Trouble showing steer

[maverick33]

I have a market steer that is out of a red Angus cow and his sire is Believe in Me. He was halter broke and shown as a calf and then I bought him. He is worked with at home and is calm and docile most of the time. Sometimes he gets a little agitated if I practice setting him up to much. I took him to a show this past March and he tired to run and did not want to stop long enough to get set up. He was also taken to a couple shows this past month and he has gotten worse.

He tries to run, put his head down, and basically does what he wants. I have a hard time controlling him. When he is tied up though before the show he acts pretty calm. Is there anything I can do to make him easier to handle? I guess my thinking is that he has been to enough shows that he should not be acting this way. At home I work with him 4 or 5 times a week, but he acts fine so that obviously is not helping much. He is going to a show in a couple weeks and if he does not act any better there he is staying at home after that.

 

[vc]

Try 40, 3mg melatonin tablets, start 3 days before you leave for the show and keep him on it until you get home. Should knock the nerves out of him. If it takes him down to much drop the dosage down to 30 tablets.

 

[Simbeef10]

A natural option several people used long ago was a couple beers

 

[SlickTxMaine]

A natural option several people used long ago was a couple beers

I have to laugh at your use of the word natural when it comes to cattle drinking beer!  Just thought it was funny.  <beer>

 

[GoWyo]

Success of the beer prescription depends on whether the animal is a happy drunk or a mean drunk.  <beer>

 

[Tallcool1]

By "natural", I assume you meant Natural Light?

 

[Simbeef10]

Just remember that it is easily available and I will never forget seeing a steer stretch his head up to drink right out of the can  <beer> 

 

[Ms Ray]

you can try a removable nose clip, it seems to get there attention a little more try it on him at home a few times before show so he know what it is. 

 

[maverick33]

Where can I find melatonin tablets? And how do I give them to him?

 

[vc]

Walmart, cvs, places like that. You can either crush them and just top dress, if he is a good eater, just mix the tablets in the top of his feed. If you have empty boll us capsules poor them in the capsule and administer that way.

 

[cowman 52]

You will find that the calves shown at side of the cow tend to be a pain the second year.  All they got away with as babies with no discipline get worse the second year and disipline 
becomes an issue.  Now you are seeing the down side

 

[vc]

Just a thought, you say you work with him 4 to 5 times a week, most calves at this time of the year are being worked with at a minimum 7 times a week up to 21 times a week. Rinsed in the morning, rinsed in the evening and then the hair worked one more time before their kicked out.

We had a steer that would be fine then get worked up fore no apparent reason, we found if we tied him to the nearest rail as soon as possible with his head up high, he would calm down in just a few minutes. He was a very easy going steer except for those little episodes. It was like an anxiety attack, once he calmed down he would be fine for the rest of the time.

 

[maverick33]

The trouble is he acts like an angel at home. Once he is off the trailer at a show he can get a little rambunctious but once he is tied up and settled in, he calms right down. Then when I take him out to wash him or show him he starts to act up again. He really is only a problem when he is walking. If he is tied up he usually stands there fairly calm. I only work with him about 4 or 5 days a week because I do not have any more time than that. Our family has around 1000 head of cattle and those come first. After I finish my chores for the evening I then work with the cattle if it is still light outside.

 

[vc]

I would give the melatonin a shot, I think a bottle cost around $14, half the time you can find a 2 for 1 sale, start 2 days before the show and keep him on it until you head home.

We had a girl in our club whose steer did the same thing at the fair, she was told that if she could not handle the animal by herself they were sending it home. I had her put it on melatonin, she made it through both market and showmanship as well as the sale ring with out incident.

It is not the cure all, but when it works it makes life easier for both you and the animal.