Breed Standard - Sheltie

Australian Miniature Goat Association Inc
(AMGA)

Official Breed Association of the Australian Miniature Goat

Breed Standard - Sheltie

Type 1 AMGA Breed Standard
The IDEAL – SHELTIE
To be classified as a Sheltie at the Purebred standard the animal must stand 50.8cm or less and conform to the ideal breed standard without faults, and have two registered minimum Grade A Sheltie parents.

SHELTIE General Type Description
The Sheltie should be the same length from the wither to the base of the tail and the wither to the ground. The underlying skeletal structure should be apparent, well angulated and clearly defined.
The Sheltie goat is generally created by crossing an Angora goat with a miniature goat.
Any ratio of miniature to Angora is acceptable as long at the goat looks like a Sheltie and has fleece as described in the breed conformation specifics.

General Appearance (style & quality): The Sheltie is a small sized fleece producing goat. The animal is well muscled and the over-all look should be stylish and balanced. Any tendency to raciness or legginess is undesirable and the animal should be as long as it is tall. The Sheltie is hardy, alert and animated, good-natured and gregarious. The underlying skeletal structure should be apparent, well angulated and clearly defined. The female should be graceful and well balanced with athletic movements, the male should be powerful, majestic and should move smoothly. The Sheltie ideal size is 43cm – 50.8cm (17-20”) with preference given to the smaller size.

Head (skull, eyes, ears, mouth, nostrils): Medium size with a dished profile preferred, polled or neatly disbudded. The eyes should be set apart, the irises pigmented any color and not protruding. The ears can be of any shape or type. The nose should be wide and flat. The bite should be even. The side view of the jaw is almost straight and slightly rounded.

Coat: The Sheltie coat should be at least 15cm long and is non shedding. In ringlet type coats, the mohair is carried in tight ringlets throughout almost its entire length. In straight coats the hair sits flat and should be evenly distributed throughout. All colours and combinations are acceptable.

Differing from Ideal (found and recognised): Nose with slightly raised bridge. Uneven tassels, horned, wry tail. Cashmere undercoat. Coat: overly short, less than 15cm in length but more than 10cm, not evenly distributed, not of an even length. Ears: overly pendulous, pinched, excessively narrow. Height: Exceeding 50.8cm but not exceeding 63.5cm.

Faults: Cow hocks. Steeply sloping rump. Dropped pasterns. Roach back or sway back. Uneven gait. Poor feet. Splayed feet. Fleece too short or shedding. Erect or unduly pendulous ears. Weak or narrow chest. Shallow body. Fleshy pendulous or unduly divided udders. Pockets in udder. Teats: small; thin; large bulbous; ill defined or unbalanced, double teats, supernumerary teats, double orifices. Lack of masculinity in bucks. Divided, uneven or unduly pendulous scrotum.

Disqualifications: Parrot mouth or obviously undershot jaw. Wry face. Intersex. Short coat or shedding coat. Undescended testicle/s in bucks. Height exceeding 63.5cm

To be classified as a Sheltie at the Grade standard (D, C, B, A) the animal must conform to the minimum breed type and conformation specifics and should strive to meet the ideal breed standards particularly with a view to eradicating all faults and disqualifying traits.

The Breed Types information is included in the AMGA Registry Information Guide. If you would like a copy of the Breed Types detail only Click Here to download a pdf document.

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