At Kootenay Acres where animals are friends and not food, Amy was used to doing things differently than they did on most farms. But she was still shocked when she came outside one day and saw one of her goats riding a horse.
“I was like, oh my goodness. What is happening over there?” said Amy. “And I was like, well, this is a once in a lifetime thing.” But as the week continued, her goat, Arret, continued to climb aboard her horse, Bouge.
Goats are surprisingly intelligent animals, but Bouge might have been the first one to learn to ride another animal. He used Arret to help him get to the tall branches and trees he normally could not reach.
But Arret’s inventiveness did not stop there. The clever goat also did his best to steer his equine friend. To get Bouge to move forward, Arret would paw at his back in a similar manner that a human rider would use. So, Arret got a way to reach trees, and Bouge received a companion to give him a back rub.
Amy found it interesting that Bouge and Arret were the two animals who found each other. “We have 50 animals, and the two French named animals kind of found each other,” said Amy.
While the two did have their occasional disagreements, they continued to be close. And as far as any other goats go, Arret made sure that Bouge was a one-goat horse.
The two animals have grown even closer since the first day Amy found Arret standing on top of Bouge. “It really is what you would expect to see between even humans who have a friendship,” said Amy.
