Everything is Better with Goats.
Meagan Fredrick, fondly known as the goat mother at Hemlock Neversink, shares with us why everything is better with goats. Whether you're strolling through their serene fields or joining a refreshing morning goat trek post-breakfast, your day is sure to begin on a joyful note. Today, we're thrilled to share more about these wonderful animals.
By Meagan Frederick
It’s been proven that just petting animals helps to release a relaxation response in humans, lower anxiety, provide comfort, reduce loneliness and provide an escape or happy distraction from life’s stressors. So it makes sense that animal-assisted therapy has become more widely known and accepted in recent years. And since pet therapy animals don’t need task-specific training the way service animals do, there are more kinds of animals that can participate, such as goats! Although goats may seem like a non-traditional therapy animal, they certainly can be and are becoming increasingly popular as such.
Goats were among the first domesticated animals on the planet, which means that there is a lengthy emotional and evolutionary overlap between people and goats. It shouldn’t surprise us to learn that goats are able to recognize human emotion by interpreting facial expressions, as they adapted that skill over thousands of years alongside humans, inevitably helping them to survive.
The most obvious characteristics of therapy goats is how adorable they are and how silly they can be. Their entertaining nature is one of the things that make them excellent therapy animals. Their playfulness can bring laughter out of the shyest of us, lift our spirits, and encourage communication and mindfulness. Receiving attention or affection from a therapy goat, whether its a snuggle, a nudge or a felt connection, can also make one feel extra special.
But they also offer something deeper. Goats, like other animals, live in the present moment when they are safe and loved. They just ARE, which is both calming and inspiring. So it makes sense that it might feel easier to connect to the feeling of being present when around them. One can forget about the chaos of the world, and just BE with the goats. Their calm demeanor, even when chewing their cud, can inspire a meditative state that’s relaxing to be around. Because goats are calm and in the present moment, humans can’t help but take on that energy. Life’s stresses simply melt away.
Despite being used primarily for meat, dairy, skin and fiber - goats have the strength and resilience to recover from past trauma and trust humans if shown true kindness and respect. This quality, in turn, inspires humans to feel empathy for the goats, who suffered at the hands of our species. A deep connection is forged with this awareness, which has its own benefits - a term called “mutual rescue”.
On a scientific note, there are documented medical benefits from being around animals such as goats. Research has shown that seeing and touching animals can trigger positive physiological changes, including lowering levels of cortisol levels (linked to stress) and increasing dopamine (linked with reward-motivation behavior), oxytocin (called the love hormone and linked to feeling of tranquility), and endorphins (linked to feelings of happiness and well-being). There is also a study that linked animal-assisted therapy to improved blood flow in people experiencing heart failure, helping to reduce blood pressure, improving cardiovascular health, and diminishing overall physical pain.
As the benefits of therapy animals are becoming better understood and more widely used, therapy goats are poised to become important contenders in improving mental and physical health. Combine all of this with the majestic setting of Hemlock Neversink, where guests can walk each day surrounded by the beauty of nature and accompanied by these sentient creatures - booking a stay should be a no-brainer!
*Goat hikes are available most days during your stay at Hemlock Neversink. More activities coming soon!