Standards & Judging problems with the Head and neck

• The Horns (see Classic)
• The Roman Nose (see Classic)
• The Neck (see the Doe in the Neck section)
• The Feminine look (see the Doe in the Neck section)

"Classic"
World Champion South African Buck

The Boer standards are "Horns should be dark, round, strong, of moderate length, positioned well apart and have a gradual backward curve before turning outward symmetrically". Our problems with the horn standards and judging are:

1. If you look at the above picture of classic on the right, you will see that the horns curve backwards near the neck and then curve outward. In many animals, the horns will come back so close to the neck that, at an older age, the horns start rubbing on the neck. It will rub off all of the hair and can start rubbing on the skin enough to cause sores and infections. The picture to the right is an example of such a set of horns. The horns are set wide a part at the base but because they curve back towards the body, they now are continuously rubbing the neck causing problems. We know of many "Ennobled" bucks that eventually had to have their horns cut off because of the problems it was causing to the neck.
2. The standards want the horns positioned well apart at the base to minimize the chance of another animal's leg getting caught between the horns and break or injure the leg. The same thing can occur if the horns come back close to the neck and another animal's leg gets caught between the horn and the neck. There is much less chance of any of that occurring if the horns come out of the head in a more upward direction and quickly spread out. That keeps the horns wide and far away from the neck. However some judges will call this a "wild set of horns" and dramatically move the animal down.
3. Many breeders that are serious about showing their animals and gathering ennoblement points will change the natural shape of the horns to look like what the judges want to see in a "quality Boer look". I don't mean that they sand the horns down to make them smooth. They actually change the shape of the horns to come back smoothly near the neck and stop the ends from coming out too much. I have had directors and judges tell me how I could improve the horn set on some of my animals to do better in the show. That includes vices, weights, grinders, etc. Directors and judges know this is going on and nothing is done about it. This is the same as if I were to clip extra teats off of a doe so they would have a "clean look". Shaping the horns don't change the genetics and many breeders breeding with their animals for that perfect horn set, will be very disappointed when the kids come out looking like a unicorn. We guarantee we have not nor will ever change the shape of our animals' horns. We believe that is unethical and most breeders that do it would not willingly tell you they do it. Also, we guarantee our breeding program will focus on having horns similar to the ones to the right that come up out of the head and quickly turn away from the neck and body. That is justified, the horn standards are not.

A good example of ennobled horns that are causing problems with the animal's neck.

Below is a show buck and you can see the horns touching the neck.... but the judges love it.

Picture of two of our young breeding bucks. Notice the horns are positioned wide apart at the base but come up more than on Classic and the horns quickly spread away from the neck. This makes it nearly impossible for another animal's leg to get caught and the horns will never come into contact with the bucks neck. This is the preferred way we like our animals horns to be.

Look at how strong of a Roman Nose this world champion Boer has. Remember back to shows and production sales when  the judge talked about how nice of a head the animal had and the beautiful Roman nose.  The show breeders put too much emphasis on how the head looks and the value some judges give it. There is NO justification for a Roman nose in the standards. When I questioned an ABGA director giving a Boer Goats 101 lecture, they finally admitted that there is no justification for the nose other than it makes the head look strong. In the same lecture, they were talking about a bad mouth. The speaker stated that breeders did not see bad mouths before the Boer breed came to the US. Many breeders believe the Roman nose may be the cause of Boers getting a bad mouth. The bottom jaw is straight and will grow out straight. However, with the Roman nose, part of the upper mouth will be growing straight out similar to the lower jaw but some of the growth must grow up to give the Roman nose curve. That means the lower jaw may have more growth outward than the upper part of the mouth. This may cause the animal to have a bad bite as it grows older. Also, the Roman nose is a cull factor in the Kiko standards. It is a cull for the very reason discussed above. Also consider if you take a small piece of hose and start to bend it. The hose will start to pinch as the hose is curved more and more. That means an animal with a strong Roman nose may have problems with air moving through the nostrils. We do not have any focus on having strong Roman nose genetics in our breeding herd.

The trend in shows has been for animals to have longer, thinner looking necks. The picture to the right is a good example of an animal that is winning in shows because of the long, thin neck. This is another feature that has no justification for wanting it in an animal. The look came about from the show wethers. The breeders wanted a look to make the animal look longer and that is exactly what the long, thin neck does. Several of the breeders that were creating the look were also judges.

There is a problem with a longer, thinner neck. What do you think makes the neck look longer? Do you think there are more bones in the neck to cause that? No. I asked a vet about this and he said there can be more space between the neck bones that would cause it. Do you think that makes the neck stronger or weaker? Have you ever seen goats butt heads?  We prefer a strong, thick neck that is strong and it is a good source of meat for steaks.

The picture above  is a good example of what some judges are looking for and will give the animal a better chance of winning because of the "feminine look". I went through judges training with South African breeders as the trainer. When they discussed the standard for Does needing to look feminine, I asked what that meant. They stated it meant to not look "bucky" because in their experience, Does that looked like bucks were more likely to have breeding problems.  This is where, I believe, the judges go overboard. Many of them believe if it is good for a Doe to be feminine enough to not look like a buck then the more feminine they look, the better they are. That is just not true. If the Doe has some genetics that cause her to look bucky, that is a problem. However, if there are no genetics making the Doe look bucky, then she should have no breeding problems and looking "more feminine" does not mean she will be an even better breeder. We prefer a Doe to not look bucky but be a strong animal that can handle making a living in the pastures and a large enough body to carry multiple kids during pregnancy. Notice the small barrel shape of the body in the picture above.  The picture to the right is our Miss Mandy. She has the characteristics we like in a young Doe. Notice how much deeper her body is compared to the one above. Miss Mandy also has the stronger neck, her back doesn't dip behind the shoulders, larger heart girth for more room for internal organs, horns growing away from the body, less Roman Nose and stronger chest area. The last "plus" for Miss Mandy and our two young bucks above are, none of them have ever required deworming. Miss Mandy has now gone 21 months without being dewormed. We believe that Doe above is made for showing and not for having multiple kids and surviving in the pastures. Miss Mandy does make a living in the pasture, is carrying multiple embryos and has a high immunity to worms. The deep body and strong neck cause Miss Mandy to look shorter than the other Doe but that is not true.

The Doe above is what is winning in the show ring. The Doe to the right is the genetics of our future herd. The meat goat industry does not eat show ribbons.