Preparing for shows

Even though submitting entries is the hardest task, much work is done before I send them in.

Once I decide to go to a show, my first thought is "who do I have to enter?" I go out to the barn and see what I have. Currently, I have a bunch of old show animals, a bunch of young animals, and a few seniors and promsing juniors I "could" show. I then take the show into perspective. "Will there be a lot of competion?" "How far am I traveling to the show?" "How many animals do I need to sell?"

Last year I limited myself to 15 carrier holes... it's just hard to take more than that to a show these days, if I go over that I have to drive the truck or borrow carriers from friends (and I have done that a few times!....) So I try to hold a few for sale animals, since I usually always take something to sell.

I then write down what I "can" show, and I make another list of what I can sell.
Of those show animals, I evaluate their condition. Right now I have some rabbits molting (the drastic weather changes) but they are minor molts and should be done before the show comes around. To help aid the process, I give hay and brush them often.
I will weigh my animals... having made several weight mistakes over my many years of showing, its something I try to avoid before the show now. I no longer take those "at risk" bunnies, its just not worth the entry fee!

I trim all nails. Nothing irriates me more than improper nail care. Usually I just have minor trims and while I'm there I also check nail color, tails, teeth and front legs. I also check for abcesses, especially pimples on those boys! I'll check and see if their tattoo has faded (since I use an electric tattooer) and if any touch-ups are needed I will do them while I am thinking about it.

Once I have my show list, I focus on those animals for a while, continuing to groom them, monitor their status and keep hay in front of them. And it's not abnormal upkeep, I do this everyday, but when I have a show coming up, I don't want mistakes to arise there or before I get there (and they happen all the time, an animal blows their coat, breaks their tooth at the show or gets sprayed by a buck at home... stuff happens!)

I then take note how much money I have to spend. That's always a tough task, I am a college student and money is tight. I dont like spending more than I have to, so I'll go for reasonable lodging, limit entries and try to pre-sell animals to make the show more worthy. I've been on a kick of showing a short list of animals, its less work at the show and saves money. Granite I haven't been granding animals like I used to, but I don't mind as I've acheived all my "short term" goals in rabbits.

So when I send in my entries, via snail or e-mail, it's hard to click "send" or drop the envelope in the box.

Speaking about shows, I have a few I am preparing for right now! I have until the 1st of September to send in my Crescent City entry. They have a good secretary and are on top of their "stuff" so they can have just a few takes to pull out a GREAT 7 show weekend!

Right now, I have 3 seniors I "plan" to show. I still have to weigh them. Those are Obnoxious (I want to grand her, then might sell her?), Dominic and Theodore. I might bring Last Minute as a back up for Obnoxious, use her as an ear change rabbit.
I then have 3 juniors I would like to show. Now I dont think I can show them in all 5 shows, too expensive but I'd like to atleast show them on Sunday. Those are the siblings, Brianna, Matthew and Lila my Hades x Twitch litter. I'm working on getting their baby coats gone (almost there!) and but the muscle and flesh is there. I just want to know if I am on the right track with them, because I really like them ;) That is all I have to show though, I have plenty of sale animals, so I'm not entirely dissapointed....

I even considered showing the BEW's on Saturday for comments only. Let me make that clear, I just want to get them at a show to show off, since Ive never taken my BEW's anywhere before!!!! We'll see....