Bayleaf Meadows

[OneFineAcre]

I received some photos today from the NC State Fair last October and thought I'd share a few. This was the first time I had shown my goats. I entered two Nigerian Dwarf intermediate kids, Delilah and Butternut. They are half sisters with the same sire, Yubi, who is a buck out of beautiful Zamia from One Fine Acre. The goats seemed a little nervous and cold in their pen at the show. I couldn't get Delilah to pretend to know what to do on a lead except imitation crocodile death rolls, faints, and back flips, so I only brought Butternut up to the ring. Being inexperienced, I had her there well before we needed to be and when it was time for her class, Butternut was already ready to call it a day. In the lineup, I noticed that she seemed a head taller than most of the others In her age group, and the judge must have noticed too. He went and got the measuring stick to assure everyone that none of these kids were over height! Despite her crankiness, she did fine and placed fifth out of the ten entries. It was a worthwhile experience and I can't wait to see what she will turn out to be like when she's a first freshener next year.View attachment 57116 View attachment 57117 View attachment 57118 View attachment 57119

You did great

 

[OneFineAcre]

I am hoping to go to Rocky Mount with the two girls. It partly depends on help at home with the others. As a viewer and vendor, I can commute to take care of chores. If I have goats there I'll have to arrange something and Memorial weekend is tricky.

You know we will help you out.

 

[greybeard]

ut, @greybeard, do you think he could use more length in the face and torso?

It's a pull toy, not an anatomic depiction, so I'm sure it will be fine no matter what. The horns and color/color pattern are what will set it off as a Longhorn.
If you wish tho, rather than making the neck longer, just trim some off the underside of the neck and the bottom line of the body, which will have the same effect as lengthening the torso and face.
Look close, and you can see what I removed.

The longhorn breed didn't look like modern longhorns when they first came to North America. (They are true descendants of cattle that Columbus and other very early explorers brought in the 1400s-1600s.) They changed over the centuries to be able to travel a long way thru brush and cactus country without snagging their udders and sheaths on thorns.

 

[Bayleaf Meadows]

I like what you did Greybeard. The reason I want to make adjustments even though it's not a technical model is that if I don't make them when I am in the beginning stage, I will always wish I had later.

 

[greybeard]

From airplanes to automobiles to pull toys, prototypes are always the way to do it.

 

[Bayleaf Meadows]

I thinned the torso and neck some and gave the new design a coat of primer. The horns aren't set in yet. Next stage- final paint and attach to base. Someone suggested designing a rodeo rider accessory. Fun!

 

[Bayleaf Meadows]

One thing about longhorns, you can't make a mistake when painting them! Work in progress...

 

[animalmom]

Wow that looks tasty...oops I mean that looks real good! Nice work.

 

[greybeard]

Definitely starting to look 100% LH.

 

[farmerjan]

Looks really nice. And their color patterns follow no set pattern, so you can make them most any color you want... except purple maybe