Horn Appreciation

[DownUnder Gal]

There is a saying that the width of a cat's whiskers equals the width of the cat's body at the widest part. This is to allow the cat to determine if it will fit through a narrow space merely by testing the space with its whiskers. I think the same is true with goats. Check out Gilbert's horns and belly ...

   

   

Would love to see everyone's pics celebrating their goats' horns (or horn, as the case may be )

[Taffy]

Those are awesome horns. What breed is he?

[DownUnder Gal]

Hi Taffy, Gilbert is an Australian rangeland goat, which is a nice way of saying he is a feral goat. Most of our goats are ferals.

[Nanno]

Gilbert is beautiful and I love his horns. They look like Kiko horns. 

I'm not too sure about the horn width = goat width theory. Some breeds such as Kikos, Angoras, Cashmeres, and many of the Swiss individuals have horns that grow much wider than their bodies. Others, such as Boers and Nubians tend to have horns that grow more back than out so their bodies are wider than their horns. 

After Cuzco lost one horn in an accident, he realized he could go lots more places than before! It took him all of about a day after horn removal surgery to discover that he could escape the recovery enclosure. Before he lost that horn, the boards in that horse corral were too close together for him to get his head through, so it was an ideal goat containment area. After the horn loss, there weren't many enclosures that could keep Cuzco in (or out as the case may be). As an example, here is a chicken house we converted to a goat shed. Cuzco actually managed to squeeze his enormous body through this little chicken door several times before I enlarged it for him.

   

[Sanhestar]

I agree that the horn width is not in relation to body width. The horns grow a life long so will eventually become wider than the body.

I have a 14 year old wether with horns that grow out to the side and he has to cock his head first left then right to fight through tighter spaces where his  body would fit without problems.

Here he is on the right, age maybe 6 or 7 and already the horns are wider than the body.



I've also seen with intact bucks that the horn growth is much faster/more and they will have impressive horns at ages two and three already.

Look at these intact bucks. They are one year (the white ones) and almost three years (the Toggenburger) old.

[DownUnder Gal]

Hey guys, I was only joking about the horn/body width .... it was to kind of get the thread going with lots of great horn pics. At least I succeeded with that bit - must be my warped Australian sense of humour!

[Sanhestar]

no problem. You made me look at old, old pictures, travelling down memory lane.

[Nanno]

I figured you might be kidding about the horn/body width comment.

LOVE your photos Sabine! Those horns are truly gorgeous, and the fringe on the billy goat's head looks amazing.

[DownUnder Gal]

I agree - Sabine, those photos are fantastic. Are/were they your goats at your place?

[Sanhestar]

these are/were my goats.The Toggenburger was the father of the two white ones (mother Saanen). Unfortunately the Toggi died from a lung tumor a few years later. The whites still live with me.

The fringe went away after castration, would have liked it if he kept it.......