Whats the scoop on leg hair?

I'm going to get into the details and what I personally have learned about working with your goat's leg hair. If your an absolute Livestock geek like me when you see a leg fit perfectly you undoubtedly are drooling over the results longing for your goat's legs to look like that. Or if you have no idea what I'm talking about get ready to be introduced to a whole new aspect of animal husbandry you probably didn't realize was as big of a deal as it is.

So what's the deal with working leg hair and why do we do it? The major advantage of working your livestock leg hair is the day of the show depending on your show rules you may be able to do what we refer to as "Boneing up" a leg or "pulling". I will go ahead and go over fitting in a different post but essentially what this does is makes your goat appear to have more bone than it may or enhance the amount of bone he already has. We are trying to essentially make their legs look wider. This adds a huge advantage and something you can implement whether you can use adhesive or not at your show. Even if your show does not allow adhesive and does what they call a blow and go, where you can only use the livestock blower, working your goat's leg hair at home is what allows you to get the results you need by the time you get to your show.

While I am no means as experienced or knowledgeable on fitting a leg like I would like to be I do think I have learned the absolute key to getting leg hair to work awesome at a show. Ready for the secret formula so to speak? Commitment..... yes you need to put the time in while you're at home before the show or you will not get the results you're hoping for. There are so so many protocols that you can follow for working leg hair, this is just the basics of what I do with our show market wethers but there honestly in my opinion isn't a wrong answer as long as you are consistently working the hair and not damaging it.

We will work leg hair every other day up until 30 days before the show, then we switch over to every day. Each day you work the hair you are going to rinse the leg (notice I didn't say wash), you can use either water or use some conditioner but do not use a shampoo every day. This will strip out the natural oils in the hair leaving it dry and more prone to breaking. Next, while the legs are still wet I will take a brush (you can use either a slicker brush, dandy brush, or even a hairbrush) and part the hair straight down the middle of the leg when looking at your goat on the profile. You will then brush the hair on the front side of that part straight forward and the hair on the backside of the part towards the back. You will repeat this on all four legs, inside and out.

If you have a blower, next you will blow the hair out in that same direction. If you don't have a blower don't feel like you can't work their hair because I promise you can! Get off as much excess water as you can then spend some time bracing your goat or exercising them while it air dries. Just make sure it isn't cold or else the hair can actually freeze and cause breakage. After drying you can apply one of the many many leg hair products they have if you wish. We have tried tons and I honestly don't think one is a miracle worker, I think they all benefit in helping keep moisture in the hair but I don't think there's only one answer of sorts. Don't feel like you have to go out and purchase $40 leg conditioners to be competitive. We have used a human conditioner you buy at a local grocery store and it works great! You don't have to spend an arm and a leg to get results and be competitive, just put forth the time and effort and you will see results! Then repeat the brushing process mentioned above one last time.

Finally, since we already have our goat out this is a perfect time to condition your animals hide as well! This helps hold in moister to keep your goats hide from looking stale when you get to your next show. You can use either a livestock conditioner or an unscented lotion or aloe. Try to avoid anything that has alcohol in it and do not get a lotion with a dye in it. Regardless if you plan to use adhesive at your show I think there's a huge benefit in putting forth the time and effort to work with your animal's leg hair. It will give you a little bit of a competitive advantage as well as allow your animal to get used to being handled daily. As always if you have any questions don't hesitate to call or email, and God Bless!