# Fitting/grooming



## npavlick (Jun 4, 2013)

My 4-H advisor does a great job clipping all of our market goats but what else can I do to get the extra advantage. I read somewhere that trimming there hair around their hooves makes them appear larger boned do I did it and it looks half decent. It has a week to kinda grow in and smooth out. Can I polish hooves somehow. What other extra little things can I do to gain the extra edge in the ring.


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## goatgirl132 (Oct 18, 2012)

Someone said their judge checked to see if the go as teeth were brushed... 

And iv always wondered about polish on goats hooves I know they do it in horse showing.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Make sure their tails are clean, clean their hooves, make sure their nose and eyes are clean, make sure their ears are clean. You can do all that with a wet cloth or baby wipe.
Trim hooves a few days before the shows.
Work at getting any yellow stains out before the show. 
You can use a shoe shine on his hooves to really them a clean healthy shine, and to make them stand out, for dramatic impact.
You can scrub their teeth with a clean brush with nothing on it, but it is not necessary, the judge was probably checking their age.
If your Boer has horns you can polish them with a bit of oil, but not all shows allow it.
Brush them really well, keep the clean, bathe them every day or two 2 weeks before shows, bathe them every day at the shows. 
Put a coat conditioner on them after bathes.
Trim the hair at hooves with clippers for a dramatic, crisp line. Clipping the hair at the hoof gives it a really sharp appearance(stands out, looks good).
If there is any hair out of place you can use a wet wipe to set it back down.
Make sure their pens are really clean at the shows, both to please people and the judges walking by, and keep your goat really clean.
Make sure he is never out of water, or hay.


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## Baphomet (Jun 15, 2013)

Just learning how this works. So you have a group of market sized goats and now they are judged for sale? Is that like an auction or something? I don't know how this system works.


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## goatgirl132 (Oct 18, 2012)

Sort of. 
Their judged on how they look and how their going to do at show 
But on breed stock their judged on that and their breeding qualities.


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## TrinityRanch (Mar 26, 2013)

Baphomet said:


> Just learning how this works. So you have a group of market sized goats and now they are judged for sale? Is that like an auction or something? I don't know how this system works.


4-H, FFA, Grange, and independent showmen can take their project goats to shows/fairs/jackpot competitions and have their animals compared to each other's. The judge will rank them according to conformation and muscling, and then the showmen may or may not wish to sell their market goat at the end of the show (if it is a fair).


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## npavlick (Jun 4, 2013)

At my fair we are pretty much required to sell the animals. No one ever goes home with live market animals. The rule book says if you don't want your goat slaughtered then you automatically are out of the running for grand or reserve champion


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

Little-Bits-N-Pieces-ADG said:


> Make sure their tails are clean, clean their hooves, make sure their nose and eyes are clean, make sure their ears are clean.


These are probably some of the most missed areas on a goat. Definitely make sure they are clean, clean, clean.

If you want to do anything to the hooves, you can get some clear hoof polish (for horses) and paint their hooves with it. I would make sure their hooves are trimmed, you don't want to do it right before the show just in case you trim too short, but you can take a hoof rasp and keep them filed down so it doesn't look like they have any growth.

Check your water often, goats seem to like to poop in it when they are in little pens. Also if your goat is not drinking well you can add some molasses or a little gatorade to the water to give it some flavor and encourage them to drink, the fuller they are on water the plumper they will look. The only problem with the gatorade is it will stain their coat if they get it on them so you probably don't want to use that with your Boers. I would also encourage more salt intake, or offer some electrolytes to encourage your goats to drink more water. Also keep hay and feed available all the time, or however you do it at home.


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