New to showing need help with show stick

[Sparky_6L and Daisy_11K]

I’m brand new to showing and I’m wanting to find a jackpot here soon but I’m not quite ready. I don’t understand what the show stick is for. Shouldn’t you set the calf up by walking into it? You shouldn’t have to move the legs with the stick right? I’m hoping I can learn some stuff here and I would love for someone to teach me. Thank you in advanced.

 

[Jive Turkey]

I’m brand new to showing and I’m wanting to find a jackpot here soon but I’m not quite ready. I don’t understand what the show stick is for. Shouldn’t you set the calf up by walking into it? You shouldn’t have to move the legs with the stick right? I’m hoping I can learn some stuff here and I would love for someone to teach me. Thank you in advanced.

You use the stick to move the legs into proper position and then scratch their belly or brisket when you have them set up the way that you would like.

 

[ISquaredCattle]

Use it to scratch belly or brisket so they hold still. Watch some showmanship videos.

 

[looking4champions]

The show stick is all of the above and then some. You should treat it like it's an extension of your arm and hand.

It is used to get your steer's attention: a tap on the nose or head when leading.

It is used as a brake: to slow your steer down if it's walking too fast in the ring.

It's used to set your steers feet: push with the point to move the feet back, pull with the hook (at the dew claw) for forward adjustment.

It can be used to help keep the steers head raised when leading: a nudge or couple bumps under his chin to get him to raise his head his head or keep it's head raised.

It's all about how you use it with your steer and how your steer reacts to you handling him with it. The more you use the show stick and practice with your steer the more you should be able to do with it.