It does take a lot of energy, time, and money in some instances, to be aware of where your food and other products come from, but I do think many of us could do more on that front. Myself included in some cases. I’ve really made an effort over the years and it’s still an ongoing study, really.
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According to TikTok, there was a lady eating at Disney World restaurant who freaked out and says she was “irreversably damaged” when her wagyu beef order came with a certificate detailing the animal’s name, and history, including its nose print.
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This thread… oy.
The point that seems to be missed by those upset by an animal being brought onto the property without boarder’s knowledge or BOs is…
The goat was separated from the horses/barn/boarders in a shed on the ‘other side of the property’. Seems biosecurity (for an animal that shares virtually no diseases with horses) was followed.
I’ve been present and helped in the slaughter of chickens, lambs (which are nearly a year old when most are killed for ‘lamb’-- quite mature!), and cattle. Do I enjoy the act of killing them? No, no I do not. But I fundamentally understand that to eat meat, an animal must die. I’d rather it be local, raised humanely and it’s death is quick and properly done.
The assumptions made in this thread by OP and subsequent responders are mind boggling.
OP-- either move or don’t. Choice is yours.
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What’s the point in dwelling on it though?
If I thought about it enough I’d be a vegetarian.
That’s not going to work for me.
So I should persevarate on it, why?
Will it change anything?
How much angst over it is appropriate? And if it is appropriate to be aware of where meat comes from, why is OPs distress about seeing it in her midst a problem?
You want us to be aware, but OPs awareness is too much? 
I’ve got enough I feel guilty about in my life, that I worry about while being unable to change it.
Why saddle me with one more thing, distress over where meat cones from? To what end?
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I hope this does not offend, I found it amusing.
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I’m sorry that you feel this way, you sound overwhelmed.
It’s not necessarily that I dwell on it, but I am aware and do think that more people should be. It’s also possible for the info to be made more easily and readily available (see some of Europe’s 1 to 4 meat classification system), and then maybe people would find it easier to make choices and feel less overwhelmed.
If being vegetarian doesn’t work for you, then that’s fine. No one is forcing you to be one.
I’m sorry that you feel the way that you do, but it’s attitudes like yours that will never get us anywhere. The whole “Why should I do x? Why should I be bothered? What difference does it make?” is weak, IMO. It has to start and continue somewhere, but it also comes down to it being a personal thing in respect to values. If you don’t value animal welfare to the same extent as someone else, fair enough, that’s you, and that’s them, but everyone’s choice(s) do matter.
I also think you’re missing my point(s), it’s not that the OP’s awareness is too much (although I would not have wandered off looking for said goat), it’s just ironic when a meat eater is offended at the thought of being around animal processing. Sure, it can be “gross” to some, but if you’re uncomfortable about where meat comes from, that’s a personal problem. Plus, no one processed an animal in front of OP, and we don’t know if they were planning to? Or if it’s a one off. Would I like it? No. But it sounds like it’s being dealt with accordingly.
I’m not trying to make you feel guilty, and that’s unfortunate that you’d feel saddled with one more thing. If it’s not a priority to you, then don’t be saddled with it. You’re free to make your choices, these are just my opinions on the matter. I chose to not eat meat, or if I do/when I did, I was very conscious about where it came from and its history. If you don’t want to be saddled with that, then don’t put the saddle on. To what end is up to you. It’s the pressure you put on yourself, or allow others to put on you, really.
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People who just want their meat without knowing what is involved are why big ag has gestation crates for sows, why subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics were used for growth promotion for so many years, and why the regulations for raising “organic” poultry are a joke.
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Thank you for the support.
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This whole thread is interesting to me. I have been trying to avoid posting because clearly this is a contentious topic.
While the OP was perhaps dramatic, and the timeline as presented was unclear at the start, it does seem that they fed and watered the goat in conjunction with the BO, not alone. Some of the pile on seems a bit harsh.
I do agree that there seems to be a disconnect for a huge swath of American meat eaters and dairy & egg consumers about the harsh realities of where their food comes from. I also think that there is ignorance of other cultures and their practices when it comes to meat slaughter and consumption.
That said, I must admit that if I heard a goat on a property that does not normally house goats, I would be curious. I would also probably be distressed to learn it was going to be dinner. I am too much an animal lover to want to face that reality in the flesh. Would I go looking around for the goat? I don’t know. Maybe, as I might assume it was lost. Would I want to leave over the ordeal? No, but it wouldn’t be a great memory for me, and I would probably want to vent about it in a forum separate from my barn, although I probably wouldn’t choose CoTH.
