A distinctly American breed, the Myotonic goat originated in Tennessee. The defining genetic trait is a neuromuscular condition which developed naturally that causes them to stiffen and sometimes fall over when startled. Myotonia is seen in other species . . .
Myotonic goats have an obscure origin.
Sometime during the 1870's a transient farm worker named John Tinsley showed up in Marshall County, Tennessee at the farm of Dr. H. H. Mayberry. He was thought to have come from Nova Scotia, and along with him came three or four does and a buck of a unique strain. Tinsley suddenly left one day after selling the animals to Dr. Mayberry. This is the best documentation of the origin of the breed. Myotonic goats are a distinctly landrace breed, which means that they have adapted to fit the local conditions in which they live.