The Learning Exprerience

I learn from my mistakes. It's a very painful way to learn, but without the pain, the old saying is, there's no gain.   
                                         -Johnny Cash

Nessie Bear is my cautionary show story. There are a lot of things that I definitely should have and could have done differently when it came to training her but it's in the past now. People asked me if I had trouble with her because I was too scared of her to enforce the necessary discipline but this was not the case. Baby-Baby used her size to scare me but by the time Nessie came along I had been drug through the dirt so many times that I was immune to it. If Nessie mauled me or knocked me over I simply brushed myself off, got in her face and gave her a piece of my mind. We then proceeded to work until she settled down and listened to me. I attribute my little success with her to not being afraid to get up close and personal.

Looking back now I can see why I failed. Where I spent countless hours with Daisy during the taming and training processes, I only worked with Nessie when I had time. Not only did I not take the time to build a personal bond with her, I didn't take the time to consistently work on her discipline. This, ladies and gentlemen, is where I failed.

Now that I've learned that lesson, the thing I cannot stress enough when talking to new show kids is that you need to build a personal bond with your animal because it becomes a life or death part of the relationship. Out of all of the show cows I have raised, Daisy is the only that I could pull out of the field and take to a show and not die because I put in the time required to meet her needs and build a mutual trust and respect. If there is no trust, there will be no respect and you will most likely end up like me. No matter what you do, make sure it gets done right.

Trust comes in very important in the show ring because some animals are afraid of big crowds or things like certain types of fences or sound systems. Yes, I found this out the hard way also. While Nessie was never the show cow either Daisy or Baby-Baby were, she was functional in our makeshift show ring at the corral. She didn't like what she was doing but she rarely acted up so badly that I couldn't control her. This all changed when we got to the fairgrounds. As soon as I unloaded her from the trailer it was like something snapped and sent her into full on nutcase mode. She was jumpy, completely disrespectful, and violent. She had to be put into her own show class. The moment that I realized how bad it had become was in the worst possible place; the show ring. She pulled her halter out of my hands and took off. As if this wasn't humiliating enough, she kicked me in the leg on the way out for good measure. This was probably the biggest reality check I've ever received, and the most painful.

But do not let my tail of woe fool you into thinking that Nessie is a monster because she has a sweet side that rarely shows.
I've learned more from the bumps and bruises, and dents in my leg, than I will from books. They have taught me patience, humility and the importance of trust and respect between you and your animal.
Nessie has since joined Daisy and Baby-Baby in the pasture. She gave birth to her first calf, a boy, on January 6, 2018.