The best thing to do is to allow the mother to lick the calf clean and dry. This action will also warm the calf up. Sometimes we get too much in a hurry and don't let the mother do her job. In addition, sometimes when humans get too close to the dam after the birthing process, she will become nervous and not do her job.
In this situation, if everything else is O.K., just go away for a while and let the mother and calf "mother up." If it is really cold, by all means, move the dam and calf to the calving shed and pen them together and let her finish her job. If the dam is injured during the calving process, then dry the calf with a towel.
