I started to write that Dottie Belle, Gypsy and Honey Bunny got pedicures today, but they have hooves, so that is not technically correct. But they are city girls. As we were leaving the theater after watching Moneyball, MUCH to Don's chagrin I very nicely asked him to assist me in trimming the girls' hooves. I have been able to snip them often while they were small, but they are a bit much to handle by myself now. He had his choice of holding the goat or trimming the hoof.
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| Does Dottie Belle look like she's developing an attitude? |
Well, that was not a difficult choice for him. So I held the 50 lbs. goats one at a time, while he did the snipping. I have been using gardening clippers, the best you can buy at Lowes, but they don't work very well. Don had told me a month ago, when I asked him if he could sharpen them, a definite "No." But that is his standard answer to 99% of my questions or requests. But today he truly came to understand that these clippers are not adequate. Of course, since I was always holding a goat, there are no pictures; and honestly if anyone had gotten a picture I would not publish it. I was in some very crazy positions. Sometimes I was sitting in a chair with the goat in my lap and sometimes the goat was in the chair with my arms around it. At times the goat was standing on the ground between my legs. I'm thinking it could become an exercise craze like Zumba, because I truly got quite a workout. I told the student who lives in my garage apartment that we were about to trim the goats hooves and she ask the logical question, "How does a wild goat get its hooves trimmed?" Well I know that answer. Wild goats climb rocks and mountains that wear their hooves down. I could consider dragging them down the sidewalks to wear them down. If Don ever says no to helping me, I may have to give that a try.
I've included the following video for you to see how it could or should have gone. I don't have a milking stand yet, so that will be handy. My girls hooves were not in this bad of shape, since I've been snipping them pretty often.
But the girls now have very nice looking hooves and Don said he saw some clippers at CVS that he thinks will be a lot better. Anyway, I will let him buy them and we will see how they do.
