Standards

American Pinzgauer Association
Standard Breed Characteristics
Adopted September 24, 1986
Updated February 23, 2013

The Pinzgauer breed of cattle is an ancient Austrian Alpine breed. The coat color is naturally black or red with its unique white markings. The breed can be either horned or polled. Pinzgauer cattle are a moderate sized breed with heavy bone structure. They have great body length, a moderate to heavy dewlap, dark hooves with a great disposition. Pinzgauers have the breed-typical white pattern in common-a broad white stripe lengthwise along the whole back and white under the abdomen, chest, udder and tail.

HEAD

Bulls

1. Masculine but proportionate to body
2. Wide muzzle
3. Wide and open nostrils
4. Good width between eyes

Females

1. Feminine, refined but proportionate to body
2. Wide muzzle
3. Wide and open nostrils
4. Clean throat latch and jaws

Discriminations

1. Short, dished face
2. Long, narrow

NECK

Bulls

1. Medium to long in length
2. Moderate crest and dewlap development
3. Muscular, blends smoothly into body

Females

1. Medium to long in length
2. Moderate dewlap development
3. Clean cut, blends smoothly into body

Discriminations

1. Thick, course necked cows
2. Thin necked bulls
3. Excessive Crest in bulls
4. Clean dewlap area in cows

SHOULDERS AND FOREARMS

Bulls

1. Well muscled, smooth, masculine
2. Thickly muscled with definition of forearm muscling

Females

1. Smooth and moderately muscled
2. A cleaner, less wasty front end, blending smoothly into rest of body

Discriminations

1. Loose, open shoulders
2. Lack of muscling on forearm
3. Overly excessive heavy brisket in cows

CHEST

Bulls & Females

1. Full and wide chest floor
2. Full heart girth with ample capacity

Discriminations

1. Protruding and/or heavy brisket
2. Pinched or narrow heart girth
3. Narrow chest floor

BACK AND RIBS

Bulls & Females

1. Long back with natural thickness down top
2. Ribs well sprung from backbone, well arched with good length to give good depth of body and capacity

Discriminations

1. Short middle or short coupling, cobby
2. Tight ribs and middle giving appearance of a barrel belly
3. Weak or easy topline
4. Hump back

HINDQUARTERS

Bulls & Females

1. Tail head smoothly attached
2. Rump long, naturally thick, moderate slope from hook to pins

Discriminations

1. Extremely sloping rump
2. Extreme muscle definition
3. Completely level or flat rump (in females) indicating excessive fat deposits around reproductive organs

ROUND AND TWIST

Bulls

1. Thick and deep, meeting well down to the hocks
2. Long with well-developed stifle, muscle extending well into flank

Females

1. Deep and full quarters

Discriminations

1. Shallow round or twist lacking natural thickness
2. Excessive muscling in cows and/or coarseness
3. Any indication of double muscling in bulls or cows

UDDER

Females

1. Showing ample capacity
2. High attachment, extending forward and upward in rear
3. Four teats moderate in size and placed proportionately under the udder

Discriminations

1. Pendulous udder
2. Fleshy udder
3. Large or uneven teats
4. Less than four teats

TESTICLES

Bulls

1. Well developed and proportionate in size

Discriminations

1. Small or under-developed testicles

LEGS

Bulls & Females

1. Length proportionate to animal
2. Well boned or heavy boned
3. Straight and correctly placed

Discriminations

1. Crooked front legs
2. Weak Pastern
3. Excessive set to hocks (cow hocked)
4. Post-legged, absence of any set to hocks
5. Fine boned

OVERALL

1. Hide to be loose and pliable
2. Cows – feminine and angular
3. Bulls – masculine, virile, high libido
4. Disposition – mild
5. Size – large and growth for age, fast gaining
6. Hair - short, straight, slick coat
7. Color
   • A. Base color to be Black or Red
   • B. The ideal Pinzgauer marking would be to have the base color to continue unbroken forward of the hind quarter
   • C. White on the leg should not extend more than halfway between the knee and hoof, dark hoof is desirable
   • D. Tail - 50% white or more with a white switch

Marking - Discriminations

Bulls & Females

1. Face: White spot(s) or white faced
2. Less than 50% white tail and/or non-white switch
3. One white leg or more
4. Any base color other than Black or Red

DISCRIMINATION:

The use of this term for the Breed Standard is to be applied to the show ring first and foremost. All things being equal, animals exhibiting any of the listed discriminations will be downgraded in the show ring. The APA realizes the complexity of the genetic markings involved with the Pinzgauer breed, however, it is desirable that breeders follow the Standard as closely as possible in their breeding program.

DISQUALIFICATIONS:

The use of this term for the Breed Standard will mean disqualified from the show ring. It is the goal that each and every breeder selectively breed against any disqualifying trait.

1. Any extreme manifestations of discriminations or combination of discriminations that will be a definite detriment to the improvement of the Pinzgauer breed.
2. Inherited deformities, such as (but not limited to): Hernia, Cryptorchidism, wry nose, wry tail, double muscle, malformed genetalia, undershot or overshot jaw, dwarfism, etc.