Goat Trauma

For anyone that hasn't already heard this story....

Yesterday, I was leaving the goat pen to dump muck buckets and the two goats were milling around me. They like to try to escape when the gate opens, the brats. I was carrying the pitchfork (a real metal tined one, not a plastic one) in one hand and a bucket in the other and trying to get out without the goats getting out.

With all the snow we've had, the entrance to the pen is actually down about a foot or so from the snow level and is kinda sloped, so you have to watch your step. So on my way out the gate, one goat went between my legs, the other went behind my knees and DOWN I went!!

When I fell, the metal tines pierced my boot and the fork got stuck. Of course, I was cold and wet at this point and my feet were numb, so I wasn't sure if the fork went right in or not.

The goats took off to the feed building and went in the open door and had a party in there, climbing on the bales of hay, moving my pile of tarps and eating stuff. They stomped me while I was down on their way by, somehow both on the front AND back of me. (Thank goodness they only weigh about 60 - 80 lbs!!) One of them, and I'm sure it was Ernie, grabbed my hat off my head on his way by!! I found that in the feed building later.

So I'm sitting in the snow and goat poop looking at my foot, trying to decide if I should pull the fork out or not... I wiggle my foot around and decide its ok, but I can't get the fork OUT of my boot. So I take off my boot, my foot comes out easily. Up I get, one boot on, one just in a wool sock and I run after the goats about 100 feet to the feed building, close the door and put their collars on.

I walk them back to their pen (about another 100 feet in knee deep snow with only one boot on) and push them through the gate and lock it up with the 3 chains we have holding the gate shut. (They can chew through twine in no time!!)

I had to stand on the side of my boot to remove the fork, it was firmly embedded in the boot. It turns out the tines entered just under the sole of my foot, thank goodness... not even a scratch on me.

I actually text messaged Shawn at work while the goats were loose and the fork was in my boot... I was thinking I might need him to come home and give me a hand... he was busy in a meeting and called about 10 - 15 minutes later and all was ok again and I was hauling more muck buckets to my new, 2nd, CLOSER manure pile that I started yesterday!!

Later when I was trying to show Shawn what happened, I couldn't even find where the tines went in!!

So I'm fine, the goats are fine... my boots are fine... but why do I have to have two weird days back to back?! :)