LIVING THE GOOD LIFE
In our new series, Sally Coulthard shares her tried-and-tested tips
When I was about ten, I can remember a pair of trousers going missing from Mum’s washing line. The whole street had long back gardens – mostly used for kicking a ball about or drying clothes – but our immediate neighbours were enthusiastic ‘good lifers’ and had just bought a goat. Needless to say, it was soon established that she was the culprit after the offending item of apparel was found lightly chewed in their compost heap.
I’m not sure what my mother was more cross about – the missing trousers or the goat deciding they weren’t nice enough to swallow. Goats have a reputation for being indiscriminate and voracious eaters but they’re actually fairly picky: they need fresh forage, good-quality hay, goat feed and are not averse to the odd fruit treat. They’re also endlessly curious, so nibbling the trousers was almost certainly more an act of inquisitiveness than greed. This investigative nature also manifests in another quirk: goats are past masters of escape. Smallholders often swap stories of goats who have managed to lift latches, press door handles or even unbolt gates. High stock, or electric, fencing is a must if you want to prevent them pursuing pastures new.
For all their eccentricities, however, goats are undeniably wonderful. Research from Queen Mary University* recently confirmed what most goat owners already know – that they can be as clever as dogs and just as capable of building companionable relationships with humans. Goats are also fast becoming one of the most popular animals used in mental-health care. Their gregarious nature makes them good in both child and adult therapy.
What our ancestors would make of ‘goat yoga’ is anyone’s guess, but it’s heartening to see goats becoming popular again, with nearly 90,000 now in residence in the UK. It’s a far cry from the Middle Ages, when numbers dwindled to the hundreds in favour of the more marketable sheep. For today’s smallholders, however, goats are about as perfect an animal as you could wish for. If you’re a meat-eater, goat is lower in saturated fat and cholesterol than most red meats. Goat’s milk is high in nutrients and can provide an alternative for those who can’t tolerate cow’s milk. It also makes the most fantastic cheese and is an effective moisturiser in natural skincare. Personally, I like my goat’s milk in a big scoop of ice cream – the perfect way to cool off after rounding up escapee livestock for the umpteenth time.