120 BEEF PRODUCTION 



against their horns or backwards so as to pull on the 

 halter rope. 



An animal should not be tied by the nose ring. Neck 

 ropes would better be too light than too heavy, as it is 

 better to have the rope than the animal's neck broken 

 from an excessive jerk. Put enough straw under the 

 animal to insure an easy ride; this should be about 

 eighteen inches. Send along enough helpers to prop- 

 erly care for the cattle. 



Securing "bloom" or just that desirable condition 

 or stage of fatness that is most acceptable to the judge 

 is, perhaps, the finest point of the art of fitting cattle 

 for show, and the ability to bring out animals in a little 

 better condition than others are able to do, is what char- 

 acterizes some herdsmen as peculiarly skillful. There 

 is, practically speaking, no danger of getting the calf or 

 yearling too fat or "overdone," while with the two- 

 year-old, such a condition is not uncommon. By fol- 

 lowing the suggestions given above, however, this danger 

 will be reduced to the minimum. While the calf or 

 yearling is seldom too fat to show as a calf or yearling, 

 they may be made too fat to carry on successfully with 

 a view of making them acceptable show animals a year 

 later. 



