GOATS are tricky animals to tame, but that has not stopped Kangaroo Inn Area School preparing to enter the animals and their Year 7 and 8 handlers in the 2019 Royal Adelaide Show.
“We are building a relationship with the goats by training them to wear a harness,” student Hamish Whitehead said.
He said obedient goats were rewarded with treats.
“They have special feed and sometimes they exercise by jumping up trees,” he said.
“We’re learning what it takes to be a good handler,” student Blake Bowyer said.
Daniel Nunan, who is also goat handling, said the show judges focus on how well the animal can wear a harness and their obedience in the ring.
According to the students, the animals are well behaved with the exception of one goat, which the trio describe as being lazy.
The students said the rogue goat would pretend it is dead when it does not want to do something.
Many of the students who handle the goats often live on rural properties and have experience in handling and feeding livestock.
Kangaroo Inn students often work with sheep during their secondary studies, but for now are experiencing something a little bit different.
As the students placed harnesses on the goats and had them trotting outside for a photo, the infamous lazy goat decided to lay down in the grass rather than pose.
“Some goats are nice and some are not so nice,” Hamish said.
