# I need some fitting/clipping tips



## Calico Patch Farm (Mar 8, 2011)

Since I'm in 4-H, we are judged on fitting and showmanship. I have the showmanship part down, but no matter how hard I try, I just seem to really stink at fitting. I have to fit both pygmies and NDs and any tips and pics would help a lot. I'm not sure why the judges never like my work, they just don't so I must be doing something wrong. 

I will be clipping our ND bucks sometime in the next week and I will post before and after pics so you guys can see my work and tell me what looks good vs. bad. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I'm no help, but wanted to wish you well and I am sorry the judge is being hard on you. Maybe you can post some pictures of your goats to show others what they are looking like so they have an idea on what areas you need help on?

My kids are showing young percentage boers in 4-H and clipping is not my thing LOL I think our biggest problem though is avoiding the sunken in look. It's just been sooooo hot and humid no body wants to eat during the day...going to be real fun when the kids show next week and trying to keep the goats looking full!


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## Calico Patch Farm (Mar 8, 2011)

I will try. Let me see if I have any. I don't know if I have good ones though. Most of the pics I have are of goats that my mom helped me with. That's why I'm going to post pics of the bucks because I'm going to do them by myself. I think my problem is blending and that they just don't look smooth enough.


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## Calico Patch Farm (Mar 8, 2011)

Here is a pic of Danni from last year. She didn't go to the fair because she's a really old girl, I just practiced on her. It's not really close enough though to tell.










I will clip at least one of the bucks on Wednesday and take close up pics so you can really see them.


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## polopony (Jun 24, 2011)

If it is a dairy goat we body clip the entire goat using a #10 blade. Meat does are just lightly sculpted. Market wethers are body clipped from the knees and hocks up. Don't know if that helps or not.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Some tips...

-bathe goats before clipping and again a day before the show
-after bath(s) spray some showsheen on
-make sure to clip hooves within a few days before show
-clean off bottom of hooves with water and wet towel the day of show
-take a wet cloth or baby wipe and wipe down inside of ears, nose, under tail, and udder if a little dirty
-for dairy goats in milk...shave udder properly right down to the skin with a 40 or 50 blade
-make sure udder has at least a 12 hour fill at time of showing
-don't leave any longer hairs left behind after shaving...get legs shaved completely, under belly, etc.

Cleanliness is a big one. You also want your goat to be in ideal weight and look shiny and healthy with a sleek good looking coat. Here's one of my does that i've done senior showmanship with 4x and have won every time. This is right after the show. That little bump on her spine is actually just a bit of hair that goat pushed up...wish I would have seen that before I took the pics.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

to get those nice clean looking goats you want to do long strokes with the clippers and overlap sections. Also stretch the skin to help you not get those "skip" lines. To do the elbow skin area you want to hold the leg up and scoop in from the outside. 

All clipping for goats is against the grain (meaning clipping in the opposite direction the hair grows). People clippers dont work as nicely, you will want a pet or horse clipper. I use the horse clippers with an 84AU blade


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## martha547 (Jul 3, 2013)

i'm relatively new at showing but here are some tips people have passed on to me
-if your goats have black hoofs use black shoe polish, or if white use shoe shine
-after you clean the butt use a cue-tip to put Vaseline on, incase the goat poops before you go into the show ring any poop will roll right off and it will stay clean 
-baby whipes are your best friend! they help with ears, nose and plenty else. be sure to have a trash nearby your tack area to throw things like these away after you use them, you want everything to be cleaned up 24/7 for herdsmanship!
-to clean feet you can buy denture cleaning tablets that dissolve in water.. you put a tablet into a bucket w/water and put the goats foot in the bucket for a few minutes each and it cleans the feet
-for clipping feet you want to make sure they are even. if you look closely at hooves you will see lines going horizontally, you want the lines to be parallel with the ground. if they arent then a hoof filer would help with that.
- for clipping or shaving your goat you want everything to be even. this was a big problem for me my first year showing. before you put the clippers down take a few steps back and look everything over, once you see something thats not thorough throughout the rest of the goats body take the clippers to it. it may take a long time but a good clipping job makes or breaks a goat! 
hope i could help!


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## TrinityRanch (Mar 26, 2013)

This thread is two years old! You do have some nice tips, but there are plenty of newer clipping threads that you could share them on, so that they can be seen by someone who needs help


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