I do enjoy listening to younger judges and their terminology.  I don’t understand it all but I get the use of new verbiage.  Call me a crusty, old fart and I will not argue.  But sometimes, it just seems like we are reinventing the wheel.  

      Runs Uphill.  First heard it in hogs a few years ago.  Now, I’m hearing it in other species.  Basically, this means that they are on the verge of being too straight in their shoulder set yet they have a cool, cocky head and neck set.  I get it but dang neart every time I hear one described as “running uphill”, they usually aren’t sound enough.  Well, except for those couple of elite ones that still stay flexible.  And that is what we do in the livestock industry.  We are all unicorn hunters, just looking for that magical, mythical beast that really doesn’t exist.  Yet, if we get close, we make up a term to cover that deficiency.  

    Here’s another hog term.   “Tail Root”.   What?  Who gives a rat’s ass about the circumference of a pig’s tail attachment.  Tail root?  My goodness.  Sure!   Maybe the size of a pig’s tail corresponds to the circumference of bone.  BUT……let’s think about this.  There is a place in the meat industry for almost every part of a pig.  Ears as dog chew toys.  Jowls–pickled or smoked.  It is common to see a jar of pickled pig’s feet in a grocery store.  Yet……yet….no one has seen a jar of pickled pig tails.  Or smoked hog tails.  I’ve seen beef oxtail offered but not often.  Tail root?   Oh goodness.

        However, tonight, as I was soaking in the tub of a remodeled bathroom and reading a cattle sale offering, I read this description “….and has a massive tail, if you’re a believer of the power in that quality.”   That sounds to me like that long-time cattle breeder is not a believer either.  Just going to throw out the newest terminology to the next generation.  Marketing.  

        In all species of livestock, we are at a crossroads.  Judges are selecting wide chested, big ribbed, stout skulled, massive boned creatures packed with meat.  All of these things are indicators of birthing problems and slow growth.  Cut em out.  Save them.  Grow them out and then sell them as breeding animals.  It is a never-ending circle of life that gets none of us anywhere fast.