Throwing yourself to the wolves.....

I just finished watching Neighbor Melissa's son, Luke and beautiful cow, Holly, place third at the
Mid-East Fall National Holstein Show in Louisville, Kentucky. No I am not in Kentucky, but rather sitting in my office watching it on-line. Through the wonders of modern technology, we watched it live. What a thrill for the Hart family!!!!!!!!!

Being a breeder myself, I know it isn't easy to send "one of your own" out into a ring to find out what a judge really thinks of that animal. Personally, I feel sick all over until it is done. So why go through it?? Well, there is a syndrome in this business of breeding animals called barn blindness. Symptoms are pretty easy to diagnose, everything in your barn is at or near perfection. Reality says most is pretty average, but until you submit that animal to some form of evaluation, you believe that you are doing it all right. Opinion from someone else is one way to rethink the way your breeding program is headed and decide if you need to change course.

So at the end of a show, most will have a better idea of what that judge liked and if your animal fit their image of a perfect horse, cow, bunny or whatever livestock you put out for them to judge.