Conformation: Nose to Tail
Conformation is a unique word referencing the form, or shape, of an animal; in this instance, a bovine.  It is a delicate balance of traits, each of which is believed to further a specific goal in the art of raising cattle, but which is completely subjective within the mind of each breeder.  No two breeders will agree on every single trait discussed; however, there are many traits that are generally agreed as beneficial by a majority of breeders and to these we will dedicate paper and ink.

 Nose:

 Baby calves of the Hereford breed enter this world with darling bubble-gum pink noses.  Bright pink for the first day or two after birth, the nose will eventually settle to a lighter shade as the calf grows.  Sometimes, calves will develop freckles on their nose a week or two after birth, but this is not a defect in any way. 

 The nose is an excellent indicator of overall health, accompanied by the ears which will be discussed shortly.  Small dew-like droplets on the animal’s nose indicates health and happiness.  When in good health, the animal will frequently clean its own nose by licking it; so you should rarely see dust, dirt or mucous of any kind.  A dry nose is not necessarily an indicator of poor health, as the animal may have just brushed or cleaned its nose moments before you chose to scrutinize its foremost appendage.  But a dry, crisp-looking and peeling nose indicates the animal has or had a fever, and mucous discharge indicates infection. Often, the nose will become darker, as if sunburned, when it is too dry and has been for some time.

 Preferably on a good angle from the rest of the forehead, the nose should be of sufficient size to graze with ease and comfort.  A small, pin-nose is undesirable in any bovine, as it will inhibit feed intake per bite, and therefore, weight gain or ease of keeping.  Also undesirable is the “pug” nose, which is just as it sounds.  The pug nose is certainly not of utmost importance to avoid; but a well-shaped nose will greatly assist any bovine with the activity in which it spends the majority of each day: eating.
 Teeth:

 The teeth are an important point to consider when purchasing or maintaining older cattle.  An animal with no teeth will require special feed and far more care than one who has the use of its entire set of champers.  Cattle have only lower incisor teeth, accompanied by a flat, hard upper palate.  They do, however, have both upper and lower molars, which can be very sharp, so if you must be in the immediate vicinity, do be careful.

 Tongue:

 A bovine tongue is very long, and very raspy.  With it, a cow can groom herself with amazing dexterity.  She will also chew her cud for several hours each day, an indicator of health and contentment.  A cow that is riled or upset in any way will not chew her cud, so when you’re working with your cattle, be sure at least some of them are chewing placidly; otherwise, you are upsetting them too much.

 Head:

 The head should be mostly white, well-shaped and proportionate to the rest of the animal’s body.  A too large head is more common than too small, though both are undesirable.  Many “old-style” Herefords have long, plain faces, while their Miniature counterparts have a broad, sometimes dished face.  As long as the head is proportionate, either shape is acceptable.  A pretty head is an indicator of good breeding and high quality genetics.  A head that is blocky, disproportionately sized or downright ugly indicates lack of quality.

Cows should have a nicely broad, but not masculine head.  Very few cows have curly hair on their face; the tendency is toward longer, straight hair and a more feminine appearance.  A cow with an overly broad head and short, curly hair will have an undesirable masculinity. There should be no excess hide hanging down from the jaw line, it would detract from the quality features of the head.  As the cow ages, her head will appear larger in comparison to her body; this is common.

 A good quality bull will have a more triangularly shaped head than cows.  Bulls have much broader, shorter faces, and the hair should be short and curly.  Long, straight hair on a bull indicates femininity, and possibly a lack of fertility.  A poorly shaped or proportioned head on a bull can also be an indicator of poor reproductive quality.

Eyes:

 Eyes should be large and a soft brown in color.  The skin just surrounding the eyes should be pigmented brown, as is the bulk of the Hereford hide, but this is not absolutely necessary.  Many Herefords have pink skin around their eyes, and it is generally agreed they tend to be more prone to Pink Eye or cancer eye.  These are common maladies in Herefords, more common than they should be as they are both genetically controlled and can be prevented by a proper breeding plan.  It is possible for cattle with dark skin around their eyes to contract Pink Eye or cancer eye, but is generally agreed to be less common.  The theory being that pink skin is more prone to sunburn, which aids in the contraction of eye diseases.  Eye pigmentation is a minor trait to watch for, but should be taken into consideration when buying, breeding, culling, selling and generally working with your animals.

