Continual Observation

The health of my animals is extremely important.  I have to look them over every day; watch them; look for signs of anything out of the ordinary in their appearance or their behavior.

The Local Show 2012

Every time they are mixed in with other animals from outside their world or hauled to another place or have contaminated brushes or clippers used on them, they are at risk for contamination, infection, or infestation.  Respiratory infections, warts of all shapes and sizes, lice, pink-eye, and ringworm are just a few of the things that you need to guard against.
A few minutes of carelessness on my part or on the part of others causes me (and others) weeks of extra work and the added expense of sprays, pastes, vaccines, you name it.

I have to spend extra time disinfecting everything.  I have to make sure I bleach my brushes before I use them again.  (You never know...someone could pick up your brush and use it on their own animal and return it to your box, and you would never know it was contaminated.)  You have to be careful.

Weather plays an important role, too.  When it's cold and rainy, my animals can develop a cough which must be treated.

When we do shows during hot weather, we have to use sunscreen on their light haired delicate parts and all over the places that the sun hits hardest.  They will sunburn, they will turn red, and HURT, and peel if they not protected.

This little Holstein isn't one of mine, but I've had the same thing happen before.
= (