Credit to Dr. Spondeburg.  This man as spent several years researching the Spanish Goats and bloodlines.  Thank you Sir for your years of hard work.   

Spanish Goats as a Breed in the United States (2025)
D.P. Sponenberg
Introduction
“Spanish Goat” has long meant two very different things to Americans. One definition is a goat
that hails back to a 500-year heritage in North America following the introduction of goats by the
Spaniards. This is essentially a pure breed despite long being without official recognition or
organization. The second definition, unfortunately, refers to any goat other than a recognized
purebred of some other breeds such as dairy, Angora, Kiko or one of the African breeds such as
Nubian, Boer, Savannah, or Kalahari Red.
Early History and Situation of the Breed
The Spanish Goat, as a breed, survived and thrived for many centuries somewhat outside the
mainstream of commercial livestock production because it was a local resource for local use. The
goats were tough and productive, having been carefully bred and managed by traditionalists who
had grown up with Spanish goats and who were dedicated to continuing their development and
use. Those breeders valued the pure type, especially for the adaptation and production
characteristics that go along with it. Other breeders were more casual and kept Spanish goats
because with minimal investment and minimal management the strongest would survive and
would still be productive. Both approaches yielded Spanish goats that were raised to succeed.
They were especially used for meat production in difficult environments.
This whole system worked well, until the 1980s and 1990s witnessed the importation of
specialized breeds for meat production. Prior to that time period the USA lacked a specific goat
breed specifically for meat production. The imported specialized breeds have included several
from South Africa (Boer, Savannah, and Kalahari Red), along with the Kiko goat from New
Zealand. As is typical of imported livestock, they all came in with a great degree of promotion
and validation. As a consequence, these breeds rapidly became what springs to mind when “meat
goat” is mentioned. Many breeders of Spanish goats resorted to crossing the local Spanish goats
with the imports, to the point that the purebred traditional goat was threatened.
Locally developed breeds like the Spanish goats are called landraces. They are always more
difficult to define and appreciate than are imported breeds. The imported breeds have the huge
advantage of coming into the country already defined and described, long after the first messy
steps of breed definition and development have already been accomplished. The fine points of
the history of nearly all imported breeds almost always include an early organization of breeders,
followed by a “definition” stage where breeders decided exactly which animals to include and
which to exclude, and what exactly the target should be. Spanish goats had basically skipped
these first stages, lurking in the background and drawing minimal attention. As purebred Spanish
herds became fewer and more isolated, several traditionalist breeders stayed true to their herds,
and developed their own distinctive strains by using their individual expertise and goals. This is
distinct from the shared goal-setting that is decided by a group. This individuality has kept a
diverse and healthy gene pool intact.

Issues of Breed Identity
A very important aspect of Spanish goats is their breed type, or conformational characteristics.
‘Breed type’ helps to sort out the pure ones from the more generic crossbred goats that
unfortunately go by the same breed label. Many of the breed-specific type traits of goats center
on the head, and this is remarkably consistent throughout the entire globe. A few details are
especially pertinent for Spanish goats in the Americas. It is important to note that present-day
Iberian goats include this type but also other types. The main reason for focusing on breed-
specific type traits is to be able to eliminate crossbreds from inclusion into the breed. The overall
type described here is probably part of a range, but a useful part because it is the most distinctive
and least likely to contain crossbred influences.
In general, Spanish goats generally have straight or only slightly convex facial profiles. This
contrasts with the convex head of the African breeds introduced into the USA. This profile also
contrasts with the concave facial profile of the Swiss breeds. Spanish goats usually have large
stout horns that twist up and out to the side and then backwards. This contrasts with the shorter
and plainer horns of the African breeds, and the huge, upright, but generally minimally twisted
horns of most European dairy breeds. Spanish goats generally have medium-sized ears that are
distinctive but a bit hard to describe. Most are carried horizontally and forward up along the side
of the head rather than straight out to the side, flopping down, or upright and erect. Many of the
ears have a ripple halfway along the length, or tips that curl upward. It is easier to describe what
they are not. They are not small and upright like a Swiss breed goat or an African Pygmy or
Nigerian Dwarf. They are not long, wide, and held straight out to the side as are Nubian, Boer,
Savannah, Kalahari Red, and (especially) crosses with those breeds.
Most of the older breeders of Spanish goats paid close attention to correctness of breed type.
They closely guarded the purity of their herds for decades—first by avoiding Angora and dairy
crossbreeding, and over the last few decades by avoiding Boer, Savannah, Kalahari, Kiko, and
Nubian crossbreeding. They did much more than just avoiding outside breeding for its own
sake—they were avoiding it in order to protect the adaptation and production that the breeders
had grown to appreciate from the Spanish goats.
Breed development
It is important to realize that many breeders, especially those with large herds, worked in
isolation from one another. Selection goals therefore varied from herd to herd, but a common
thread among most of them was an appreciation for growth rate, moderate mature size,
mothering ability, and sound conformation that led to care-free maintenance and the ability to
use a rugged environment. Many breeders favored twins. Several had specific color and coat
preferences in their breeding strategies.
Many of the traditional herds, especially in Texas, were large (up to 1500 head or more).
Breeding stock in most large herds was simply selected from within the herd. This maintains
isolation from bloodline to bloodline, although periodically many breeders also felt a need to add
a buck or two into the herd. When introductions like this occurred, the bucks were selected to be
as close to type as the original herd as could be found.

