Market goat showmanship can be difficult to master. With knowledge, work, and consistency, you can become a top showman, too. Learn the steps it takes to make sure you and your wether have your game faces on come show time.
Before you start on showmanship, make sure you acclimate your market wether to their new home. You can read about that in a previous blog post!
What to Learn for Market Goat Showmanship
- Basic goat anatomy
- Cuts of meat and their location
Neck, shoulder, rack, loin, leg, flank, breast & fore shank - What an ideal market goat should look like
Level top; long trim neck; round rib shape; wide, deep, and long loin; well-muscled leg; feet and legs are square under animal; wide-based; strong, straight pasterns; and smooth shoulder. - Breeds of meat goats
Boer, Spanish, Kiko, Mytonic & Pygmy
Teaching Your Goat
Desensitizing
Your goat may be sensitive to the movements, sounds and other actions of humans, dogs and anything they might come in contact with. Before getting a halter or chain, spend time with them in their pen during the first week. Calmly walking through them gives the animal a chance to become comfortable with and build trust with you. It’s important to become your animal’s friend before any other training.
Halter Breaking
After a week of desensitizing, start putting a halter or chain on your goat. We recommend starting with a halter as it holds their face more comfortably and provides more control. Starting with a chain may be more difficult as it can choke the animal. Tie the goat to a fence with a halter. This allows them to get used to the halter’s pressure. Always tie them up so you can free them quickly in case of an emergency.
Lead Breaking
Untie the goat from the fence once they get used to the halter (this may take a few times). Begin gently pulling them to show how the halter applies pressure to command them to walk forward. If they don’t want to move their feet, you can keep turning them into themselves in a circle. This will force the animal to move their feet to maintain balance. They will then learn to pick up their feet.
Ensure you aren’t overworking your animal in this step. Train them in 15-minute sessions once per day. You should give them a 15-30-second break after working for two minutes. This will allow them to catch their breath and process what’s happening around them.
Chain Breaking
Once your goat is successfully halter broke, you can add the chain into the mix. This is what you will show your animal with. While using the halter, put a chain on them to start introducing the new pressures. The key pressures the goat should learn lifting their head up and walking. Once they get used to the chain, remove the halter and practice walking and standing with just the chain.
Do not be surprised if they backslide in their training when you switch over to a chain. These are two completely different tools, so it may take them a few sessions to reaquaint themselves with the process. If you feel your animals is excessively pulling back with the chain, give them a break. The last thing you want to do is choke your animal.
Show Practice
Once your goat move and stand on the halter or chain, start practicing placing legs and bracing. Set them square underneath themselves without over-stretching them too wide or long. Lift their head up so they are elevated when walking. Work your way up to putting them in show stance for 10-20 minutes (this may take a few weeks of working with them). Practice walking them around and placing them back into show stance.
Work with your animals as much as you can, but make sure you don’t overwork them. While you eventually want to get to your goat to work with you for an hour every other day, you will have to work up to this length. For example, if your goat
In the Show Ring
Familiarize Yourself
When you get to the show, find out where the show ring is and study the set up. Where do animals enter and exit? Are there low or high spots within the ring to avoid when you are showing?
Additionally, if you are not in the first class, watch the show for a few minutes. This will allow you familiarize yourself with how the judge works through classes. Which way should you walk as you come in? Where will you set your animal up? Are there practices the judge seems to like or dislike? How does the judge place the classes?
Most times, you will enter the ring and walk the animal clockwise. You should always have the animal between you and the judge. This means that most times, you will be on the left side of the animal. This allows the judge to get as many looks and angles as possible of your market wether. Once you stop, keep the goat’s shoulder even with your front leg and its head in front of you. Showmen should hold the collar using their right hand palm facing upward towards the goats head. Let your left arm and hand relax next to your side. There is no need for you to place your left arm behind your back.
Bracing Your Goat
Bracing market goats in the show ring has become more and more popular over the last few years. It’s now best practice to brace your market goat in the show ring when the animal is set up. Bracing allows you to accentuate your animal’s muscle shape and mass. It’s especially helpful when the judge handles your animal so they can get a better feel for how much muscle your animal truly has.
To properly brace an animal, the showman’s hands, knees, and feet must be positioned correctly. This may differ based on the showman’s size and what feels natural. Use the combination of hand, knee, and foot positioning that works best for you and the goat.
Techniques may change as you become taller and stronger. Whatever technique you use, it’s important to balance what’s comfortable for you with what makes your goat look its best. You can lift your goats’ front feet off the ground slightly to set them or cue the beginning of a brace. However, all four feet should then remain on the ground for the remainder of bracing. Holding an animal off of the ground can be uncomfortable for the goat. In addition, this technique often makes a goat look worse because the animal will “dip” in front of its hip, causing it to lose its loin shape.
To discuss technique further, the goats ears should always remain in their natural position. Some may feel that raising the ears gives an illusion of a longer neck. But anything other than a natural look distracts from the animal’s important qualities and offers no advantage.
Attentiveness & Moving Around the Ring
Know where the judge is and stay alert at all times. At any moment, the judge may handle your goat or ask you to move to another place in the show ring. Moving goats from one point to another is just as important as correct positioning of their feet and bracing. A goat on the move allows the judge an opportunity to evaluate the animal’s structure and true muscle shape.
When a judge asks you to move to another location, take the most direct path available while not getting too close to the judge. The showman should maintain eye contact with the judge while occasionally looking at the desired destination. When you’re required to change sides, you must move around the front of the goat, always facing the animal. Never change hands behind your back, and do not step behind the goat. Remember, this is a market show. The most important parts of the animal to show off are where they pack muscle product (rack, butt and leg). Obstructing the view of any of these parts (like stepping behind the goat) will deduct you points in the judge’s mind.
Sportsmanship
At the end of the day, showing goats should be a fun competition. No matter if you win or lose, you should be able to walk out of the show ring with pride and congratulate those around you. Further, reach out with a helping hand to those in need.
Give us a Shout!
Do you need additional help? Feel free to contact us through our contact form, or shoot us a message on Facebook. We’re always happy to set you up for success.
All images courtesy of Megan Berg of Flying M Photography. You can find Flying M Photography on Facebook or their website.
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