American Alpine goats were bred from goats of the French Alps. In the wild, goat hooves wear down naturally on rocks and by constant traveling over huge distances. On the farm, we have to trim their hooves frequently to prevent painful distorted growth and foot rot.
Roberto is patient and skilled with the goats, but hoof trimming can’t be rushed. Roberto distracts the group of goats he will trim with a special snack in the loafing barn’s food alley. It’s a constricted space with little wiggle room. He ropes the goat so that she can’t dash away suddenly. It’s a good time to check the width of their identity tag chains around the neck, because the younger goats have thickened and need a looser chain.
There are quite a few hooves on the farm and they all constantly need to be trimmed, so we replace our hoof shears frequently. It takes several days, with some goats being perfectly still and others frisky. But until we move some mountains to them, they will have to take their turn in pedicure alley.