Haute Goat located at 1166 5th line in Newtonville

June 30, 2018:  The last time when we visited Port Hope in March, we headed to Haute Goat for their famous Haute Goat Shurmgle (going on walk with goats and getting up, close, and personal with them for hugs).  This time, we were fitted with a healthy farm fresh lunch and a session of Goat Yoga at Haute Goat! 🙂

Haute Goat is a farm that not only breeds goats but also keeps alpacas, Icelandic horses, and chicken.  They also host fun workshops like goat cheese making classes, farm life workshops, and of course goat yoga!  They have a shop that says items like goat cheese, goat soap, and so much more.

Farm fresh egg frittata

It was a tremendously hot day reaching into the 30s with humidity and we were so glad to get out of the heat and into the quaint and cozy house to enjoy our lunch.

I remembered the owner Debbie from the previous visit and her two sweet and gentle dogs too.  The lunch was a nice farm fresh egg frittata, fresh greens, baked bread with the smoothest butter, fresh lemonade, and a dessert bar made with oatmeal and nuts.  I really liked the egg frittata.  It was like comfort food for the soul. 🙂

Farm fresh egg frittata, fresh greens, baked bread with the smoothest butter, fresh lemonade, dessert bar made with oatmeal and nuts

I loved the look of their cozy kitchen!

By 1:30 p.m., we headed to the goat’s playground area and set up our yoga mats for the Goat Yoga!

All set up for yoga with goats!

Here the goats come!

A tip for first time goat yogis: bring a big beach towel that you won’t mind getting dirty instead of a yoga mat.  We were warned as the class began that the goats might urinate or defecate on our mats and if that were to happen, to turn out mats over to use the other side and continue the yoga practice.

So many goats!

My view looking up into the trees

;D

It just so happened that within two minutes of the goats being released into the playground that one of the goats chose my mat as her choice of toilet. XD  Luckily, goat poop are small hard pellets and aren’t messy and not too smelly at all.  However, it made me paranoid for most of the rest of the class that I might be pooped on.

So much joy with the goats around us!

The goats themselves were adorable and so happy to play among us.  Even as they ran into the playground area, the swarm of blaa-ing goats was something I’d never experienced before.  Our instructor had told us to hang our belongings and shoes on the branches of the trees to avoid them being the target toys of the playful goats.  They were indeed like small children eager to nudge into anything they saw fit.

A goat shmurgle

There were over 20 goats in our playground and a lot of young goats too!  On the March visit, the babies hadn’t been born yet.  It was a pleasure this time to meet the baby goats.  The baby goats were so small, cuddly, and adorable!  I was able to get a successful first goat shurmgle (hug) in too :).

It was my first time participating in goat yoga.  The concept of goat yoga is intriguing and worth trying at least once.  It’s a very interactive experience with some lovely farm goats.  I would say though to not expect to get a full yoga practice session as you might usually get at your local yoga studio.  Instead, expect a lot of unexpected disturbances into your routine.  You may even find a goat on top of your back too!

Actual goat yoga!

The staff also encouraged the goats to come play with each of us by offering us cedar branches (the goats’ favourite snack) to entice the goats for more playtime.  It was fun.  The goats were much more into the cedar plants this time around than in March.

Eating cedar trees

This goat taking up my mat

Luckily for Ken, a goat also peed on his yoga mat.  I really hope the goat pee washes out. >.<

What it looked like while during the yoga session

After our hour-long session with the goats, it was time to say goodbye.  What a great experience it was to try goat yoga!  If you have more questions or would like more information on Haute Goat and their workshops and what they offer, visit them here at hautegoat.com.

Other yogis with their goats

Last look of the playground before we left

All of the the goats have names

FTC Disclaimer:  Although the Municipality of Port Hope reached out and invited me to a complimentary visit to promote the businesses in Port Hope, the opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of the Municipality or businesses.