# Setting up A Dairy Goat



## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Hiho fellow goat show-ers! We've been showing dairy goats for 4-H for 8 or 9 years now, but still need some help. I have 2 daughters. One is 14 and one is 16. I also have a 12 year-old 4-Her leasing a show goat from me. They show Nigerians and LaManchas.

The girls are all terrific in their fitting skills and in moving in the show ring, but - even after all these years - we aren't exactly clear what we're supposed to be accomplishing by "setting-up" our goats. Nor are we sure what the correct procedure is - ie. front and rear leg placement and how to find the little "pinchy" spot on their backs.

Does anyone know of a good demo article or video that could help us?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Not sure. I bet someone on here knows.


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## Bree_6293 (Aug 4, 2014)

Interested in this. I started showing this year and would love to learn to set them up properly


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

Generally, you want the hocks to line up with the pin bones, it's ok if they are slightly further back though, depends on the goat. And you also, generally, want the point of toe to line up with the start of the withers. 

Don't scrunch them down too close to the hips because they will drastically squat down. You want your hand a little further up from the hips. 

Here's some pictures of the girls, past greats and currents to give you an idea of where their legs are set. Notice for some their rear legs are a little further back than lined up with the pins? That is usually to level the rump some more, or show the fore more when there is a lack of extension. Some will also require their front legs to be placed further forward or back depending on the shoulder assembly and brisket extension.

The last picture shows roughly when you pinch them down. 1/3 way up from the hips roughly


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Oh, THANK YOU! That's exactly what we were looking for! Thank you so much, Little Bits and Pieces!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

What a gorgeous group of goats!!!


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Little bits biggest picture is just about the perfect stance you are looking for.

Head up high helps the blending of neck and shoulders.
Front legs straight up and down under the shoulder helps raise the front end of the goat as high as possible to get that "uphill" look.
Thats the easy part. Its the back half of that goat that takes a bit of work to set up cause you are trying to blend so many things into the back leg placement.

Back legs should be parallel with the animals butt. Should be able to draw a straight line down from butt to the legs. This is the correct placement. This should show equal halves of the udder infront and behind the back legs, levelness of rump and angulation to the rear legs. BUT its not easy to create a goat that all this falls into place. If you look to the right of the big picture, at the smaller picture, you can see that the back leg facing the camera is a little more forward then the does other back leg. This is to compensate for animals slight lacking in rear udder. This is because its better to show a more correct udder then leg placement. More points on the udder. It should be noted that udders can change shape drastically through out the day as they fill. Many does dont fill their rear or fore udder till they are very full. 

Not saying this to cut on your beautiful animals Bits, just pointing out the reasons. As we can both testify to, its very difficult to make an animal with a perfect back end. There is nearly always something off. And even if you do get lucky enough to have an animal that has all the major components where they are suppose to be, more of then not, they have something small like towing out to mess up an otherwise perfect goat.

OH almost forgot. Try to re frame from pinching down your goat as the judge is focused on you.


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

Yep, no animal has a perfect hind end or udder, so you have to figure out how to place their legs to the best of their advantage. 
When you set up a dairy cow, you always place the hind leg to the judge further forward, so if you have a doe with less of a rear udder, or one that is "flat" not rounded, placing the rear leg a little more forward will show more rear udder. 

Here's another group of does, and some rear shots. You don't want to spread their back legs too much, but enough that it shows the udder off well. It's all about setting them up to their advantage while still, and hold their head up high and keep a smooth pace while walking them. Even the best showman can't make a goat look picture perfect in motion. Motion shows all flaws, but you still need to set them the best you can when you stop.


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## fernlily (May 19, 2016)

Great info. Thanks


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Oooo...I want one of those!


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