Pedicures for the goats

Today was pedicure day for all of our goats. Goats hooves are designed for agility and stability on rocky mountain sides. In that kind of environment their hooves wear down from the friction of the rough, hard terrain. The red clay pastures of southern Virginia aren't very abrasive and allow for little to no wear on their hooves. So the hooves grow and grow so we must trim and trim. This is a painless procedure for the goats and necessary to prevent hoof root and other painful foot disorders.
I have enjoyed my share of pedicures over the years. They typically involve a comfy massage chair, warm bubbling water, lavender scented salt scrub and idol gossip with my BFF. Never were Carhardt overalls, muck boots, a five gallon bucket and pruning shears a prerequisite...until today.

 When we purchased the goats back in October, the Garretts at www.Stokelandsavannas.com had given us a hands on demonstration in hoof trimming.  This was the first time we had attempted it on our own. I went online to refresh my memory in trimming techniques and out to the pasture we went.

Jealous little Jose

We decided Billy would be the first to get the 'goat spa treatment'. With a trough of sweet feed in front of him, he was happy for the duration. As long as the feed didn't run out, I feel certain we could have included a wash, cut and color and he wouldn't have budged. Jose, our donkey,  has adopted the 'kid brother' role to Billy as they share a pasture. He was quite jealous that Billy was getting all the attention and wedged his way into the action as close as he could get.



The "business end" of Billy.

 With Billy being our first hoof trimming ever, and the most in need of it, the process took awhile. The longer it took, the more sweet feed he ate. The more he ate, the more his tummy grumbled. The only way to get the right angle to trim his rear hooves was for me to straddle his back and hold the hind leg up while Allen held his horns for my safety. This is one of the proper ways to restrain a goat to work on them. The "business end" of a goat over indulging in feed is never a good place to be. I can now say with confidence that I have had a close encounter with goat flatulence...and it didn't smell like lavender salt scrub!

Now that Billy was all trimmed up and aired out, we moved on to the girls. The twins were their typical curious selves and climbed all over us and Freckles, their mother, as we trimmed her hooves. The girls were a bit more reluctant, so Allen had to hold tightly to their horns to keep them still. Thank the Lord a goat has a natural handle! 



The curious twins climbing while Freckles gets her pedicure.



I swear it looks like the kid is smiling!

As usual, Strawberry was having no parts of being caught. Attempts to lure her with treats didn't work this time. It took four of us to slowly corral her into the barn where we finally got ahold of her. About mid way through her pedicure she decided she was done. It was Allen vs. Strawberry...round two. I wrote about their first bought back on 1/4/13 in And then there were goats... This time Allen was sitting on a bucket in front of her holding her horns as I trimmed her rear hooves. Strawberry lurched to the right spinning Allen off his bucket to the ground, but he held on! She spun him completely around on his back in the thick straw bedding at least four times before we regained control! Allen is no little man, and that is one strong goat! She settled down and we finished her up. The three kids all got a trim this morning too. Afterwards, all were given treats for being such good patients, even Strawberry.