4-H: more than meets the eye

THERMOPOLIS – For a lot of people the word 4-H brings to mind working with animals and learning the proper way to care for and show those animals. Along with the responsibility that goes with having something that depends on you for its survival.

But there is more to 4-H than that, 4-H helps strengthen family relationships. With Washakie, Big Horn and Hot Springs County fairs all in full swing the closeness of the families as they work together on the last minute preparations for showing is evident.

"4-H has brought our family closer together. We work together raising the animals, building pens and preparing the animals for showing," Hot Springs County 4-H parent Isabelle Willson said. "We are much closer and more active together now then we were before we started 4-H," she added.

Willson's two children are both active in 4-H. Her son Jean-Luc started showing at the Hot Spring County Fair three years ago, showing swine. The next year he, along with his little sister Rosalie showed swine, rabbits and dogs. This year he is showing swine, rabbits, dogs and lambs and Rosalie is showing swine, rabbits and dogs.

Jean-Luc Willson explained that he enjoys going to the 4-H meetings and working with the animals. He said that he enjoys being with the animals, especially the pigs because they are so much fun. The lambs he said aren't much fun because they just stand there.

Wednesday morning Jean-Luc and Rosalie Willson showed their rabbits during the Hot Springs County Fair 4-H rabbit show, each receiving grand champion in their class. Jean-Luc showed his doe Roxy, who was the sole survivor of the family's attempt to breed rabbits and Rosalie showed her doe Stormy. The family hasn't decided if they are going to attempt to breed again, Isabelle said, because their buck is much smaller than the does and gets intimidated.

Jean-Luc explained the process that must be followed for the showmanship class. How he needs to be prepared to answer questions about the proper care of his rabbit and what to look for to make sure his rabbit is healthy. He also explained that the reason that judges ask exhibitors to rest their animal on their back, which is not a normal position for a rabbit, is two-fold. The first reason is because that it's the best way to look at all the parts of the animal, the belly, the legs, the tail and the sex. The second reason is because it shows the judge that the member has been working with their rabbit and creating trust. "It took me three to four practice sessions with my rabbit before she learned and I have the battle scars from those sessions when her back legs started kicking," he said.

Isabelle Willson stated that next year the children would be showing the same animals as this year, but Jean-Luc seemed to have other ideas, so a different breed of animal may be finding its way to the Willson home and to the Hot Springs County Fair next year.

There is another side to 4-H that does not included animals and teaches skills to prepare members for the future. Skills such as cake decorating, citizenship, food preservation, leather craft and shooting to name only a few of many, which involve parents and children working together, thus strengthening their relationships.

According to the 4-H website, "4H serves youth in rural, urban, and suburban communities in every state across the nation. 4H'ers are tackling the nation's top issues, from global food security, climate change and sustainable energy to childhood obesity and food safety.  4H out-of-school programming, in-school enrichment programs, clubs and camps also offer a wide variety of STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math] opportunities – from agricultural and animal sciences to rocketry, robotics, environmental protection and computer science – to improve the nation's ability to compete in key scientific fields and take on the leading challenges of the 21st century."

4-H is about family, Isabelle Willson said.