4-H Resources

My youngest is dog crazy and my olders are horse crazy.  We just finished a state invitational livestock judging contest for the olders and they really do want to continue with that as well.  You would think that they would prefer the horse judging since they have been working horse camps for about 5 years but horse judging is really, really intense - at least the groups we have seen are!  Our family does not thrive on that level of intensity.  Horse Quiz Bowl is a definite option and one dd may jump into that next year also.  Our main problem with these team contests is the practice schedule (frequency and time of day since I can't drive after dusk and still deal with adrenal fatigue, etc).

Going back to livestock judging... I was hoping to find some 4-H resources on Amazon but there wasn't very much there; although some out-of-print materials looked like they would've been helpful.  These are a few resources that I found (not 4-H materials, though):



The only other option I've found so far is the curricula from the 4-H site.  We will have to buy separate materials for each animal (sigh) and although each is only $3.95 it'll add up with multiple publications for meat goat, dairy goat, swine, lamb, cattle - livestock judging gets a little complicated.  They are feverishly fundraising for state activities, their animal projects for next year, and incidental 4-H expenses like these manuals, fees, etc.


While looking for livestock judging I found this dog resource about dog competitions.  Youngest hopes to put her new puppy into the 4-H dog shows next year.

That's a Good Dog

 This is a much better match, though, since it is an official 4-H Guide. How can science, animal behavior, personal responsibility, and even home ec (making homemade dog training treats and treats) be more personalized and motivating than training your dog for competition? This is another way that "following the child" looks in real life :).