Lamb Showmanship - The Brace

     Three positions are important to understand and to master when showing sheep. Youth working at home should practice being able to properly walk, show and brace their lambs as they would in the show ring. The brace is the last to cover, the hardest to write about, the hardest to teach, but the easiest to do once it is understood.

     I showed calves as a youth, and did not even look at sheep until I began my ag teaching career. It was then I was the one who became a student, learning from my FFA members how to properly brace a lamb. Nothing can make you look and feel more like a fool than trying to learn to brace a lamb.

     The thing I did understand is the importance of the brace to give the proper feel to the judge without loosing a certain look. A lamb should be able to flex the muscles of the rack, loin and leg without over flexing. This is all created by the proper stance of the exhibitor and positioning of the lamb.

     To review a bit, the exhibitor's proper stance will allow them to balance themselves against a bracing lamb, keep the lamb steady and be able to give subtle physical cues to the lamb. Let's visualize the normal show ring stance where the judge is on the right side of the lamb and the exhibitor is in front of their lamb. I like to see the exhibitor with their left foot slid slightly toward the back of the lamb, but not blocking the shoulder view. The right foot is slightly behind the exhibitor with a bent knee. This position should make the exhibitor's hips be rotated to the left side of the lamb's head. The back should be straight and the left forearm and right hand should be gently holding the lamb's head.

     The lamb should be positioned with all four legs setting the proper "corners" to exhibit the lamb properly. Their neck should be straight up with their head resting with their nose slightly tipped up in the exhibitors hands. The chest and neck of the lamb should be resting against the middle of the exhibitor.

     Hopefully all that sounds familiar. Now for the part that is hard to explain, the proper brace. For novice exhibitors, I like to pair them with a lamb that knows how to brace. It works the majority of the time to help the exhibitor begin to learn the proper body position and what it feels like to have a lamb brace against them. Novice and experienced exhibitors both should practice establishing the proper stance and positioning of their body. Next, I teach youth to step into the lamb. Making body contact with the front of the lamb should cue the lamb to brace. Removing or relieving body contact from the lamb usually cues the lamb to relax. Exhibitors will need to practice stepping into and relaxing the brace with their lamb. Every lamb is a little different on how much contact it takes to get them to brace and how much must be released for them to relax.

     An experienced exhibitor and a well taught lamb can perform a brace without any hands on the lamb! Why? The contact needed for a brace comes from the middle of the exhibitor's body. For a intermediate or senior member with a market size lamb, contact is with the left hip and inside of the left thigh. With younger or smaller exhibitors, contact still comes from the middle of the body, but may be more hip, stomach and chest than the hip and leg.

     As I stated before, the brace is hard to explain. Youth need experienced help to learn to brace and lamb and how to train the lamb to brace to their cues. There are a few common mistakes all youth exhibitors need to be aware of when they are practicing the brace.

• Make sure the lamb is evenly bracing. Some lambs will feel like they are bracing, but are arching and only flexing their back muscles. They will not have the feel you want in the leg. Stop bracing, relax the lamb and try the brace again.
• Lamb slips a hind leg too far back. This will shift the lamb's hips and rotate his spine and the lamb will feel like he is falling to the side. Stop bracing, reset the legs and brace again.
• Lamb arches its back as it braces. This give an uneven feel to the top and an even worst look to the judge. Touch or "tickle" the lamb's back to get them to drop it down. DO NOT make any motion that appears to be hitting or striking. No matter how gentle you are, it does not look good.
• The lamb's head is turned. This is the beginning of the spine and if the head is turned in any direction other than straight ahead, they will want to move their body to straighten their body position. Keep the lamb's head pointing straight. The exhibitor may need to adjust their body to fix the problem.

I hope this is helpful when learning and practicing the brace. The best help is to find someone who shows well and can give hands on assistance. Once you learn to brace, you will never feel like a fool again.


Scott Stinnett
Extension Associate
Kit Carson County
Golden Plains Area
Colorado State University Extension