# rear legs falling asleep?



## tehgoatboi (May 16, 2008)

hey i have a 1.5 year old wether, and he seems to have a habit of laying in a position in which his rear legs fall asleep. at least thats what i think is happening. 

when he gets up, he will kinda dangle one of his rear legs in mid air kinda floating around a little bit, and then alternate until after a while he stops. if you get him to walk around while "his legs are still asleep", he kinda walks bowlegged.

after about 10 or 15 minutes though, he will be back to normal pretty much, he will do his little excited goat dance normally, and run normally, etc. 

we believe this all started after he had a habit of jumping up on a shelf in his shed and sitting up there, sometimes with a leg hanging off the side, other times just curled up or whatever.

is this something to worry about, is it a disease or problem, or is it just harmless limb-falling-asleep?




just recently, ive gotten half the mind to prevent him from gettin up there so he cant dangle his legs down and stuff, just in case.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

welcome to TGS! 

I would try that and see if it helps. It is possible - if our legs can fall asleep I am sure theirs can too


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

I often wondered about that, my does do the same thing, I'm sure their legs fall asleep too 

Welcome to the Goat Spot! :wave:


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## enjoytheride (Oct 5, 2007)

It could be an injury that's causing a pinched nerve but are there any other odd things going on like is he not focussing his eyes well? Or changes in his weight or appetitie?
If it is a bit of arthritis, an anti-inflammitory will help.


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

Welcome to TGS! :wave:


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## tehgoatboi (May 16, 2008)

could it be that we are not trimming his hooves quite right?

i have often wondered that, but i thought we were.


i notice he seems to occasionally walk on the tip of his rear hooves but im not 100% on that, it could just be how hes standing...


perhaps that is what is causing it, and he has some slight pain?


i dont know, just poking out for some suggestions...

thank you all for the warm welcome, btw! ive been a lurker for a while!

and thanks for all the help, too!


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## enjoytheride (Oct 5, 2007)

Can you post a picture? I can't quite see what you're explaining.
It is not normal for him to be doing what you originally said. But I can see that trimming might create some soreness if it was off.


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## tehgoatboi (May 16, 2008)

i will post pics as sooon as i can



i meant, that we are letting his hooves grow too long and stuff, not that we are cutting into the quick or whatever, it but nonetheless i will post pics asap


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## enjoytheride (Oct 5, 2007)

That will help. Long, folded over feet can cause soreness. I do hope that is it because it is such an easy fix.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Welcome to the goat spot. Glad you are here. :wave: OK did I miss what kind of goats you have?

I do second the thought of the hoofs. How long have you had the goat? Maybe he was hurt before you got him. Just a thought. Does he act like he hurts or that his leg is just asleep?


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## tehgoatboi (May 16, 2008)

he is a pygmy, and we have had him since he was 2 months old, so weve had him for a real long time. 

i dont believe he is acting like he hurts. he isnt really laying down excessively (but it is hot as hell out here in middle GA so he is resting a lot in the shade on our porch) and he will walk all the way around the house and graze and stuff. i can grab him anywhere on his leg and haunches and stuff, and squeeze and move his leg around to see if it hurts him, although im not sure how he would react if he WAS hurting, he doesnt do anything to get away fast, or scream or nothing. 

still trying to get pics but im gonna have to borrow a camera cuz our digital camera is a piece of trash


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## tehgoatboi (May 16, 2008)

kk got a few vids, sorry if they are long and boring but you can skip around or watch all of them if u wanna see some funny stuff 
i have yet to get a vid of how his leg seems to be asleep though, but these show how he acts and stuff normally.

here is one with me messing around with him and chasing him and getting him to run and jump and stuff, and you can see his leg placement and how he walks...
action starts at 2:57
http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s309 ... V02560.flv

and this vid is about his hooves and how he stands on them sometimes....
sorry for the big grunt @ around 0:50
at around 0:18 you can see how he stands on his tip-toes (hooves lol)
http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s309 ... V02562.flv

i will continue to try to get a vid of how he acts with his leg all wonky..


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

my graphics card on my laptop is terrible but that said I do believe his hooves have somethign wrong with them or they are not trimmed right.

he favors his back right and lifts it off the ground when he stands ever so slightly. This could be a hip problem too or that could be his worst hoof.

some plan pictures of how he stands and walks would help me as my computer doesn't like videos.


