[AG-EQ] Work for a goat

[Tracy Carcione]

Hi Susan.
Do you have predators around big enough to eat a goat?  Coyote?  Just
curious.
Tracy


-----Original Message-----
From: AG-EQ [mailto:ag-eq-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of dogwood farm via
AG-EQ
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2020 12:30 PM
To: Agricultural and Equestrean Division List
Cc: dogwood farm
Subject: Re: [AG-EQ] Work for a goat

Tracy,

That was cute.  The three girls are still refusing to be shut in the
barn at night.  Cloey had been our little escape artist until Matt
actually saw her going back into their pasture.  Oh well, she had been
busted and she has not ventured out on her own any more.

Susan

On 8/18/20, Tracy Carcione via AG-EQ <ag-eq at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> This is a little article about a stable goat at one of New York's racing
> stables.
>
> He sure is a big goat.
>
> Tracy
>
>
>
> Gilbert the Goat: Atras Racing Stable's Multitasking Mascot
>
> THE LIFE
>
> August 17th, 2020 BY
>
> Annise Montplaisir
>
> Gilbert the Goat performs many tasks for Rob Atras' barn at Saratoga and
is
> a cherished member of the backstretch community. (Brittney Atras photo)
>
>
>
> Gilbert walks purposely down the shedrow, surveying a stranger approaching
> the barn where he resides in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The brown and white
> goat's
>
> leather collar has a name plate reading "Gilbert Atras," indicating his
> association with trainer
>
> Rob Atras
>
> and his wife and assistant Brittney.
>
>
>
> "Gilbert is just.. Gilbert," said Brittney Atras, wracking her brain for
an
> appropriate comparison between their goat - who is the height of a Great
> Dane
>
> and width of a large wheelbarrow - and a human character.
>
>
>
> 'Gilbert Atras' (Annise Montplaisir )
>
>
>
> "He's such a strange combination of things," she mused. "He goes from a
> grumpy uncle, where you can see he's huffing around the barn because
> something
>
> has peeved him off, to absolutely wanting to play and being like a pet
dog.
> But he's definitely not a goat."
>
>
>
> Most goats found in racing stables are companion animals, providing a
> calming effect on anxious horses. Gilbert was purchased by Rob as a
> 3-month-old kid
>
> to be raised as a baby-sitter. But Gilbert - now 5 - had different ideas,
> preferring the barn's ponies to excitable Thoroughbreds.
>
>
>
> His titles include stable mascot, morale booster, and head of security -
> chasing people away who he feels do not belong in his barn. He is also
> self-appointed
>
> entertainer for owners, showing off, rubbing up against legs, and mooching
> for food.
>
>
>
> The Atras' train out of a private barn near the Saratoga harness track,
> overseeing a string of nearly 30 horses. A spacious grassy area and dirt
> walking
>
> oval line the barn, with the entire area contained by a tall fence.
> Brittney
> said Gilbert views Saratoga as his playground, wandering and eating as he
>
> pleases.
>
>
>
> But Gilbert's preferred kingdom is the couple's barn at
>
> Belmont Park.
>
>
>
> "He spends his entire days there in the office," Atras said. "He stands in
> the doorway and monitors everything going on. He also likes climbing the
> trees
>
> there."
>
>
>
> Gilbert walks up to a stack of hay bales and slides back and forth against
> them, scratching his sides without taking his eyes off the chatting humans
> nearby.
>
>
>
> "He's showing off," Atras said.
>
>
>
> Gilbert ambles over reaches out a hoof, like a dog being asked to shake.
>
>
>
> Head of security. (Annise Montplaisir )
>
>
>
> "Oh yeah, he does goat yoga. I mean, not real goat yoga, but we stretch
him
> so he loves stretching," Atras added.
>
>
>
> "Real" goat yoga generally involves baby goats who bounce over the ground
> and climb on top of class participants. As a nearly 200-pound boer goat,
> you
>
> would not want Gilbert walking on top of you.
>
>
>
> "He never eats healthy snacks, he doesn't like carrots," Atras said. "He
> doesn't like goat feed, he only eats high performance horse feed. I think
> that's
>
> why he's so big. We don't give him his own, he just bullies horses into
> giving him their feed."
>
>
>
> Not even the horses mess with Gilbert, simply walking around when he
> refuses
> to move from the barn aisle.
>
>
>
> "He also eats donuts, and things he thinks he's not supposed to have. If
> there's something healthy on the desk like a carrot or apples, he will eat
> them
>
> because he thinks he's being bad."
>
>
>
> Gilbert pricks his floppy ear and stares momentarily at people riding
bikes
> down the street. Promptly losing interest, he ambles down the shedrow to
> Rob,
>
> pressing his head into the trainer's arm to request attention.
>
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