Cleburne ISD
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Cleburne High sophomore Jordan Hood prepares for the Johnson County Junior Livestock Show with her Boer cross goat, Pickles. Pete Kendall/Times-Review
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Cleburne vocational agriculture students prepping for show
In the Cleburne High vocational ag department, students frequently learn by doing.
Last year, Jordan Hood raised rabbits on hay for the Johnson County Junior Livestock Show.
She learned that was a mistake; she didn’t do very well.
“The rabbits got pretty big,” she said, “but their muscular structure in the back was soft. It’s supposed to be hard.”
The sophomore is expected to fare better this year with a market goat named Pickles. The little fellow eats like there’s no tomorrow.
“I’ve gone to two shows with him so far,” Hood said. “I was fifth out of 11 at Glen Rose and fifth out of 12 at Joshua. The judges said the goat was a little raw, that he doesn’t have enough muscle. I need to exercise him more. In the last show, I made the mistake of getting between the judge and the goat, so I didn’t do very well in showmanship.”
Hood opted to show a goat this year after reviewing the pluses and minuses of goats, lambs and pigs.
“Pigs stink a lot and poop a lot,” she said. “I didn’t like lambs’ facial features. Goats are cute and don’t make a lot of mess.”
She got a castrated Boer cross through the school. The goat’s name, Pickles, was a natural.
“I have a friend who’s always wanted a goat named Pickles,” Hood said. “I told her I’d name mine that.”
He’s no sour pickle, Hood said.
“He’s like a baby,” she said. “He follows me around the ag barn. He can be stubborn at times, but he’s usually sweet. I spend over three hours a day with him, so he’s gotten to know me real well. I think he knows the sound of our truck because he’ll start baa-ing really loud.”
During the three hours she spends with the goat, exercise is a major activity.
“I walk him out to a hill back here, and he’ll run up and down the hill for muscular structure,” Hood said. “I’ll take him out to a circular pen and run him. We used to put him on the treadmill, but the treadmill broke.”
Pickles is a good conversationalist, she said.
“I talk to him a lot. I think that helps to have him recognize your voice. I tell him whenever he’s doing well and what he needs to fix. I talk to him about [vocational ag teacher Barney McClure]. We talk about how good a teacher he is.”
She and Pickles have also discussed the future. For Pickles, the future is bright.
Instead of being loaded on a truck for a trip to market, as is customary for the majority of market goats, Pickles will remain very much alive in the pasture of a friend who resides in the country.
“That’s a good feeling,” Hood said, “and I’ll be able to visit.”
CHS freshman Blake Armstrong has similar visitation privileges at the ag barn. He’s preparing a pig for the county show.
“I heard from other people that showing an animal is really cool,” Armstrong said. “My cousin [Max Reynolds] showed a pig, so I wanted to do it. Pigs are pretty smart. I start rubbing on her, and she just lays down and stretches out. Goats don’t do that.”
Armstrong is confident of a good finish.
“She’s a pretty good-looking pig, so I hope she’ll rank high.”
County will be this piggy’s first appearance in the ring.
“I’ve been practicing with her,” Armstrong said. “She does pretty well. She starts running around. I spend about an hour and a half with her every day. She knows me pretty well. When I come up, she cries.”
Must be tears of joy.
“When we first got her,” Armstrong said, “she cried like a little goat.”
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