We've bought a show heifer for our boys to learn the ropes and get into showing.  I have many questions if anyone here knows a thing or two about showing

Our kids did quite successfully. However we showed Santa Gertrude. They are not haired so the grooming and show prep is slot different and much easier. But the rest of it would be the same. We had so much fun! And I miss having the girls at the house. I still miss it! 

One of my closest friends showed cattle when she was young; I would have never guessed from how she is today!   She loved it and says she still misses it--and she turned 37 yesterday!!

That's something to think about for sure, the hair cair for this heifer is ridiculous....like more than my horses lol

what do you want to know?

I've never shown, but my BIL had them.  

They came out here once to look at calves to buy, so I learned a little of what they're supposed to look like. Square is better. lol  When we went there, he showed us his set up.  OMG...

He had an industrial cool room, that the temp was always like 52 degrees or something like that.  The calves were only turned out after dark for a few hours each night.  They bathed them regularly.  He liked heifers because then he put a pan behind them while tied in the cool room for them to potty into.  Special HD feed regimine for optimum growth...which we weren't allowed to watch him fix up.  Lordy... CRAZY! 

My kids show cattle. We love it. Feeding them properly to get them ready to show is a little tricky but once you figure it out its not so bad. Fitting them can also be hard but my kids have a wonderful ag teacher that has taught them so very much, and now can pretty much do it all themselves. Message me any questions I can try and help.

What feed do y'all use? 

Yep, One of the reasons we never branched out to haired cattle was because the hair care and prep was ridiculous money and time wise. And in South Texas, it just isn't fair to show them with so much hair. My kids did sports, UIL and FFA contests, plus my daughter did barrel race. I had 2 kids so we averaged 8 head plus any babies the heifers' had.  Luckily most of our show cattle came from ranches that were huge and the cattle fared for themselves so they were easy keepers for the most part. Depending on where you live, seriously consider breeds that show "natural" like the Gerts. Not nearly as time intensive and so much less stressful. And encourage your kids to show in showmanship, they learn so much and the heifers settle into to showing much quicker. And don't be afraid to ask for help. Most of the kids loved helping out. 

Thats funny that the feed regimine was top secret, ha ha ha..

So what does it look like with daily care for the Santa Gertrudis?

We fed twice daily - grain and hay. Once they were halter broke we would spend 10-15 minutes each heifer working on leading, getting them used to the show stick, etc. once they got that down we would practice showing 3 or 4 heifers at a time. Getting them used to leading the class, being in the middle and being the last one. We do the whole show routine. We did this probably 4 times a week and the other days we loved on them, scratching their backs, underline, brisket and neck. We usually had 2 heifers each kid with one being older and further along. You know like either a year apart or spring and fall heifers. Once they are broke and have been shown awhile, they are like barrel horses, you don't have to do the whole routine very often, just keep them responding to the show stick or leading easily, just depends on the heifer. Long story short about an hour when they are green and about 30 minutes once they are seasoned. At the time we went to 4 or 5 majors and probably 2 weekends a month in the summer/fall going to TCCA shows. Not as much time as my horses take up a day for sure! I

Man, that sounds so much more doable especially with kids involved in sports as well. It's at least an hour a day when rinsing and blow drying. Then there's the leading and walking them. It takes a lot of time. And most people suggest rinsing and drying twice a day

Yes, two of my daughters best friends showed hair cattle along with Gets. They got up at 5 am to rinse and dry the girls and work the hair. Fans and misters on 24 hours a day for most of the year. Then they did it all over again in the evening. After we were done showing for the day, we would be at the trailer feeding the girls and enjoying a cold beverage while the haired people were frantically taking everything down and stripping the heifers hair of all the crap they had put in. At the shows we bathed in the morning and let them dry naturally. We never used blowers or dryers, just brushes, shampoo and a sweat scraper.  They are shown shaved. We always shaved with the hair. They need to protection from the sun. 

I really should have researched this more before jumping into it lol