Goat Horns

[Taffy]

I think goat horns can be "works of art" and very beautiful. They also tell a story by the growth "rings" like a tree. This is a photo of a mini Lamancha buck whose horns were left to grow (I don't own him). I thought his horns were impressive.

Do you have photos of your goat horns you'd like to share?

[Nanno]

Wow! Those really are impressive! They look like an Angora's the way they're shaped and curved.

Cuzco, of course, has only one horn. His story highlights one of the drawbacks to leaving them on. His left horn broke when a dog chased him off a 30-foot cliff. Had it broken off completely, the odds of him bleeding to death before we could help him would have been high. As it was, he was concussed, he had blood running down his sinus and dripping from his nose and mouth, he was in shock, and he was completely disoriented, but the blood vessels inside the horn were mostly intact so his blood loss was minimal. The horn was broken half-way up and also right along the base. It was too damaged to save and it cost $500 for the surgery to remove it. We thought about leaving it, which would have resulted in a deformed horn, but we were afraid that since it was cracked right through to the core that it would cause ongoing problems with fly infestations, danger of re-breaking at the weak points during normal wear-and-tear, and danger to people and horses because of the nasty, flesh-tearing "hooks" where the cracks were. So we had it removed, which was a 3-hour surgery and a 2-night stay at the vet.


  Cuzco_surgery.jpg (Size: 37.6 KB / Downloads: 48)

Interestingly, there is a significant stress crack across the right horn that began at the time of that accident. It is probably the most dangerous part of Cuzco's horn because it can be a bit of a flesh-grabber. Most of the time it's worn fairly smooth by his constant sharpening on trees, but there have been times when a piece chips away and I've accidentally smacked my hand or arm across it and come away bleeding. I kept the broken horn. I'm not sure if I'll ever do anything with it, but it's in a box with my rock collection.

You can see the stress scar a few inches up. This was several years ago and the crack is further back on his horn now, making it less dangerous than it once was.
   

[Taffy]

That was a terriy stressful time for Cuzco. I'm glad he survived. I can see how the growth ring on his horn could be a skin scratcher.

[nebs]

Very cool!