justintime
Well-known member
I got to see Ivy League and he is a bull that is going to do some good things. I missed meeting up with his owners though. That, in my opinion is almost as important as seeing the bull, but I simply ran out of time. One regret of my Denver trip. I think he can work in both worlds. He has hair, but he also has a lot of good below the hair. I did not see him on the move, but he did look pretty sound to me. His feet are all going in the right directions and they are positioned under him where a bulls legs are supposed to be.
As I said before, Stumpy's Gus bull is exactly where I think we need to be looking at. His is so structurally sound and he had such an absolute presence in the stall and especially in the ring. This is a bull that can make a mark on the breed. I will be flushing to him for sure. I heard a few people commenting that he was too big. In my opinion, he is not too big, and there are many cows in all breeds that would mate up extremely well with him. He is white, but it stops at his hide. He has near perfect muscle expression. Yes, there were some heavier muscled bulls of all breeds in Denver, but this bull has what I refer to as Optimum muscle, which is where I think we need to be.( ie: muscle without it messing up structural soundness and calving ease). When he walks his jump muscles pop like two weanling pigs in a gunny sack. He has lots of capacity, and he has more lower quarter than most Shorthorn bulls. Besides this he has a softness to him that almost ensures that he will sire easy fleshing cattle. He is living proof that you DO NOT have to reduce frame to develop easy fleshing ability. I know the 80C side of his pedigree very well, and I do not think TM Gus will be a sire that will increase frame. He has a wonderful temperment... something we should never forget about. Gus may not be considered a steer jocks dream, but I think he will still sire some impressive, sounder made blue colored calves from some clubby black females.This bull is so sound made, that he could still be a force as a 12 or 14 year old bull, barring injury. There were some other widely talked about bulls in Denver, but most has some structural flaws that I think we need to be careful with.
I also was very impressed with the Pure Power bull bred by John Hagie and owned by Cagwin. I agree he was not walking very well in the ring but I also watched him walk outside and I thought he moved much better. I am very impressed with his muscle pattern, especially from hooks to pins. He is another bull with excellent lower quarter, and he is tight sheathed and clean made.He also has that extra muscle without it messing up his shoulder too much. Cattle with additioanl muscle will also have additional shoulder. This should not adversely affect calving ease if the slope of the shoulder is proper. I think this bull is OK there. He has good testicles and more than adequate capacity. If I were to change him, I would put a little bigger foot on him. That said, he has some very useable qualities and traits and I think if he is mated properly, he is going to sire some really good ones in both sexes. He would have been my Reserve Grand bull in the Shorthorn show. I liked him enough that I bought petting rights in him. I think he will mate well with some of my donors... I guess we will find out anyways. I find it amazing how small the world is anymore. Right now, I am sitting in Calgary, after my second messed up flight dumped me off here for the night.( United did get me a $200 room and a $20 meal, so I am not real upset) I checked my email to find an email from Scotland asking when I would have Pure Power embryos available. I just completed this deal a couple hours before I left Denver, and i don't think I mentioned this to more than one or two people. Maybe bad news travels fast! I am thinking he will do more good than bad, or I would have not have bought in.
I saw several other bulls that had lots of use. The ones I picked out are the ones I felt would work the best for my females and move me where I am trying to go. Some of those other bulls, may be better for someone else's cows and help move them closer to their goals. That is what makes this cattle breeding thing such an adventure and so much fun, in that it is each of us trying to select and match specific bulls to specific females.
As I said before, Stumpy's Gus bull is exactly where I think we need to be looking at. His is so structurally sound and he had such an absolute presence in the stall and especially in the ring. This is a bull that can make a mark on the breed. I will be flushing to him for sure. I heard a few people commenting that he was too big. In my opinion, he is not too big, and there are many cows in all breeds that would mate up extremely well with him. He is white, but it stops at his hide. He has near perfect muscle expression. Yes, there were some heavier muscled bulls of all breeds in Denver, but this bull has what I refer to as Optimum muscle, which is where I think we need to be.( ie: muscle without it messing up structural soundness and calving ease). When he walks his jump muscles pop like two weanling pigs in a gunny sack. He has lots of capacity, and he has more lower quarter than most Shorthorn bulls. Besides this he has a softness to him that almost ensures that he will sire easy fleshing cattle. He is living proof that you DO NOT have to reduce frame to develop easy fleshing ability. I know the 80C side of his pedigree very well, and I do not think TM Gus will be a sire that will increase frame. He has a wonderful temperment... something we should never forget about. Gus may not be considered a steer jocks dream, but I think he will still sire some impressive, sounder made blue colored calves from some clubby black females.This bull is so sound made, that he could still be a force as a 12 or 14 year old bull, barring injury. There were some other widely talked about bulls in Denver, but most has some structural flaws that I think we need to be careful with.
I also was very impressed with the Pure Power bull bred by John Hagie and owned by Cagwin. I agree he was not walking very well in the ring but I also watched him walk outside and I thought he moved much better. I am very impressed with his muscle pattern, especially from hooks to pins. He is another bull with excellent lower quarter, and he is tight sheathed and clean made.He also has that extra muscle without it messing up his shoulder too much. Cattle with additioanl muscle will also have additional shoulder. This should not adversely affect calving ease if the slope of the shoulder is proper. I think this bull is OK there. He has good testicles and more than adequate capacity. If I were to change him, I would put a little bigger foot on him. That said, he has some very useable qualities and traits and I think if he is mated properly, he is going to sire some really good ones in both sexes. He would have been my Reserve Grand bull in the Shorthorn show. I liked him enough that I bought petting rights in him. I think he will mate well with some of my donors... I guess we will find out anyways. I find it amazing how small the world is anymore. Right now, I am sitting in Calgary, after my second messed up flight dumped me off here for the night.( United did get me a $200 room and a $20 meal, so I am not real upset) I checked my email to find an email from Scotland asking when I would have Pure Power embryos available. I just completed this deal a couple hours before I left Denver, and i don't think I mentioned this to more than one or two people. Maybe bad news travels fast! I am thinking he will do more good than bad, or I would have not have bought in.
I saw several other bulls that had lots of use. The ones I picked out are the ones I felt would work the best for my females and move me where I am trying to go. Some of those other bulls, may be better for someone else's cows and help move them closer to their goals. That is what makes this cattle breeding thing such an adventure and so much fun, in that it is each of us trying to select and match specific bulls to specific females.
))
