Goat Showmanship

1. Goat Showmanship Here are some helpful hints for your experience in showing goats.

2. Facilities Your pens need to have a nice area of shade during the heat of the day. Also you need to have a place for the goats to play. CLEAN , FRESH, Water is one of the most important factors in raising a goat

3. Exercise There are many ways to exercise such as using a track dog, a chariot, a treadmill, obstacles in the pens, and a walker. A track dog is where you have a track about 60 ft. long and is in a oval most the time. You let loose your animal and have a dog that is trained to listen to your command. “Get ‘em, down, and reverse.” A chariot is where you have a trailer that you attach to a vehicle like a four wheeler . The animals front feet are on the trailer while you are moving.

4. Exercise A treadmill is quite easy to use because you put your goat in it, and the goats have to walk. Obstacles are the simplest because the goats play on them on their own time. A walker much like a treadmill ,you tie the head up and the goat must walk. This also helps teaching the goat to be lead well.

5. FEEDING Feeding is important to get your final result. There are many ways to feed. It is good to separate the animals when feeding . Some people like to have a ramp but this can break down the loin and most people try to keep from it.

6. Shearing Shearing is one of my favorite things in my experience while showing goats. It is where the little detail really matters. When shearing ,you clip everything from his head to the center of his knees. You want to clip a little around his hooves but you don’t want to do to much. Try to make it as natural can be. • When doing your knees try to blend and don’t make it an obvious line. • When you get to the tail, shear along with the hair and make a small poof.

7. Showmanship Showing is very important whenever in the ring but it is not everything. You must work with your goat often in order to get your technique down perfect. There are many different techniques used and I use a couple of them. It all depends on your goat and what needs it has. If you show on your feet the main reason to use this is if your goat likes to hump up or if your goat just likes it better. Another technique as is demonstrated to the left is just a personal preference but takes a lot to get down right . This also looks very official.

8. Showmanship Counts When in a large class showmanship makes a big difference. Remember always have an eye on the judge

9. Every Goat has it’s day • Every goat has good days and bad days, so some days he wont work so don’t get angry at your goat.

10. Have Fun With Your Project!!!