Julie Rose has raised goats before, but she has to treat her current herd with kid gloves -- if they get too excited, they keel over.
"They're docile, quiet and very friendly little goats," she said. "You just don't know when they're going to faint."
Rose is a fan of fainting goats, so much so that she helped organize the upcoming Rocky Mountain Fainting Goat Show, Sept. 10-11, at Ogden's Golden Spike Event Center. The show is open to the public, with no admission fee to watch, but spectators need to understand that it's not a fainting competition.
"It will happen there, but the goats aren't judged on that," said Steve Bell, who's also on the committee. "It's a conformation show. They're judged on how they stand, if they look pretty, how they stack up to other goats."
Goat owners will be coming to the competition from across the country. Like at a dog or horse event, they show their animals and the judges' favorites win ribbons.
Myotonic and Miniature Silky
Owners will be showing two types of goats during the competition: Myotonic goats and Miniature Silky Fainting goats.
Basically, Myotonic goats look like a typical goat, although they generally have prominent eyes and are quite muscular. Of course, they aren't typical, because they faint.
"They have a recessive gene that causes their muscles to stiffen up when they're excited, happy, scared or whatever, and it just causes them to fall over," said Rose, of Painted Rose Ranch in West Haven.
Rose describes Miniature Silky Fainting goats as designer goats.
"They're bred and raised to resemble a Silky Terrier," she said, explaining that the goats have long hair reminiscent of the dog's hair. "They do carry a myotonic gene, which causes them to faint."
Competitions for both types of goats will be held both days of the show, with classes starting at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. daily. Goats will be judged by Myotonic Goat Registry and Miniature Silky Fainting Goat Association rules.
Wolf bait?
Fainting goats don't actually faint.
"They're fully conscious when it happens, it's just that their muscles stiffen up to the point they can't move them, and can't stand or walk," said Rose. "They just lay there on the ground with stiff muscles, then 10 to 30 seconds later they get up and go about their business."
Bell says fainting doesn't hurt the goats, but long ago it may have been dangerous.
"They say they originated with big herds of fancy sheep, and the shepherds would use them as sacrificial goats," said Bell. "When wolves would come, the goats would faint and the wolves would eat them while the sheep got away. We don't know if that's total truth."
There are still some fainting goats that are eaten, and that's not an old folk tale.
"Back in Tennessee, they are raised specifically for meat goats," Rose said of the Myotonic goats, known for their big muscles.
Champion pets
Myotonic goats usually sell for $300 to $400, according to Bell, with Miniature Silky Fainting goats going as high as $1,000.
In spite of their cost, Rose says she's never regretted buying one.
"They're just beautiful little goats, and I just wanted to have one," she said. "I got one, and that led to two, and two led to five. Now I have 25."
Both Bell and Rose own goats that are competition champions, but Rose says they also make great pets.
"These goats don't climb or attempt to jump over fences," she said. "They're very friendly little goats."
Fainting spells
The only time Rose intentionally causes her goats to faint is when she has visitors.
"Once they become enamored with the fainting quality, they'll look beyond that and see what nice goats they are," she said.
Rose hides her husband's ATV cover behind her back, and talks softly to keep the goats relaxed.
"Then I'll throw the cover from behind my back and I'll have four or five go down," she said.
Once their adrenaline is up, goats are less likely to faint, which is why they may not do it as much at the show as they do at home.
Bell says older goats are less likely to fall down, because they learn to stand in ways that allow them to remain upright when their muscles lock up.
"Babies faint most often," he said. "They're running and something startles them, and they fall over with their legs straight in the air."
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