Many traditional breeders worked with herds that held hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of
goats. These large populations gave the breeders the ability to produce dramatic results from the
selection criteria they practiced. The result has been a number of old family lines of productive
and well-adapted goats. That is not an easy combination to achieve. Goats, as all livestock, have
only a set amount of metabolic resource to allot to various needs. The main needs are
survival/adaptation, and production. Those can play against one another in interesting ways, so
an exquisitely productive goat that is also adapted to a harsh environment is a goal that is
essentially impossible.
Many breeders have noticed that while big, robust goats look great, it is possible to get them too
large at which size the adaptation and ability to use rough range declines. The result of pulling
back a bit on size has been goats that are large enough to be productive, but not so large as to
diminish adaptation. The goats have been carefully crafted to achieve an enviable balance
between adaptation and production, which works very well for commercial goat meat production
in range conditions.
The real reason that breeders kept purebred Spanish herds for so long is that Spanish goats tend
to be relatively trouble-free and remain productive naturally and economically. They are not the
kind of high-maintenance goat that only produces when extra feed is provided. They are goats
that do well out on natural forage and hold their own. They do, and they do it well.
Evaluation of Candidate Goats as Spanish
When evaluating a goat to determine if it is indeed Spanish a first step is to look into the history
of the herd of origin. This has become all the more important after the importation of Kiko goats.
The Kiko, in keeping with its recent and variable origins, is quite variable and some of them very
closely resemble Spanish goats. A second step is to evaluate the breed type traits, which as a
practical issue means evaluating the head. this approach has been successful ever since first
efforts at organization and definition began back in the 1980s with Leslie Edmundson and Phil
Sponenberg. DNA has been evaluated on several qualifying goats, and these were then compared
with other breeds to determine if the Spanish Goats in the USA are indeed remnants of a 500-
year old history that began in Iberia. The results showed that the Spanish Goat in the USA does
indeed have that Iberian heritage, and shares it with similar goats in South America.
Issues of Maintaining Breed Integrity
Spanish Goats are an important genetic resource. Dr. Richard Browning’s research has repeatedly
demonstrated their superiority as a meat-producing goat. The breed is currently at an important
crossroad as new generations of breeders take the resource over from the previous more
traditionalist pioneers that first worked with the breed. How breeders go forward is important for
the breed, which in turn is important for the breeders as well as for associations. Organizations
for breeders and registries for goats can all be positive developments but they do come with a
certain degree of risk if not carefully managed.