I say this as someone whose family had a beef operation growing up. The reality of meat production is something I am very familiar with and personally, I find it hard to stomach. I was a vegetarian for several years, lapsed, and currently eat very little red meat (maybe once every year or two) and pork (ditto), and am trying to cut down on my consumption of poultry and fish. I try to make ethical and humane purchasing decisions as much as possible when shopping for proteins and dairy and eggs.
So people can have mixed feelings and try to do their best. They can respect that other people live differently, but not want to be confronted with that reality. It doesn’t necessarily make them ignorant.
I do hope the barn staff didn’t face undue consequences over this. And I hope they get to/got to have a festive holiday meal.
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When we first moved from the suburbs to the country, we kept my horse at a neighbors farm. They had chickens for eggs and for eating, and one year I was there they also raised pigs to eat as well. My parents bought one, and we ate Timmy for quite some time. It didn’t bother me as a kid…I would have been in 7th grade or so. We did know how he and his siblings were raised, and got to see them all every day and pet and play with them. It was sad on slaughter day seeing the blood in the snow, but, thats how it went. And Timmy tasted so much better than grocery store pork. Looking back, it seems very Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House in the Big Woods. My mom also worked with the county extension office for a number of years, and would often go in with another employee there to purchase a cow at auction and split the meat to support a 4H kid during fair week. That beef always tasted better too but I don’t remember that we knew their names.
I don’t know. When you’re a little closer to it I think you appreciate it more. My dad also hunted one season when we moved to the country as a right of passage perhaps. He ran back to get me, again a 7th grader, to come down and help get the deer in the truck after he field dressed it. THAT I watched and still remember the sounds and visuals. I wouldn’t have wanted to kill the deer or do that, but it was still interesting to me.
I was tougher as a kid with that stuff than I probably am as an adult admittedly and also probably sound very far from someone who doesnt eat meat 
. But I do have an appreciation and respect for what goes into bringing it to our plates, as it sounds like many of us here do.
It irks me too. I know people that were bothered enough never to eat meat again once they learned more about it all, and I get that. But to be so bothered yet turn a blind eye because is tastes better than it feels to not contribute to it, just makes me shake my head. You’re really not that bothered by it then.
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This episode kills me every time 
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Oh I have learned a lot from this thread. I did have an emotional reaction and going forward will consider that this is not the place for that type of posting.
Please do not assume that I dont appreciate the barn workers. However a cash gift is typically my way of saying thanks.
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The reasonable reaction would have been along the lines of huh, that’s weird, I was not expecting to find a goat!? …and go on with your life. After all, the BO was with the OP.
All the rest is vanity and self-serving blather at the least, and classist xenophobia at worst.
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While I understand the sentiment behind these words, I think there are extenuating circumstances which do require interfering on behalf of the animal. Such as the time I found a horse fully tacked and tied by a rope from the ceiling and denied food and water. There was no one in the barn and I did untie and take off his bridle (full spade bit btw) but he just stood there with that 1,000 mile stare; afraid to move. I heard this owner regularly tied the horse this way leaving him for up to 36 hours and the BO knew about it and thought it was fine and dandy. That’s when I packed up and left without notice.
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Maybe consider a basket of vegetables because that cash might go into the purchase of the next meat goat and there you would be, complicit in the slaughter of another goat.
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This thread has been fascinating.
I’m still DYING to know … @SpicyPRE are you vegan? Vegetarian? I’ve noticed you haven’t explicitly answered…(unless I missed it, which is entirely possible)
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Lol you seem far more invested and overwhelmed about this than I am.
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Listen, this happens from time to time. Members get on a tear and can’t stop themselves, take a breath or a step back and recognize that they’ve blown something up much bigger than it clearly was.
They’ll burn themselves out eventually.
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You’re assuming alot.
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OP:
I am glad you posted your story because I think it is an important conversation. There were a lot of very bizarre reactions and beliefs that came to the forefront because of your post.
My big takeaway aligns with something that has already been bothering me a lot lately: some Americans are oblivious to a fault about the cultures of our friends and neighbors of different upbringings. Just because something is considered a cultural practice doesn’t make it automatically acceptable, but I hope society learns to approach differences in culture with curiosity and a desire to understand instead of rushing to judgement and condemnation.
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