Livestock shows are very competitive today. Whether you have a goal to win your showmanship division or be competitive in class, you must put in the time and hard work prior to going to a show. The team at Showpig.com was fortunate enough to sit down with American Royal showmanship judge, Aimee Inskeep, to do a deep dive on Showpig Showmanship. From Farmland, Indiana, Aimee is married to her husband Bradley, and they have 2 boys, Cooper and Dylan.  Aimee graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Animal Agribusiness and was on the 2008 Purdue Livestock Judging Team. Today she works at her family farm, Shaffer Goldrush, a boar stud and show pig operation.  In addition to judging at the American Royal this year, Aimee has judged pigs shows all over the country and Canada. In part 1 of this two part series, Aimee gives an in depth look at the work at takes at home to get showmanship ready…

Now that your pig is home…

Getting a new set of pigs is always an exciting time in the barn. Pigs are named, goals are set, and dreams of the show season are discussed. As soon as your pig gets home, it is time to get to work. The first and one of the most important steps is to get to know your pig. You have to build that trust with each other.  

Each pig is different just like people and each has their own unique personality. Understanding that early will help you in the training process. One of the first things we do when we bring a new set into the barn is to sit in the pen with the pigs. We will have a show whip in one hand and then a brush in the other. We hold the whip so that the pig can chew on the end of it and work up to where they are following the end of the whip around the pen. We will also try to gently brush them and pet them as they warm up to us. Another thing we do is give them a treat. Our favorite treats in the Inskeep barn are marshmallows. We use the big marshmallows and then more recently, we have started using marshmallow fluff. Generally, in a few days, you can gain their trust.  

Once your pig is settled in and trusts you, it is time to start training them to walk.  Everyone has their own approach on how they like to handle this next step and over the years we have tried several different approaches. Before we get into to the nitty gritty of making this happen, here are some gentle reminders:

• Breaking a pig can be one of the most frustrating experiences, especially if you have a hardheaded pig. It is important to keep your cool, stay calm and make it a positive experience for both the pig and showman. 

• Rome wasn’t built in a day and your pig will not be whipped and show broken in a day. Consistency is the key. It is finding a routine that works for your family.  Currently we have a few pigs on feed to show this winter. Our routine is the boys get off the bus at the farm, I finish up what I have going on at the office and then we are home by 4:15 to 4:30 to walk and work with pigs. I have found that this time, my boys are more focused on working with them. Plus, during the winter months it is getting dark earlier, the temps are colder, and the boys play winter sports and have practice later in the evenings as well. However, during summer months, walking pigs earlier in the morning before the heat of the day works best for us for the main walk of the day and then we typically practice showmanship in the evening. 

How to go about training your pig at home 

Start small and work your way up. Think of it like training for a marathon. Your first day, you are not going to go out there and run a full marathon, you would practice and train for the race. Also, it is very important to start working with pigs when they are little versus when they are bigger, as it is much easier to handle them when they weigh less. 

Day 1 – the goal should be to just get them out of the barn. If you have more than one, take them out in a group if possible. Once they are outside the barn and on the grass, we just let them hang out for a bit, getting used to the grass and being outside. We also give them a treat at this time as a reward.  

Day 2 – If day one goes great, then we start walking them the next day. Our goal is to spend about five minutes with them in the yard, giving them a treat about half way through. Start with letting them get used to the whip and how to respond to it. 

TIPS for walking:

1. Start small and work your way up

2. Getting started, it is easier to work in a group where they have friends. 

3. If you have an older pig that is trained, use them in the breaking process as the lead pig.  

4. If you have younger kids, it is easier to break pigs when the kids are not around.  Those first few times, adults/older kids need to take the lead so the pigs can understand their role. 

5. For pigs that are very slow and like to start and stop, it is best to have a friend out there with them to help them move. For more stubborn pigs, this can take a few weeks to break.  

6. For pigs that like to run, stay calm but in charge. Keep the whip on their head to make them slow down. Have someone who can walk fast to keep up and make the pig slow down. If running is a major issue, have someone else out there to help stay in front of the pig. Sometimes, you need to wear the pigs down a bit before you get practicing. Once a pig knows that they can get past you, they will. You have to break that habit.  

7. When waking we are tapping pigs on their sides, neck and under their chin. You tap the side to get them moving, their neck to turn, and under the chin to keep their head up. Never tap them on their top, butt or the back of the back legs.  

Day 5-10ish – Once your pig will go outside with ease and have a basic understanding of what to do, we start working on showmanship. This is getting the pig’s head up, proper show speed and building your bond. We have tried many methods for getting a pig’s head up and I think using 2 whips or show utensils is the easiest. Tap the pig under its jowl (chin area), consistently over and over to teach them to keep their head up. Some pigs do this naturally, other pigs it takes time and practice. Other things you can do at home to help train them to keep their heads up is have their water and feeders high to where they need to reach for it. Also, when you give treats, always have them look up with their head up before giving them the treat.  

Once your pig is broke… 

You have been working hard with your pig to get them broke, now what? Now is the time to really start preparing for a showring environment.  When we are walking, we like to either walk for endurance or walk to practice showmanship.  

Walking for endurance is building our pig’s stamina up for the show. We start out small with a goal that your pig can walk a good 20 to 30 minutes without getting tired. Most classes at shows will be 10 to 12 minutes long, so your pig will need to be able to get up to the show ring arena, show, and back to their pen without being tired. In showmanship it is very common for there to be multiple heats, your pig needs to be able to go during that entire time.  

The other way we walk is with the intent of practicing showmanship. This is where we turn our yard into a show arena. We will set perimeters in the yard to be the show ring.  This can be with spray paint, cones, buckets, or trees in the yard. Have a family member be the judge and drive to them. If you are older and practicing without an adult outside, use a tree or bucket as your judge that you are driving too.

It is important to continue working with your pig at home on a daily basis and change things up. We like to change up the routine of the route we take in the yard, so the pigs don’t learn the routine and get hard to handle because they want to go back into the barn. Once they are broke, we also like to walk them out in the yard by themselves or with different partners, so they don’t become reliant on just one pig. If you are more of a visual learner, video yourself walking out in the yard so you can watch and see the areas you need to improve. If possible, we like to get out to a jackpot or open show a few weeks prior to our target show to get practice in the ring. However, don’t underestimate the value of putting in the extra work at home to get ready for the big day!

For more tips to get you the nod on showmanship day, check out Showmanship 101 Part 2!