# Tips for Setting Up



## NewbieNubian (Nov 7, 2011)

I wanted to get some pictures of my goats where they're actually set-up correctly, though I especially wanted to know this for when I finally get my buck home so I can have him properly critiqued. I've never shown dairy goats, seen boer shows, and have done cattle (beef and dairy) shows in the past, as well as horses. Can I compare setting up a goat to any of these?

Just from what I've seen I'm assuming that, usually, the front feet are set square and back feet can be set square or slightly off-set depending on the animal (having them slightly offset is okay and works better in some, correct?), head held up, and don't stretch them out too much.

Do I about have it? Any other pointers? Is setting up a buck any different than setting up a doe?


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## SugarBush Farms (Apr 19, 2012)

In dairy cattle and beef you offset the hind legs depending on where you are in the ring or where the judge is. You don't want to do this in goats. 
For goats they are set with front feet under their withers square and then hindlegs are set so that you can drop a line from their pinbones down the cannon bone or, in some cases a little farther depending on the goat. 
This is a good example of a squared up doe:









This doe's front legs are a bit too far back but her hindlegs are pretty good:









This is an example of setting hindlegs a bit too far back, but because of her confirmation it looks okay (she's probably on an incline too), though she is still a little over-stretched: 









This doe's hind legs good probably be a smidgen back.









A lot of it is finding where you can set your goat's feet to make them look good. I've got one who I have to set with her hindlegs farther from her front or her hocks turn in and I've got one I have to set closer or else she gets a dip in her back. Then I have the one's that as long as they are set up somewhat decently they look good.

This is a good guide to covering up conformational faults in the show ring (From Ober-The-Top Dairy goats):
"No matter how hard you try to disguise a fault on your goat, the judge is most likely going to notice while the goat is on the move, anyways. But it doesn't mean you can't try! However, it all depends on how honest you want to be.
"Wingy Elbows" or Loose Point of Elbows: After you set up the goat, you can put your knee into the elbow on the side of the goat closest to you, which in turn, hides the loose elbow on the other side, facing the judge, by pushing it out.
"Hocky"ness or Sickle-Hocked: A normal goat's hocks should be perpendicular to the ground from the rear, however, sometimes goats have incurving hocks that almost touch each other. When setting up the rear legs, twist the hocks outward slightly.
Unalert Goat: Goats love the sound of crinkling wrappers. To keep a goat alert during a show or long class, keep a wrapper in your pocket!
Splayed Hooves: You can use your foot to push or scooch the hooves together.
Weak Pasterns/ Bad Feet: You can kick sawdust or shavings from the ring around the goats' feet, however this can be considered dishonest. A judge is likely to see this fault while the goat is on the move, anyways.
Loose Udder Attachment: Do not seperate the rear legs too far from each other, so the udder is just hanging. The inside of the thighs of the legs should be barely touching the sides of the udder.
Steep Rump/ Downhill: Attempt to "punch down" the back, but watch for overangulation."

Setting up a buck is the same, you just don't have an udder to deal with. Sorry for the mini-book just wanted to make sure to cover everything.


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## COgoatLover25 (Dec 23, 2013)

^^I wish I could like this twice!!!


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## NewbieNubian (Nov 7, 2011)

Thank you SO much Sugar Bush Farms! Although I'm not planning on showing at this time, times could change! I want to wait and see how my buck matures and then I'll decide from there. He might turn out to be showy, and he might not.

More than anything, I wanted to know because I had a plan for after I get my buck home to, once a month (preferably on the same day every month) to set him up and get a full 360 set of pictures of him so I can watch his growth and progress. Yes, I'm THAT excited about him. Haha.


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