Goat shopping

How hard can it be to buy a goat around here?

I grew up in Southern California. Buying a goat down there might be a feat-- there probably aren't too many breeders off the 405 freeway.

But up here? C'mon. This is the county. This is Prunetucky. And there ain't no goats around for sale. At least, not any that I'd want.

On Friday, my dad drove me around the Prunedale area, horse trailer in tow, searching for the perfect doe or buck for my newfound obsession (the sport of goat tying-- in case you haven't been reading). The first place we stumbled across had plenty of goats.. with plenty of bones sticking out of them. The seller looked like he had had plenty of cheeseburgers-- he was about 500 pounds. I softly told him that if he couldn't take care of the goats, the SPCA would gladly take them off his hands and give them a good home. He looked at me like he was crazy. Those goats were supposedly his cash flow. No sale here.

The second place we found was a different disappointment. The goats were cute and fat, but... pregnant. And somehow I knew from my Biology days that when goats kid, they have multiples. No thanks.

So it's back to the Craigslistings, of which there are no good prospects. And it's back to practice goat tying with Mia's stuffed horse (that's actually easy-- he doesn't kick, or even move a muscle, for that matter).

(goat tying is actually supposed to have the front right leg tied, too, but the horse's legs won't bend that far back, so I just have to pretend).

Here is a link to goat tying. She's about the speed I would be. In the real goat-tying world, this would be considered slow! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q83-VwtQUsk