If you are looking for an unusual birthday present for a friend or planning a hen do, have you considered doing Pilates with pygmy goats?
The sessions are proving to be very popular for these special occasions with groups heading to Fife for the experience.
In fact, on the day I went along to Bellcraig Farm near Glenrothes – to give it a try – there were actually two women in the group who were gifted the 60-minute session for their birthday.
The farm was the first venue in Scotland to offer the unique wellbeing experience five years ago.
But there is one thing which has changed since the early days – the number of pygmy goats taking part!
“In the beginning we started off with just two goats – Hazel and Mabel,” Pilates instructor Jo Munro, 44, says.
“And now we have nine!
“So it has definitely morphed into a bigger thing, which has been great.”
Where did the idea for Pilates with goats come from?
Jo tells me she was inspired to launch the classes, which cost £30 per person, after trying goat yoga when she was on holiday in America.
She then mentioned it to Holly Patrick-Thomson, who owns Bellcraig Farm, to see if she fancied introducing it.
Holly says: “We had goats at the farm and Jo approached me to see if I would be interested and I loved the idea.
“So we had a trial run and immediately the goats loved it – they were so keen right from the start.
“We started off with two goats but we never imagined back then that we would end up with nine!”
Be prepared – goats may jump on you!
Arriving at the farm, myself and the other participants went into a stone-built cottage – eagerly-anticipating the arrival of our four-legged friends.
Holly prepared us for what was about to happen during the hour-long class.
“There is a risk in goat Pilates that a goat may jump on you,” she says
“And the goats will try and eat anything!”
So we were urged to keep our belongings out of reach so they don’t get munched on.
Then suddenly the door opened and all the pygmy goats were let loose.
Myself and some of the other participants crouched down on the floor to say hello to our new pals.
I loved the fact they all have their own names.
They are: Maggie and Betty, Mabel, Angus, Fergus, Zorro, Diageo and the five-month-old kids Ivy and Bramble.
They are very curious creatures, but also very friendly.
And surprisingly, they don’t smell.
Pretty much immediately, there was a scream from my right as one goat decided to leap onto a girl’s back.
It happened with no warning and she was caught completely off guard, causing a lot hilarity.
And once they started, there was no stopping them!
Time for some ‘Pilates’
While the class is called ‘Pilates with pygmy goats’, there isn’t a lot of Pilates.
In total you might do around six or seven moves.
But this is probably due to the fact that the pygmy goats tend to take over!
I wondered when it might be my turn to feel a goat jumping onto my back – and I didn’t have to wait long.
We were instructed to get into our first position.
This was on all fours on our hands and knees lifting one arm while lifting the opposite leg at the same time.
And as soon as I was in position, with my back straight, the next thing I felt was this thud.
And sure enough, one goat had jumped on!
It felt a little heavier than I expected.
However, the tricky part was trying to stay on my knees while lifting an arm and leg with the goat balancing on my back – it wasn’t easy!
It was the same with the downward dog position.
The idea is to allow the goat to jump on your back first before lifting your bum up in the air.
It is definitely harder than you might think!
Bridging out with the pygmy goats
One of the highlights of the session was when we all got on all fours next to each other in a line – like a long bridge.
This then allowed the goats to leap along our backs.
There was a lot of laughter as we could feel the goats hooves landing on our backs – one after the other!
As the session continued, we then tried some more challenging positions including a pyramid.
And near the end of the class, we had the opportunity to get ‘selfies’ with the goats.
Friends Jacqui McDermott, 34, and Madison Brown, 32, travelled up from Ayr from the afternoon to take part.
Jacqui had been gifted the experience as a birthday present.
“It was really good fun and I enjoyed it,” Jacqui says.
Madison adds: “The goats were more involved than I thought they would be.
“But this was good for me because I was here more for the goats than the Pilates!”
My verdict
I thoroughly enjoyed the Pilates with pygmy goats session at the Fife farm.
Not only do you get some physical activity, but spending time with the pygmy goats is great for your mental health.
The room was filled with laughter the whole time and the experience just put the biggest smile on everyone’s faces!
So if you love animals and are looking for a fun activity to do on a Sunday afternoon, I would highly recommend it.
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