so much for the info... I think we will look into a stronger blower, rinse more frequently, leave the vacuum for the horses and look into those videos.
I know exactly the pink conditioner herfluvr is talking about, have a jug of it in the barn .  Healthy Hair Care!
We are in northeastern california, our winter temps range from 15 to 50 degrees.... I'm sure that's considered pretty mild compared to the Midwest.
My son (& me too) are having a great time so far with his project, looking forward to learning more.  Definitely will be keeping up with steer planet. 
Thanks again!

 

[Part Timer]

Look into the Guyer videos. They are more indepth than the stierwalt videos. Either way they have good info from selecting to finishing.