Fainting Goats

Having lived with fainting goats for over a decade now, I have become increasingly interested in the origins of these unique animals. The official history begins in the 1880s, but some theories put these animals much earlier in time.

           The official story is that a mysterious farmer named John Tinsley brought four unusual goats to Tennessee in the 1880s. Tinsley was a private man, and no one knew where he came from, though he dresses as if it may have been Novia Scotia. After a couple of years, Tinsley sold his goats to the town doctor and left the area. From there, they start being bred and being sold for meat and as pets.

           The unofficial story is that these goats were specifically bred to faint; shepherds wanted these goats along with their sheep flock. The reasoning was that the sheep are much more valuable to the shepherds, and if a predator, like a wolf, were to come and attack the flock, the goat would immediately faint. The wolf would go after the easy kill giving the sheep enough time to get away unharmed.

While the unofficial story is just a theory, the official story is just as mysterious. It is not much of an origin story, rather the first time the goats were noticed in the US. Historians agree that John Tinsley brought these animals to Tennessee, but there is no consensus on where he came from. So the real beginning of the fainting goat remains a mystery.