The Big Day has Arrived - Charlie's First Ever Trim!

And no one got a head butt on their way out the door - it was a good day!

Charlie Steps Up

When I look back at Charlie early days at Blue Horse Rescue, and how very frightened and defensive he was, I’m awed at how love and friendship can heal the negative interactions that animals have experienced with humans in their past. I’m so happy that this great big goat gave us a second chance and worked hard at developing trust. His friendly personality and goofy playfulness brings a smile to our faces. Many thanks to all of you for your kindness, friendship and love that you have given this once traumatized big but frightened goat. Now, ‘what a character!’ describes him best!

Interestingly enough, like all prey animals, Charlie decided that allowing his front hoof to be lifted wasn’t a great idea, even if it was his soulmate doing the lifting! Always more to work on but this is a great five minute session getting him ready to be trimmed. Baby steps :)

Fun Things to do with a Lead Rope!

A Boy and His Friends

I think we need to up our game and find Charlie a goat-friend!

Thanks for the share, Steph.

Nothing Keeps Me in or Out!

Charlie loves a good challenge! He excels at opening stall doors, gates and clips. Plus he’s really fast at it! And, like most free spirits, the '“Please Close the Gate” sign is only a mere suggestion. Obviously Charlie’s not a Virgo!

A Stormy, Nasty, windy and Wet Day in February

Definitely Charlie’s idea of a miserable day, but he was a very good boy. Im sure he’ll be a happy goat once this storm ends - I know I will! Bring on some sunshine!!

The Christmas Scarf

Never thought I’d see this!!!

Don’t worry! Charlie wasn’t left to his own devices with a scarf on! It was removed within a minute by a human, not a goat!

Charlie's Tree

Hmmm, what’s over there?

Let’s check this out!

My favorite 😀

Breakfast with LuLu

Nothing like sharing your breakfast with a a friend - even if it is thru a fence.

Charlie Meets the Big Red Ball

Goat Paddock and Shelter Work Begins!

Our temporary resident Charlie really needs a larger area to shelter and explore so we are starting work on a a shelter and paddock for him. It’s a work in progress but we hope to have it finished up soon. It will be so nice to see him out every day stretching his legs and checking things out in a larger space. Too much food and too little exercise have created one chubby goat! Sorry Charlie!

Wellness Check for Charlie

Another not quite so nice time for Charlie, but a necessary ‘evil” in his new world. Today our amazing and brave vet confidently ventured into Charlie’s stall for his wellness check and a few miscellaneous needs. Charlie was a good boy and tolerated his booster vaccines, wormer and a little powder for any potential bugs he collected while out on his own. I was surprised how smoothly this went but, I can’t help think he was plotting against us in the pic to the right. All was good until it was time to leave the stall - we barely managed to get the stall door secured with all the head butting going on from the other side. Charlie is one powerful goat! Can’t wait for him to settle and understand that we are going to treat him well. Trust can be hard earned but we’ll give him the time it takes. We’re just happy to be able to help him.

The Welcoming Committee

This morning was Charlie’s first day to really get a good look at his new temporary home and the ponies he would be sharing it with. We fenced off an outdoor area for him to get out in the sunshine during his early few days of recovery from his castration, and it proved to be the perfect meet and greet spot. It didn’t take long for the resident welcoming committee to show up to introduce themselves and check out this strange new guy who made very interesting sounds and smelled a lot! Charlie was curious too but otherwise he didn’t seem all that impressed.

Mouse was the first one to tentatively show up and once Charlie was declared ‘ok,’ Molly was next in line. Magic decided he had seen enough and would wait for another time to introduce himself. The ponies really didn’t seem all that sure what to make of the new guy but it went well and that’s the best we could have hoped for. Time will tell if any lasting friendships are forged between ponies and goat!

Big Day for Charlie ...

… but a necessary one. Step one in calming Charlie down and beginning the process of stilling his boy-brain down a little bit - we hope! So early this morning we loaded and headed to UC Davis for a wellness check and castration. His team was waiting for his arrival and he was soon unloaded walking off the ramp and down the pathway to the procedure room. All was going well but the last thing we heard as they all walked away and out of sight was a quick holler as Charlie head butted one of the team. Not a great way to treat your caregivers!

Two hours later Charlie was ready to head up and head back ‘home’ again. He travelled well and with the help of Ty and D’Arcy he was led out of the trailer to his stall and paddock - still a little wobbly - to recover from his big day. The night was uneventful (yay!) and we look forward to helping Charlie get healthy and ready for a home with other goats and a great family.

Fingers crossed for a smooth recovery!

Charlie Arrives!

Welcome to Charlie’s Corner!

If you had ever asked me if I thought we would have goat in our small group of horses I probably would have laughed! But here we are with not only a goat, but a very large 200 lb testosterone fueled, head butting, pretty much feral goat who doesn’t have a very high opinion of people.Oh, and did I mention he’s very smelly? However, it’s only day one and this guy really needs a soft spot to land so here we - we’re learning about goats and Charlie is learning about people. Should be an interesting time for all!

Charlie is kinda cute, right?