 A healthy cow will take an interest in her surroundings, watching closely as you approach and move about her.  Cows watch you move past in an endearing, somewhat jerky fashion.  If you drive past your cow, she will watch you for a minute, then move her head slightly and watch you for a minute longer; unlike dogs or horses who are able to watch your progress in a smooth motion.

 Ears:

 The ears are your best gauge of an animal’s health.  Perked ears indicate health and well-being.  Especially when accompanied by alert eyes and a smooth, clean coat. An animal that is feeling a little under the weather will allow her ears to flop slightly as she walks.  Ears that hang decidedly down indicate very poor health and will probably be accompanied by a dry and crispy nose, as well as a listless look in the eyes.  Once your animal looks that poorly, you’d better call your vet.  Of course, if we were discussing Brahman or Brahman cross cattle, the ear gauge would be of little value as their ears hang even when they’re in peak condition!  But with Herefords, the ears can tell you a lot if you know how to read them.

 Red ears are preferable to white, but this is not a major conformation point in any way.  Red skin is less prone to sunburn.

 Horns:

 If you choose to breed Horned Herefords, it would behoove you to be sure to shape the horns properly, and tip them if necessary.  Many people do not like horns at all, and many of them have very understandable reasons.  Horns can be dangerous, but then so can polled, or hornless, cattle.  If the horns are curved nicely downward, few people will object to their presence.  If, however, they are angled skyward like a pitchfork on your cow’s head, you can probably count on having difficulty interesting a potential buyer in her, regardless of her near-perfect conformation and sweet temperament.  One excellent reason for breeding cattle with horns is that it gives them the ability to protect their offspring more adequately in rangeland areas. 

 If you live in a wonderfully, thickly grassed area, horns would likely not be of much use to your cow.  Predators are much fewer, and human population far more dense.  You might opt to breed polled cattle.  It has been said that polled cattle tend to be more aggressive, simply making up for their lack of horns.  Herefords, though, are naturally sweet, and with a little TLC and proper handling you should be able to make a pet out of a polled Hereford.  But don't expect that hornless cattle will never harm you.  That poll of theirs can be pretty hard if they're of a bad temperament.

 Neck:

The neck should be nicely proportioned with the rest of the body.  Long, horsey necks do not indicate femininity in cows, and are not at all desirable in bulls.  The topline of the neck should flow smoothly into the shoulder, without any great lumps or hollows.  A bull in maturity will develop greater muscling in his neck than will any cow, this is from generations of fighting to protect his girls and to establish his superiority among other bulls.  His neck will develop a smooth arc from behind his poll to the top of his shoulder, and this is desirable as it shows his masculinity.  However, the muscling should not be disproportionate to his overall build, and should not appear bulky.  The underline of the neck should descend gracefully to the chest, and depending on the body condition (fatness or skinniness) of the animal, should be loose, soft skin, called brisket.  If the animal is fattened for showing or slaughtering, the brisket should be slightly filled with fat.  In the old days, breeders fattened their showstock to the point that the brisket was no longer soft and loose, but rather completely filled with fat stores.  This is no longer desirable today.
 Chest:

 The chest should be broad.  Space between the front legs will indicate more area in the heart girth - thus healthier, larger organs in the chest cavity which will result in a healthier, more easy keeping animal.

 Shoulder:

 Shoulders on cows should be smoothly muscled, and deep as possible to allow for proper functioning of the organs in the chest cavity, without losing proportion with the hip.  Bulls should be the same, though they should exhibit deeper, thicker muscling than a cow.

 Front Legs:
 These should build right into the base corners of the cow, to support her weight.  It is not desirable to have front legs attaching to the side, high up where the shoulder should be, as the weight would pressure the tendons and ligaments instead of resting solidly on the bone structure.  Cows placed solidly on top of their legs will live longer and travel with more ease through rougher pastures.

 The leg itself should be thick and short.  The hooves should be large.  Small bones and hooves will not support weight as well as thick, large ones will.  For "old-style" cattle, the leg should be roughly 1/3 of the total shoulder height of the animal, the remaining 2/3 comprised of heart girth area.  The reason being that meat is found in the heart girth, whereas legs are simply soup bones and not overly desirable for consumption. 

