How to Get a Top on a Show Goat

Although toplines on show goats are generally blended into the rest of the coat when clipping the animal before a show, you can also fit the topline in a way that improves the goat's general appearance. A topline can help hide dipping or roaching in the loin, and can make the withers appear sharper. A topline can also make the goat look more angular, granting it more dairy character. Always wash the goat before clipping it.

Things You'll Need

  • Grooming stand
  • Dish soap
  • Bucket
  • Scrub brush
  • Hose
  • Clippers
  • Comb
  • Hair spray
  • Scissors
  • Blow dryer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Wash the entire goat by first wetting it with a hose. Do not get any water in the ears. Stir a few drops of dish soap into a bucket of water and go over the goat's body with a scrub brush. Rinse the goat again, getting out all of the soap. Let the goat dry.

    • 2

      Put the goat on a grooming stand, securing its head on the chin rest. This will keep it from moving while you're working on it.

    • 3

      Clip the barrel of the goat on both sides of its body, leaving 2 inches of topline hair on each side. Make sure the line the remaining hair makes is level across the goat's body. When clipping the barrel of the goat, run the blades in the direction of the hair.

    • 4

      Make the hair on the topline stand straight up by brushing it against the grain, or by using a blow dryer to make it stand up. Goat hair is course and more bristly than cow hair, so it will take more effort to get it to stand up. Use hair spray to stiffen it and hold it in place.

    • 5

      Blend the sides of the topline into the goat's body with the clippers. Angle the blade and slowly run it in the direction the hair usually lies, placing your finger at the end of the blade between the goat and the clippers to guide it and keep it steady. Repeatedly run the clippers down the goat's back until the sides of the topline are fully blended into its barrel.

    • 6

      Run the clipper blade over the top of the topline against the direction the hair usually lies. Make sure it is as even as possible. Level out any dips or roaches in the goat's back by making sure the hair on the topline is perfectly straight.

    • 7

      Snip away any long hairs with scissors. Use scissors to make the final touches in shaping the topline.