CHILDREN TRAIN STEERS

Jacob Fisher, Madi and Cy Courser awaiting the judges’ decision.

CHILDREN TRAIN STEERS
Show at Festival

 

WARNER, NH–––September 18, 2012––– When Madi Courser of Warner was six years old and her brother Cy was nine, their parents gave them each a matched pair of bull calves. The children belonged to 4-H, and wanted to train and raise the small calves as working steers. It would take a year of dedication and hard work to accomplish this, but Madi and Cy were determined.
     “Our Dad raised steers when he was growing up,” Madi said.
     Now it was their turn. Every day the children fed, watered, groomed and patiently worked with the frisky animals, getting them used to wearing a halter, then teaching them to calmly walk on a lead, or leash. When the calves had that mastered, it was time to hitch them together with a yoke and teach them to work as a team.
     “We had them drag an old tire for a couple of weeks, building their muscles and endurance,” Cy said.
     Meanwhile, their friend, Jacob Fisher, began training and showing pigs at fairs.

     “I hated pigs. They’re slow, they stink, and I had to keep nudging them with a cane. I wanted something faster,” he said. “When I was eight, I got my first pair of steers. I like shorthorns, because they’re fast and snappy.”
     As the first calves grew, the children had to make larger yokes to fit them.

     “They need three different sizes during the first year,” Madi said.
     “We make them out of maple or butternut wood, because those are light-weight and strong. We can’t use pine, because that’s soft wood and will crack when they’re pulling a heavy load,” Cy added.
     After training the calves for six to nine months, the children compete with their animals at eight different fairs, such as Hopkinton, Belknap, Cheshire and Acton, Maine. They also participate in 4-H shows. This year, Cy qualified to compete at Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Massachusetts, a notable honor.
     “Only the eight highest scorers in New Hampshire qualify and they have to be 13 years old or more,” Cy said.
     The animals must not only perform well, but they have to look their best at the fairs in order to score well.

Jacob Fisher backs his steers while Cy Courser readies the hitch.

      “They have to be clean, their hair has to be well trimmed, and we polish their hoofs with black shoe polish,” Madi said.
     “At Stratham Fair, one steer kicked the jar of shoe polish and splashed it all over me, just before show time,” Cy said. “I had on my good clothes and couldn’t get it cleaned off in time, so I had to show them with spotted clothes.”
     All of the children agreed that their main pet peeve is when people ask to feed the steers.

Madi Courser gently coaxes her steers to pull a log scoot.

      “If we say it isn’t time, they often go ahead and feed them hay anyway,” Jacob said, shaking his head. “They perform better if they eat on a regular schedule.”
     By the end of the fair season, the calves, about one year old are now called working steers and weigh 1100-1300 lbs. They are outgrowing their trainers and will soon be too large for the youngsters to handle. When the trained steers reach the age of four, they are called oxen.
     “Ours are pretty well trained when they‘re one year old, so we sell them as a team to someone who wants oxen.” Cy said. “We put the money in the bank, then buy new calves as soon as we can find a matched pair.”
     “I like Brown Swiss,” Madi said. “ They’re gentle and cute with their big ears.” Cy prefers a crossbreed between Swiss and Holstein, and Jacob loves his snappy shorthorns.
     All of the children play sports, but raising and training oxen has taught them responsibility, leadership, and a lot of patience. Madi, now 12, wants to continue raising oxen and hopes to someday become a large animal veterinarian. Jacob, 11, has similar ambitions, and would like to own a beef farm. Cy, 13, wants to continue raising oxen, and dreams of a sports career.
     “I play baseball and basketball. I like them both, but I’d probably choose big-league baseball.”
     At the Warner Fall Foliage Festival on October 5-7, Madi, Cy and Jacob will be demonstrating what their steers have learned in the past year. On Friday night, they will have their teams pull a wooden scoot through an obstacle course. On Saturday, the steers will maneuver a two-wheeled cart into position and drag a load of cement blocks a distance of six feet.
     “At Hopkinton Fair, my team pulled 1400 lbs,” Jacob said. “Madi’s pulled 1400, and Cy’s pulled 1750.”
     Madi and Cy Courser and Jacob Fisher hope many people will come to the Warner Fall Foliage Festival to watch their steers perform.
     The festival will be held October 5, 6 & 7 in downtown Warner. More information can be found on the website: www.wfff.org.