 (For "modern" cattle, the ratio is more 1/2 leg and 1/2 heart girth.  To each his own, but I personally don't like that much soup bone.  Also, I prefer a beef cow to not have so much ability to run; I'd just as soon not have to chase her at high speeds.  If their legs are long and slim, and their heart girth is shallow, the cow will be more inclined to travel at higher speeds and burn off her extra energy that could have been transformed into muscle and beef.  Short, deep cows prefer to move slowly and my personal opinion is that they are more likely to have a better, easier going temperament.  The only purpose I can fathom for long legs, is that they work like stilts over the muck in a feedlot.)

 Heart Girth:

 An extremely important conformational point, and all too frequently completely overlooked.  The heart girth contains and protects the primary internal organs.  Needless to say, the larger those organs are, the better they can do their job, and the healthier your animal will be.  Look for a deep heart girth!  A shallow girth will suppress those organs and limit their function.  Don't let yourself be confused by a shallow heart girth that creates the illusion of a good-looking hip.  A real hip can line up with a deep heart girth and still look great. 

 Spine/Topline:

 The spine should be straight and balanced.  The topline should in no circumstances sag, dip or curve downward between the shoulder and hip.  This is a fault and a weakness.

 The spine should be as long as possible, as this allows more space for those wonderful Porterhouse and T-bone steaks.  But never allow a weak spine into your herd.

 Stomach/Middle:
 You have probably heard that a cow has four stomachs.  That is a simplified explanation, but true for the most part.  Observing from the outside, the Rumen (the first and largest of the four digestive compartments) will bulge gently from the upper left side of a cow.  The bulge should not be overly noticeable or large, as that indicates poor digestive abilities or possibly bloat.

 Cows will sometimes develop a gentle bulge on the lower right side of their middle.  This is a good thing: it means she's going to calve in the next few months!

  Udder:

 The udder is a very important piece of equipment for any cow hoping to make it big in your breeding program.  It should be of sufficient size to produce ample milk to support a healthy calf.  A young cow should have teats that somewhat resemble your fingers.  No longer, no larger around.  Aged cows may have slightly larger teats, and longer, from years of work.  The udder itself should hang nicely and evenly, but should never hang below the hock, now matter how old the cow is, because that would place it in harm's way.  No extra milk is necessary or desired, as Herefords are not milk cows.  Too much milk will stress the Hereford udder and ruin the teats, but for that to happen, poor genetics must be in place.  Ruined teats usually resemble a bannana, and are too large for a small calf to work with.  If you have a cow with large teats, be sure to keep an eye on her newborn calf for a few days until you know the baby's getting her fair share of meals. 

 Scrotum:

 Bulls should, at maturity, be well developed for reproductive purposes.  Never use a bull that is missing one of his nuts, as he will have diminished masculinity and will pass that on to his offspring.  Preferably, the scrotum should be pigmented and not white, as they manage to sunburn themselves somehow.

 Flank:

 The flank is the area immediately before the hip, and doesn't seem to be a big consideration for most breeders today.  However, it is of importance and should not be forgotten.  The flank should be deep and full.  High flanked, waspy-looking cows will be the flighty ones with poor attitudes.  Cows with deep, soft flanks are not the ones who run around like idiots all day.  The flank maintains continuity from the heart girth to the hip, and should do so well. 

 Hip:

 Along with the heart girth, the hip is of primary importance in conformation.  Too frequently, the hip is all breeders consider - and some are fooled into thinking a cow has a huge hip when in reality she merely has a shallow heart girth.  The hip bones should be level with the spine, not angled down.  However, there are not many cows left that can boast the table-like back of their ancestors. The hip should be set widely, and should be well covered in flesh.  The thicker, the better, as the hip contains the more desirable cuts of meat. 

Back legs:

The back legs on any animal are the main driving power that keeps them moving from grass clump to grass clump.  To do this properly, they must be well situated under the hip.  They must also have a nice angle in the hock.  Hind legs too straight limit motion and therefore soundness - however, "posty" legs are popular in the show ring.  This is probably the main difference between breeding cattle and show cattle.

 Tailhead:

 The tailhead is a small area, but has great importance.  The tail should connect squarely on the rear, after the backbone drops down.  It should never look like it's crawling up the backbone.  Never, ever use a bull with a high tailhead, as his heifers will have the same problem and will have difficulty maintaining cleanliness.  Cows with high tailheads have a higher incidence of reproductive infections. 

 An interesting note, a cow who is not cycling properly will develop a unique tailhead set.  The tail's attachment appears to grow up the backbone somewhat.  If you are considering purchasing a cow, look at her tail.