Get your goat

Posted by Sandee Dummitt on June 11, 2007

I've heard the phrase "get your goat" came from American horse racing. Racehorses often had goats as stable/stall mates. It was not unusual for the goat to be kidnapped or removed from the race horse's stall in order to throw the horse into a tizzy, thereby potentially ruining his chance at running a good race. Is this a plausible explanation?