Chat
07-09-2017, 08:36 PM
We had a great drive today! We went to a neighborhood we haven't visited since last summer so it all felt new and exciting. My cart had a low tire so Phil and Finn headed out while I pumped it up. Sputnik wasn't happy to be left behind and cried pitifully. He threw a slight temper tantrum when we got going, but he soon sorted out his emotions and went obediently (if rather noisily). The worst thing about Sputnik complaining is that he sounds like someone is torturing him. He has a horrible voice! When Finn is noisy he at least sounds like a goat.
Phil and I spent some time driving our goats in different directions around some loops in the neighborhood, but when we met up things got very exciting! We had our first race today! We used a road sign as our starting line and picked a mailbox a short distance down the road as the finish. Phil said "go" and we were off! Sputnik immediately claimed the early lead but set the pace at a leisurely lope. For a while it seemed that Finn would be content to trail along behind at a trot and there would be no contest, but with a little more vocal encouragement from Phil, Finn suddenly broke into a read run and passed Sputnik like he was standing still. I shouted and whooped and Sputnik leaped into a gallop and slowly caught up to the fleet-footed Finn just as we crossed the finish line. It was a photo finish, but since there was no photographer we called it a tie.
It took a few minutes for the boys to settle down. They've never been asked to run before and the didn't want to slow down. I think both of them were under the impression that they were running from something and were scared to stop. We took the time to stop them gently and then we got out and reassured them and let them catch their breath. The rest of our drive was done at an easy walk. With occasional practice the boys should learn that running doesn't mean running away. We put our whips away for the race. We won't be allowed to use them in Tennessee and we also don't want to accidentally get carried away in the excitement of competition. So any time we're running, our whips will stay in their sockets.
Phil and I spent some time driving our goats in different directions around some loops in the neighborhood, but when we met up things got very exciting! We had our first race today! We used a road sign as our starting line and picked a mailbox a short distance down the road as the finish. Phil said "go" and we were off! Sputnik immediately claimed the early lead but set the pace at a leisurely lope. For a while it seemed that Finn would be content to trail along behind at a trot and there would be no contest, but with a little more vocal encouragement from Phil, Finn suddenly broke into a read run and passed Sputnik like he was standing still. I shouted and whooped and Sputnik leaped into a gallop and slowly caught up to the fleet-footed Finn just as we crossed the finish line. It was a photo finish, but since there was no photographer we called it a tie.
It took a few minutes for the boys to settle down. They've never been asked to run before and the didn't want to slow down. I think both of them were under the impression that they were running from something and were scared to stop. We took the time to stop them gently and then we got out and reassured them and let them catch their breath. The rest of our drive was done at an easy walk. With occasional practice the boys should learn that running doesn't mean running away. We put our whips away for the race. We won't be allowed to use them in Tennessee and we also don't want to accidentally get carried away in the excitement of competition. So any time we're running, our whips will stay in their sockets.