As the breed becomes increasingly popular, prices rise. This is a good thing, but when taken to
extremes can result in fads that are potentially dangerous. High prices also tend to favor some
breeders over others, largely because of promotion and not necessarily from superiority of the
goats involved. One especially common trend is to close herd books and refuse the participation
and recognition of sources of the breed that were noted after the initial organization.
With any landrace, it is vitally important to recognize that the breed existed well before
associations and registries. The goats were just as purebred before the organization of breeders as
they were after it had occurred. Landraces are extremely important, and association rules need to
work to facilitate their function as landraces.
The earliest step in landrace conservation is the “discover” step, where candidate herds or
individual goats are evaluated and then either included or excluded. This is a process that needs
to be done carefully. It is also one that is rarely or never completely finished. It,needs to continue
long into the future. Newly discovered sources of purebred landrace Spanish goats are continuing
to come to light and for a host of genetic reasons these “late comers” have a great deal to offer
the breed.
The future of this breed is extremely important. There are still foundation strains out there that
have been overlooked. Some of these are indeed older than the ones that are currently listed.
Finding, documenting, and accepting these is important work in guarding the purity and the long-
term ability of the breed to succeed in productive agriculture. Accepting these newly encountered
(but in fact very old) strains often meets resistance, but in reality it is only a continuation of a
careful process began decades ago.
One threat to the breed is the formation of an “ideal” in the minds of breeders. This usually
becomes a visual or even a growth performance evaluation, because these are the easiest to do.
An unfortunate fact is that pouring feed to a goat can make it look great, but it may well indeed
not make them perform all that well out on the range. Performance, and especially maternal
performance, is the key piece for the long-term success of this breed. This goes way beyond
weight gains and final weights, and heavily involves female productivity and longevity. Those
are very difficult to document, especially in a show ring or any other one-off comparison. Also
unfortunate is the fact that a hard-working and good-producing nanny goat is very likely to look
pretty rough during most of the year. Maternal ability and range adaptation are the key strengths
of the breed, are easily lost, and cannot be recognized or improved by any easy selection
program. Breeders need to select their goals very carefully, and associations need to help them to
do that. This is especially important in the show ring or in the sale ring, where visual impressions
can easily overcome the historic productive background behind a goat.
Components of the Breed
Spanish goats can be viewed from a variety of viewpoints. Each one of these has some validity.
One issue is just how inclusive to be, and which mental image is the ideal Spanish Goat. The
broadest and most inclusive approach includes all sources of goats that have a Spanish origin.
These, are, loosely:

1. Caribbean goats. This is likely the original source of many of the goats. For the USA this
currently includes Puerto Rico, Mona Island, and also the Virgin Islands.
2. Texas Hill Country. This is likely the mental image that will become the usual one for the
breed. Traditional herds were often quite large, which means that this influence is the
majority one in the breed.
3. Texas Rio Grande Valley. Only a few sources of these goats have been included, but they
include some with the most very typical Spanish breed type common throughout the
Americas and in some breeds currently in Spain
4. Brush Goats of the Southeast. Several old, traditional family lines have been located.
They are generally smaller than the others, and usually in herds with smaller numbers of
goats. They have a typical Spanish appearance and have the advantage of strong parasite
resistance which is unusual in most goat breeds from less humid areas.
5. Pacific Islands. The island included are San Clemente, Santa Catalina, Hawaii and
Jedediah. All of these come from limited populations with minimal numbers and long
isolation. This results in constricted genetic variation and difficulty in figuring out
exactly how they fit in.
It is possible to go through these region by region, bloodline by bloodline, to indicate histories,
relationships, and prospects for future work and documentation. Especially important are those
leads where goats from certain sources are known to have made contributions, but then either the
source herd was lost or was simply lost to memory but may still exist. Those are high priority for
discovery and inclusion.
The general organization of each section is to identify the name of the bloodline and then to
characterize other aspects about it. The organization of the information for the various bloodlines
is to first give an overview of the bloodlines from the general region. Following the individual
bloodline descriptions is a short section on general ideas for going forward, although bloodline-
specific recommendations are under each bloodline. The general organization for each bloodline
is:
 bloodline name
o location of the original herd.
o history of the start and maintenance of the herd.
o strengths of the herd as a genetic unit, and its status as a bloodline within the
Spanish Goat breed.
o weaknesses: This can include any potential detractions from either purity or
vitality of the bloodline. This does need to be taken with a grain of salt. Some
detractors of various bloodlines do it in a spirit of competition or from an inherent
need for some folks to detract from the success of others. However, some
important weaknesses might well be true and need to be acknowledged.
o opportunities for the bloodline and for work to assure its security
o threats to the bloodlines integrity.