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Caprine Conformation Clinic

 

Evaluator:  Jean Harrison

Senior Does 2

Senior Does in milk

Entry #9

fergie (6)_edited.jpg

Owner comments:  F6 2nd freshener (April 2019)

Evaluator comments:

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This second freshener exhibits femininity, flatness of bone and freedom from excess fleshing. She has a strong head and a long, lean neck blending into sharp, prominent withers set well above the shoulder. She is full at the crops, with well-sprung ribs from the heart girth through to a deep flank, providing her adequate body capacity for a doe of her age and size. Her rump is long with well defined pin bones. When viewed from the side, her front and rear pasterns are strong. While standing a bit weighted on one leg, when viewed from the rear she shows rear legs that are nearly perpendicular from hock to pastern, with toes pointed forward. Her fore udder shows good extension, placement and size of teats, with a medial suspensory ligament that clearly defines udder halves. She must be commended on her breed character, especially in the set and length of ear.

 

I would suggest breeding this doe to a buck who is proven to lengthen and strengthen the topline, ideally imparting a stronger chine and hip placement that is slightly downhill from the withers; an integral part of that improvement is improving the angulation of the rear leg. A second area of focus for breeding decisions is increasing the area of udder attachment by improving the lateral attachments and the height and width of the rear udder attachment.

Entry #10

Owner comments:  First freshening 2yr old.

Evaluator comments:

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This smooth-blending doe exhibits good dairy strength in terms of openness and a strong, yet refined bone structure, with evidence of milk production appropriate for a first freshener. Her withers rise well above the shoulder blades and blend smoothly into her shoulders and crops. When viewed from the side, she exhibits a long body, long rump with a well-set tail and well-defined pin bones. From the side, her thigh is nicely incurved from the pin bone to the stifle; with commendable width in the hips, thighs, thurls and pin bones when viewed from above and rear. Her rear legs are well-angled, and set widely up into the escutcheon with pasterns of appropriate length and spring and toes that point forward. Her fore udder appears to be well blended with good extension, and medial suspensory ligament defining the udder halves. 

 

When selecting a buck to breed this doe to I would suggest focusing on improving the strength and capacity of the front end assembly, specifically in increasing the depth and width of the chest, depth in the heart girth and fullness at the point of elbow. A second area of focus would be to improve the height and width of the rear udder.

Entry #11

Owner comments:  FF 2yr old. Purebred (6th gen)

Evaluator Comments:

 

This elegant two-year old first freshener exhibits a strong framework, while being feminine, lean and smoothly blended throughout. She has a strong and level topline, with a prominent dorsal process with hips that are smoothly set and level with the back; her rump is nearly level from hips to pin bones. She is full at the point of shoulder, has excellent heart girth and length of body, and adequate depth for a doe her age. When viewed from the side, she stands on strong legs that are set squarely under her body, with clean thighs and well-angled rear legs. When viewed from the rear, her legs are straight and wide, with that width extending into the escutcheon. Her udder exhibits a strong medial suspensory ligament, supporting well-balanced halves and holding the udder well above the hocks. Her fore udder shows good extension and blending; the teats are well placed, plumb and well sized. When viewed from the rear, strong lateral attachments are evident and the rear udder is uniformly wide and deep into the udder floor.

 

When making breeding decisions for this doe, I would suggest selecting a buck who is proven to increase the width of chest and straighten the front legs and feet when viewed from the front. I also recommend focusing on improving the height of the rear udder.

Entry #12

Owner comments:

Evaluator comments:

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This large, wide-bodied doe has a powerful front end with a deep, wide chest and heart girth, fullness at the crops and elbow, and well-sprung fore ribs. Her width continues to show in her flank, loin, hips, thurls and thighs when viewed from above, and in the width in the escutcheon and between the hocks when viewed from the rear. When viewed from the side, she shows good length of body, and depth in the rear barrel when viewing the side udder photo. She has a long rump with well-defined pin bones. When viewing the side udder photo, she exhibits a balanced udder with good fore udder extension and blending into the body floor. When viewed from the rear, her medial suspensory ligament holds the udder above the hocks. She is to be commended on her excellent breed character in the head and ears as well as her color.

 

I would recommend breeding this doe to a buck who is known to increase the angulation of the rear legs and pasterns, and to straighten and tighten toes on the front legs and feet. A second area to focus on when making breeding decisions would be improving uniformity of the udder width when viewed from the rear, and increasing teat size.

Entry #13

Owner comments:

Evaluator comments:

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This dairy, flat-boned young doe exhibits a wide chest and good spring and depth of rib increasing into the flank, providing her good depth of rear barrel for a doe her size. Her withers are prominent above the shoulders and loin strong and wide. She has an extremely long, wide rump that is uniformly wide from the hips to the thurls, with wide, prominent pin bones and a well-set tailhead. When viewed from the rear, her legs are straight and hocks cleanly molded. She carries her udder well above her hocks, and when viewed from the side, she exhibits a commendable fore udder, showing both excellent extension and blending. It appears that she has adequate milk production for a doe her size. She must be commended on her breed character in terms of her roman nose and balance of head.

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When making breeding decisions for this doe, I would suggest selecting a buck who is proven to increase the strength and capacity in the front end, including improving depth of chest, straightening the fore legs, feet and tightening the toes when viewed from the front. My suggestion for continued improvements of this doe’s udder would be to use a buck who imparts more levelness in the rump to provide the anatomical geometry needed to balance the udder more evenly from front to rear.

Entry #14

Owner comments:

Evaluator comments:

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This pretty young doe exhibits a strong head that is clean-cut and well balanced in terms of length, width and depth. Her strong jaw cleanly blends into her long, lean neck, which blends smoothly into withers that are slightly higher than the hips. She has a wide, deep chest, is full at the elbow and shows good spring and depth of rib increasing into the flank. Her back is strong and level, with a wide loin blending into a rump that is proportionately wide from the hips to the thurls. When viewed from both the front and rear, her legs are straight and set squarely from side to side. She carries her udder well above her hocks, and exhibits a well extended for udder when viewed from the side.

 

When breeding this doe, I would suggest choosing a buck who imparts increased angulation of the rear legs and pasterns, improves strength of the front pasterns, and tight, forward-pointing toes overall. A second area to focus on when making breeding decisions would be increasing the overall area of udder attachment, including the lateral attachments and the height and width of the rear udder attachment

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