The goats featured in this painting are known as the Boer - dating back to European lineage.
The name is derived from the Dutch word “boer” meaning farmer and was most likely used to distinguish the native goats from the Angora goats which were, at the time, being imported into South Africa during the 19th century.
Domestication of goats is said to be dated between 6000 and 7000 B.C. These three friends at the NM Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum were like “peas in a pod.” Wherever one went, the other two would follow. They posed rather well for me, as I sketched and took photos of them.