Hoof Trimming Day!

 Hey Friends! 

 It's been a pretty important day! Today, was hoof trimming day. If I'm being completely honest it should have been trimming day quite a while ago, but hey all the matters is that we're gettin' it done now, right?!?!

 Hoof trimming was one of my biggest fears about being a goat owner! I mean if you make one little cut too deep or in the wrong direction it's over right?!?! Well, maybe not quite, but it is an important task and it won't be so hard after your first time. I was sooo nervous my first time, that I was sure I wasn't going to be able to make my clippers work properly, but miraculously everyone survived my first trimming experience and the hooves got clipped! My first time trimming hooves also happened to be the goats' first time as well, which definitely wrought some challenges, but we DID all make it through together. 

 The second time I hauled out the milking stand and pulled out my clippers I felt much more confident and the goats were more comfortable as well. Since my first experience was made a little rough with some unruly goats I made a few changes. Every time I gave the goats grain I would feed it to them on the stand and brush or pet them so they associated the stand with treats and with being touched. It helped, A LOT! The next time I went to work on those hooves the goats behaved far better! Not perfect by any means, but MUCH better! It makes hoof trimming far more relaxing for you and for your goaties!

 If your new to this process (like me) or are holding off on getting goats because you don't think you can do it, wait no longer! Watch youtubes, read blogs, and then get out your clippers and start trimming!  Remember your first trim doesn't have to go super deep, and if your goat's hooves are really overgrown you will definitely want to work on it slow. Just a little bit at a time. It will be nerve wracking and you will need to be careful, but you CAN do it! Once you tackle it you will feel soo much better knowing your goats are in tip top shape and you will handle the trims to come with far more confidence.

So here is a few pics of our trim today! Oh, and I did a few of my milking stand that Dad built me. I can't believe I haven't showed it to you all yet! 

I was super nervous about trimming hooves, but I was even more scared to do it without a milking stand to lock the goats in. However, I new the situation was getting dire and it would have to be done SOON! So, Dad was very gracious and took yet another of his Sundays to build me a milking stand. He literally whipped it out in an afternoon using mostly just boards we had around! Yay! Thanks 😊

 Trimming was a pleasant experience today thanks to little brothers, sharp clippers, yummy grain, crunchy carrots, a milking stand, and moslty cooperative goats. There was definitely some goat drama, but they just needed to show me who was still boss :) 

Blessings,

Sarah 💛