Guidelines to the Breed Standards
General points that describe the conformation of a dairy goat (Swiss type) - taken from the British Goat Society Breeds booklet.
- The most important consideration in the female is dairy quality.
- The head should be neat and fine, with jaws meeting evenly. The eyes should be full, bright and alert.
- The neck should be long and slender, blending neatly into the shoulders, which should be fine and not coarse or lumpy.
- The chest should be deep and full. Feet should be sound and not misshapen, with pasterns strong.
- Front legs should be straight, with a good width between them.
- Rear hocks should be wide apart when viewed from the rear - especially when walking. From the side the rear legs should not be neither too straight nor too curved.
- The back should be straight from shoulders to hips, with a slight slope from hips to tail.
- The ribs should be well sprung and the whole body should be wedge shaped when viewed from the side or looking along the goat's back.
- The goat's skin should be supple with fine, short and soft hair.
- The udder should be wide and deep, firmly attached to the body over a wide area at both the rear and at the front. Teats should be well defined from the udder, a comfortable size for hand milking, slightly tapering and pointing downwards.
Specific points apply to the British Toggenburg, in addition to the above:
- Head: Facial line straight or slightly dished. With or without tassels.
- Body: Larger than the Toggenburg.
- Skin: Fine and supple.
- Coat: Medium brown preferred, but darker and lighter colours acceptable.
- Swiss markings. White hairs elsewhere unacceptable. Hair fine and short but slight fringes permissible.
- Male coat: May be longer than on females especially on face, shoulders and hind legs.
- Departures from General or Specific points in the Breed Standards are penalised by judges according to degree, and slight variations are permissible.