The National Western Stock Show is over after a 16 day run here in Denver. This year I attended the event twice - on opening day weekend and on Free Grounds Admission Day. And as regular blog readers know, free is my favorite price point. This show is the highlight of the year for farm and ranch families, and they come from all parts of the country, especially the West and Midwest. The photograph above shows cattle taking part in a competition, but what kind of cattle I can't say for sure. I checked the guide but could not find this contest listed. I assume it was an "off the books" affair, probably to avoid protests by vegans.
I spent a lot of time in the livestock pens, taking photographs of the wide variety of animals on display, such as the moo cow (I am using the technical term here) named Pete, seen in the photograph on the right. Considering that they have given this animal a name, I hope that the ranch who owns it doesn't intend to sell it to a slaughterhouse. To me that would be just a bit too heartless. Just a bit.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the show was seeing the zebus - a rare breed of miniature cattle - two of which can be seen in the photograph on the left. Breeders raise these animals for their beef, as pets, or as mini oxen to pull loads. They have also been used as therapy animals in nursing homes. And once again I have to ask: Can these animals be house-broken? If not, it has to get pretty messy if they are adopted as house pets.
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