Fitting Sheep for the Show Ring. 185 



cool, airy barn during the day time and turn them 

 out on good pasture during the night. This will 

 give them the necessary exercise, which is abso- 

 lutely indispensable in keeping them firm and in 

 producing the best handling qualities. Overfeed- 

 ing and crowding too rapidly should in all cases 

 be avoided. Some men are of the opinion that the 

 more they feed the sheep, the better the sheep 

 will do, but this is quite often a mistake. Feeding 

 has its limit, and if fitted so highly that they be- 

 come soft, or "overdone," sheep will not win in the 

 ring. 



It is a pity to see good rams and ewes that are 

 fed so far beyond the limit that they are simply 

 ruined and are worthless for breeding purposes. 

 Such sheep could not even win in the fat classes, 

 as butchers object to a lot of surplus fat on sheep 

 on the block. They should be in nice flesh, but not 

 overfat. The writer himself has been forced more 

 than once to turn down sheep in the ring for this 

 very reason. We often see sheep that are so "blub- 

 bery" and overdone that they are unable to stand 

 up long enough in the ring for the judge to pass 

 his decision upon the class in which they are 

 shown. Much improvement must be made in this 

 respect, and showmen must familiarize themselves 

 better with what is called "just in bloom." This 

 condition of bloom is sought by all good judges 



