Velvet and the Boundary Lesson

Last year, I kept 2 baby goat boys (Poppy and Velvet Kiss) to be bucks. Sweetest, most loving babies ever! Velvet started this spring with putting his paws (hooves!) on me like he used to when he was a baby but the "feel" was different, pushy and insistent. I have a friend who bought both of Gigi's babies this year and boards them here, she noticed the same thing. Whenever one of us was out there with Velvet, he would run to us and put his paws on us, trying to get us to rub his head hard. Yuck. It seemed we were on the verge of something more aggressive!

So...we used the "S/he who moves the other's feet, wins" concept. He'd come running to us and we'd walk toward him, getting in his space and moving his little feeties back. Backing him until it felt right and then petting him. I rarely have to use the moving feet idea but occasionally one of the animals gets a bit rude :-)

All of this reminds me about my own boundaries with humans and learning how to not let them get crossed. Thanks for the lesson Velvet! The animals have taught me a lot about boundaries. I used to think that it was "mean" to ask for what I needed, that was what I was taught growing up. Thinking of yourself was selfish and that idea was passed down though many generations.

Rayn was my first teacher and she told me that boundaries weren't bad and scary, but were for the safety of both sides. It's good for everyone. Huh. That wasn't something I had ever heard before. It took years to get to some clarity about it, and I'm still learning every day—but the amount of time to recognize a crossed boundary is a lot less than it used to be.

Love to all from the Mother Ranch,

Julia

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