GENERAL APPEARANCE:Strong, compact, symmetrical, with substance, power and balance. Hard muscular condition conveys agility, strength and endurance. Grossness or weediness undesirable.

CHARACTERISTICS:Ability to control and move cattle in all environments. Loyal, protective. Guardian of stockman, herd and property. Naturally suspicious of strangers, but amenable to handling.

TEMPERAMENT:Alert, intelligent, watchful, courageous, trustworthy, devoted to its work.

HEAD AND SKULL:Strong in balance with body and general conformation. Skull broad and slightly curved between the ears, flattening to slight but definite stop. Cheeks muscular but not coarse or prominent. Strong under jaw, deep and well developed. Broad foreface, well filled in under eyes, tapers gradually down medium length muzzle which is parallel to skull. Nose always black.

EYES:Medium, oval, alert and intelligent, dark brown. Neither prominent nor sunken. Warning suspicious glint is characteristic.

EARS:Moderate, small rather than large. Broad at base, muscular, pricked and moderately pointed. Oval or bat eared undesirable. Set wide apart, inclining outwards. Sensitive, pricked when alert. Leather thick in texture and inside ear well furnished with hair.

MOUTH:Lips tight and clean. Jaws strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite. I.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

NECK:Exceptionally strong, muscular, of medium length, blending into body. Free of throatiness.

FOREQUARTERS:Strong, muscular, sloping shoulders well laid back, not too closely set at withers. Strong, round bone, legs straight when viewed from front, pasterns flexible and slightly sloping when viewed from side. Loaded should and heavy front undesirable.

BODY:Slightly longer from point of shoulder to buttocks than height at withers, as 10 is to 9. Level topline, strong back and couplings. Well sprung ribs, carried well back, but not barrel ribbed. Chest deep, muscular and moderately broad.

HINDQUARTERS:Broad, strong and muscular. Croup rather long and sloping. Thighs long, broad and well developed. Well turned stifle, hocks strong and well let down. When viewed from behind, hocks to feet straight and set parallel, neither too close nor too wide apart.

FEET:Round, short toes, strong, well arched and held tight, pads hard and deep. Nails short and strong.

TAIL:Set on low, following slope of croup/rump. Reaching to hock, hanging in slight curve at rear. When working or excited, may be raised but never carried past a vertical line drawn through the root. Good Brush.

GAIT/MOVEMENT:True, free, supple, tireless, with powerful thrust of hindquarters. Capable of quick and sudden action. Soundness of paramount importance. Stands four square, but when moving at speed, legs tend to converge. Any weaknesses highly undesirable.

COAT:BLUE: Blue, blue-mottled or blue speckled with or without other markings. Permissible markings are black, blue or tan markings on head, evenly distributed for preference. Forelegs tan midway up legs and extending up the front to breast and throat, with tan on jaws. Hindquarters tan on inside of hindlegs and inside of thighs, showing down front of stifles and broadening out to outside of hindlegs from  hock to toes. Tan undercoats permissible on body, providing it does not show through blue outer coat. Black markings on body undesirable.

RED SPECKLE: Good even red speckle all over, including undercoat, (neither white nor cream), with or without darker red markings on head. Even head markings desirable. Red markings on body permissible but undesirable.

SIZE:Height at withers: dogs: 46-51cms (approx. 18-20ins): bitches: 43-48cms (approx.17-19ins)

FAULTS:Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

(reproduced by kind permission of the Kennel Club).

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