For most farmers, showing cattle is a sideline. For Garrett and Lyndsey Behan, who run the Clonagh pedigree herd from Ballyfin, Co. Laois, it is at the heart of everything they do.
The herd traces back to a single purchase at the RDS Spring Show in 1989 — a Simmental female called Clough Sandra, bought with a heifer calf at foot. From that foundation, Garrett and Lyndsey, farming 270 acres with the help of Garrett’s semi-retired father Tom, have built one of the most decorated pedigree herds in Ireland: approximately 300 head, primarily Simmental, with pedigree Limousin, Charolais, and Angus cattle also. The Simmental bull Clonagh Lucky Explorer — bred from the Sandra cow family — sold for €52,000, a European Simmental and Irish all-breeds record. Their cow Clonagh Darling Eyes won the Overall Simmental of the Year at Tullamore in both 2017 and 2018, before going on to claim the Simmental Miss World title at Farmfair International in Canada — the first European cow ever to win the award.
In a breeding and showing operation at this level, the difference between a good animal and a champion animal is narrow. Every decision — feeding, management, timing, supplementation — either builds that difference or erodes it. It was in this context that Garrett and Lyndsey came into contact with Natural Stockcare and began building a programme around three products: MuscleVite, the At Birth Syringe, and Supreme Finisher.
“Since starting to use the Natural Stockcare products, we’ve noticed definite signs in the animals,” says Lyndsey. “You can see they all look healthy, happy, they’re glowing.”
MuscleVite: Building the Cow Pre-Calving
The first product Garrett and Lyndsey introduced was MuscleVite, which they gave to cows in the pre-calving period — typically four weeks before calving down. For a pedigree herd where embryo transplant recipient cows frequently carry and calve embryos from flushes multiple times, the quality of that pre-calving window directly determines what comes out the other side.
“The cows were better quality — better colostrum. They cleaned straight away and they all came back cycling afterwards, and all these cows will be back carrying embryos again.”
In a commercial herd, a cow that cleans quickly and cycles back promptly is a good cow. In a pedigree embryo transfer programme, she is invaluable. The ability to return a high-value cow to the flush programme as quickly as possible after calving has a direct bearing on the genetics that can be produced and sold. MuscleVite’s role in supporting that recovery — through targeted nutritional support in the final weeks of pregnancy — is something Garrett and Lyndsey have seen clearly in their own herd.
At Birth Syringe: Getting Calves Going from the First Hour
Once a calf hits the ground, the clock starts immediately. The first hours after birth are critical — colostrum intake, getting to its feet, getting onto the cow — and anything that supports the calf in those early moments has a compounding effect on its entire early life.
Garrett and Lyndsey now use the At Birth Syringe on calves within six to seven hours of birth, often sooner. In a pedigree herd where individual calves can represent significant genetic and commercial value, that early intervention is straightforward to justify.
“They were up and kicking and flying straight away.”
The benefits, as Lyndsey describes them, work on multiple levels: “It gets the calf up and going straight away, encouraging it to suck the cow out, and then it helps their immune system going forward.”
For calves that will go on to compete at shows or be offered at sales, that strong start from day one sets the foundation for everything that follows. A calf that gets on its feet fast, sucks early, and builds passive immunity through quality colostrum is a calf that is already ahead.
Supreme Finisher: The Show Day Edge
The third product in Garrett and Lyndsey’s programme is Supreme Finisher, used in the period leading up to shows and sales. In showing, the presentation window is fixed and unforgiving — typically six weeks pre-sale and up to eight weeks pre-show. That is the only time available to have cattle looking their absolute best, and every day counts.
“It puts a great shine on them and a glow on them and they thrive when there’s good hair on them. The main thing is they’re healthy — it’s the whole thing. The benefits of Supreme Finisher are just to get that maximum performance out of the cattle. It’s all about performance.”
In a show ring, coat condition, bloom, and overall vitality are immediately visible to judges. Supreme Finisher supports that visible performance by driving the kind of condition that reflects genuine health from the inside — not cosmetic preparation, but animals that are genuinely thriving.
“You want your animal looking the best for the show day,” says Lyndsey. “So far this year it’s worked. We can see the benefits from our results.”
A Programme Built Around Performance
What sets Garrett and Lyndsey’s approach apart is that Natural Stockcare products are not used in isolation — they are integrated into a structured programme that follows the animal from pre-calving through birth and into the finishing and preparation period. Each product addresses a specific window: MuscleVite builds the cow and the colostrum, the At Birth Syringe gets the calf started right, and Supreme Finisher delivers peak condition at the point of competition or sale.
The results across that full programme have been consistent. “We’ve had a very healthy winter, healthy summer — January through to now,” says Lyndsey. “Since starting to use the Natural Stockcare products, we’ve noticed definite signs in the animals. You can see they all look healthy, happy, they’re glowing.”
For a family that has been breeding and showing pedigree cattle for over three decades — with nine Tullamore Show Overall Championships to their name — the standard of evidence is high. Natural Stockcare has met it.
For more information on MuscleVite, the At Birth Syringe, or Supreme Finisher, or to discuss a nutrition programme tailored to your herd, get in touch with our team.
