Measuring the Balance
of an Animal's Body

 

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This is a measurement technique that came from South Africa breeders. I am hearing of it third hand. I have been told MD Shurley learned of this technique during his many trips to South Africa and the judges training in South Africa. Two different people have told me what MD that told them. The measurement is a technique to measure the proper balance of a goat's total body. The execution of the measurement is to take a piece of string/rope and start measuring the head. The length of the neck should be the same as the head and the same for the Rack, Loin and Rump. An animal with all five sections of equal length would be considered a well balanced animal.

I believe the measurement should be more than a string measurement where the data is lost after the measurement is done. We are adjusting the technique to help collect valuable data that can be utilized in additional measurements that will be described in another section. Our refined technique will include:

  • Document the measurement of each length in inches
  • Document the age of the animal at the time of the measurement
  • Additional uses of these measurements will be discussed in "Our Specific Measurements of Features" section

The different measurements are listed below with pictures showing each type of  measurement being taken. Look at "Goat Anatomy" page to reference the points of measurement.
1. Measure Head from poll to lower chin following couture of the nose 2. Measure the Neck from the poll of the head to where the shoulders connect to the body in the front. The neck measurement needs to keep constant angles of the neck because the measurement changes if the head is up, middle or down. 3. Measure the "Chine" or "Rack" area from the heart girth or end of the shoulder connection to the last rib.

4. Measure the Loin area from the last rib to the hip bone.

5. Measure the Rump area from the Hip bone to the Pin bone.
 

The pictures above are how the measurements were taken. The doe is Rambling Rose.
Click pictures to enlarge

I am not sure I agree on the need or value to have all five of these measurements be balanced. Just from the samples we have done so far, there seems to be very little difference in the head length and I would not put any focus on trying to get it to match. The neck is a very difficult measurement because the length changes according to if the animal is holding their head up or has it down toward the ground. I need to figure out a way to get a consistant comparison from each animal. We are not going to put any focus, at this time, on trying to breed for a longer neck. We have found no value or benefit in trying to increase the length of the neck or make it thinner as long as the neck does not look bucky. The last three measurements will be very important to us and they can be measured in a very consistant manner.
The table below will show some samples of our measurements on our own animals. All of our measurements will be added some where in our web site at a later time to totally share all of the info we are collecting and how we will be using it to evaluate our animals and our new kids to see if we are reaching the goals and objectives we have set in improving our herd. None of the goals/objectives will be associated with winning in the show ring. They will be associated with producing "goat meat".

 
Animal Age Head Neck Rack Loin Rump
Ramblin Rose 3 yrs 11 in. 15.5 in. 11 in. 12.5 in 12 in
Chatterbox 3 yrs. 11 in. 15.5 in. 8.5 in. 11 in. 11 in.
Ladybug 2 yrs. 11 in. 14 in. 7 in. 10.5 in 10.5 in.
Lucita 6 yrs. 11.5 in. 16 in. 10.5 in. 10.5 in. 10.5 in.
War Dancer
(buck)		 13 months 10.5 in 15 in. 10 in 10 in 13 in.
Sugar Lips 12 months 10 in. 14.5 in. 9 in. 8 in. 10.5 in.

The doe to the left and above is Sugar Lips at 12 months old. She was taken to the show and the judges said she needed a more feminine neck.

The picture of the paint below is Ladybug around 14 months old. If you notice in the measurements, Ladybug's neck at 2 years old is 14 inches while Sugar Lips, at 12 months old, is 14.5 inches. Sugar Lips has a longer neck at a younger age but doesn't look like it because she has a full, well fleshed neck just like the SA standards call for A major plus is the muscle Sugar Lips carries throughout her body but especially in the rear. I am not going to give up that rear for a thinner neck.

This is why we no longer have a lot of faith in the judges and their major focus on a thin, long neck. The neck carries meat and the consumers buy meat, not looks. We have several does like Sugar Lips that will go into our breeding program this fall. Both of these girls are great does