Linear Appraisal Scores
Linear Appraisal is a structural evaluation by a certified breed appraiser. Unlike a show placing — which ranks animals against whoever else turned up — LA scores an animal against the breed standard, so it's comparable across years and herds.
Recording an Appraisal
From a goat's profile → 🏆 Shows → add an LA score.
You can record:
- Appraisal date and appraiser
- Final score
- Category scores — General Appearance, Dairy Strength / Dairy Character, Body Capacity, and Mammary System
- Individual trait scores — the linear traits behind each category
- Notes
Bucks get the appropriate form — mammary traits don't apply and aren't shown.
The Scorecard
The final score maps to a letter category on the ADGA scale:
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| E — Excellent | 90+ |
| V — Very Good | 85–89 |
| G+ — Good Plus | 80–84 |
| A — Acceptable | 70–79 |
| F — Fair | 60–69 |
| P — Poor | under 60 |
So "EX91" means Excellent, 91.
A doe's score usually rises across appraisals as she matures and freshens again. A young doe scoring in the 80s isn't a disappointment; comparing her first appraisal to a mature doe's fourth is comparing different things.
Using LA Data
The value is in the categories and traits, not just the final number. Two does with the same final score can have opposite strengths — one strong in mammary and weak in body capacity, the other the reverse.
That's what makes LA genuinely useful for breeding: pair animals whose strengths cover each other's weaknesses, rather than chasing a single high number.
Appraisal scores also appear in Sire/Dam Performance, so you can see which parents produce offspring that appraise well.