One Success, One Utter Failure OnTrimming Hooves

[Nanno]

No, you definitely can't force a big, ornery goat onto a stanchion if he doesn't want to go, and it's dangerous to both him and you if you try (as you well know from the one that broke his leg). But training them to step up willingly is easy and fun if you take a few minutes to work with them for just a few minutes 3-4 times a week. All it takes is a little grain and a little patience. I had one very clumsy buck that didn't like to go on the stanchion because he was both uncoordinated and afraid of heights (a goat that's afraid of heights--how can this be???). I could persuade his front feet up using treats, but I had to tap his hindquarters or hind legs with a riding whip to make him understand that I needed ALL of his feet up there, and to convince him to move them. It took a couple of weeks before he was decent at getting himself into the stand, and he was always pretty nervous while he was up there, but at least we could get it done for those times when I really needed him to be restrained. Getting him back down was always at least as interesting as getting him up there. That goat did not like "heights"!