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hair two weeks before the show. This way it will
be easy for the judge to observe his conformation
and muscling. If you wait until right before the
show, the clipper marks will show and he will
look less smooth. He might also catch a cold and
then not present himself well in the show ring.
Your goat should be clean before you clip
him. You can bathe your goat with a mild soap if
he is really dirty. Otherwise, brushing should be
enough. You can use the same type of animal
clippers that are used on dairy animals (sheep
shears will not work for goats). Clip the hair to
about 1/2 inch in length. Usually the hair below
his knees or hocks is not clipped. This gives your
goat a more solid appearance. If you don't clip
these areas, make sure you blend the hair a little
at these junctions. You will also want to "bob" the
Putting your goat on a stand and in a head lock will help when you trim your goat.
end of the tail. Find the end of the bones in the
tail and leave about an inch of hair after that.
Trim your goat's hooves 7–10 days before the
show. Just in case you trim too close, this allows
enough time for the goat to heal so he doesn't
limp.
On the morning of the show, either brush or
wash your goat depending on how dirty he is. If
you wash him, make sure he is completely dry
before you bring him into the show ring. Make
sure to scrub all the manure off of his hooves.
Clean out his ears, nose, and tail web with baby
wipes or wet paper towels. If you rub a baby
wipe over his body before he goes into the ring,
he will have a slightly shinier appearance.
The Roundup
47
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