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## hornless (Oct 5, 2007)

I have to agree with Stacey. His hooves look very strange. Pictures would be helpful, I would want to see one of his hooves.


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## tehgoatboi (May 16, 2008)

the underside of it or just like profiles from the sides?


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

side would be fine but both would be good


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

I have a question. How long have you had this guy and has he done this all the time that you have had him?
Pictures of the whole hoof, side while it is on the ground and the under part.

Is his thigh on that leg swollen? Does he have a lump there? It looks like it to me. I really think it was a injury that he had and either it is not totally healed OR healed and is not healed correct.
What I would do is massage that thigh and down his leg, see if that will help.

just my two cents.


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## tehgoatboi (May 16, 2008)

hes only been doing it for about 2 or so months, the leg falling asleep thing. i have only just noticed his hoof thing for the past week however.

i will check for a lump when i get home.


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

It was hard to tell from the video, but his hoofs look like they are rounded on the bottom, which could cause him to walk tip toed. A pic would help a lot.


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## tehgoatboi (May 16, 2008)

sorry if they aint the best, if you need even better i will get someone to hold him down when i can.

thx


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

yes his hooves are way to rounded off. They need to be more pointed at the tips. That is his problem.

if you check my website you can see pictures of how i trim hooves and how the hooves are suppose to look. YOu need to trim the front part down further as it is rounding itself off. http://www.endofthelinefarm.com/hooftrimming.htm

also can you go in and delete some of the extra pictures? -- 3 or 4 will do just fine. It is just hard for people with dial up to download all those pictures


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## enjoytheride (Oct 5, 2007)

I would trim him for sure- the wall has folded over and even the heel is uneven between the toes. That may take care of it. It's the first thing to try anyway.


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

That is very strange. His heels are long, but they look different then my guys when I wait too long to 
trim. And they still walk on the whole foot. This little guy is actually walking on his toes. It looks to
me like he has very straight hind legs. Did he have any injuries to his back? I think I'd run this by my 
vet, to see what she thinks. How strange... :shrug:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

He is a handsome lil' carmel!! His hoof does look to be too rounded in the toe...they look well maintained and from what I'm seeing, he may be up on his rear toe as he's reaching and walking but he's not picking up his feet...he's dragging his foot forward on his toe, try the trim that was suggested and give it a few weeks to see if that does the trick..if he is no better and still drags his toes I'd be looking at nerve or joint damage...possible from playing too rough and either slid and fell or twisted himself. Some goats have hooves that are never "perfect" no matter how you maintain them, it may be heredity that causes it :shrug: ...my pygmy buck will walk on his rear toes when the younger boys get into "his space"


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## tehgoatboi (May 16, 2008)

alright, thanks for all the info guys, i think it was his hooves like yall said.


we trimmed one hoof, but we had such a hard time with it because he doesnt like being held down that we only did one and are gonna do the other tomorrow or tonight. also, unfortunately got a little bit of a bleeder when we cut a tiny bit into his quick or whatever, but it looks like he is walking normally now. will keep yall updated.


thanks so much again <3


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

yah sometimes that happends -- usually it heals up pretty quick.

My most friendly goat acts like I am torturing him when I trim his hooves :roll:


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

OH, I have cut back to far several times. It is hard when they move but it will grow back. It is like when you tear a nail off to short, yes it is very tender.

I would do his feet slowly, maybe not try to get it all at once. I never trim my goats with them on the ground, try to get him to stand and then hold a foot, just remember not to hold the leg to high, I have seen when kids hold the let to hight and it popped out the hip joint. It just happened this last weekend at a show. Hold it as low to the grown as you can and still get the foot cut. You will see the cooperate better also.


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## tehgoatboi (May 16, 2008)

i get my fiancee to hold him belly-to-her-belly, sideways with his legs going behind her and we sit on the ground (hope i described it right so yall can understand, lol). it is usually kind of easy this way, i dont know WHY he was spazzing so bad, but he was acting so horrible.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

well I hope he gets better for you --- but don't worry to much it is pretty normal :roll:


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