Chat
09-01-2016, 08:02 PM
Thank you, they ARE driving well! Phil picked up another two-wheeled cart last Saturday and today we went for a drive with each of our goats hitched singly to his own cart! It was great fun and the boys did amazing! I wore a Go-Pro camera on my hat and got some really fun footage. Maybe next week after the State Fair I'll have time to edit it for another video.
The bridles came with the harness I ordered from Chimacum Tack. They're made of beta biothane, which has the look and feel of leather but is much lower maintenance. Originally the bridles had browbands and throat latches but I removed those because the bridles never fit right with them on, and they made taking the bridle on and off a lot more complicated with the horns. But because of the horns, the bridles don't need the extra straps. If the crown strap goes behind the horns and in front of the ears it can't slip forward or back at all. I'd love to have decorative browbands because they look so classy, but I'd want to make them in such a way that I could snap them on after the rest of the bridle is in place. Otherwise you have to slide the crown through the browband and then buckle it while the bit dangles to the side of the face--not fun if the goat shakes his head!
I was in the chat room and saw you asked about the bits I use. These are half-cheek driving bits with mullen mouths. A mullen mouth bit is a solid bar with no break in it but with some curvature to conform to the shape of the mouth. It's a very gentle design and also nice for stability. One reason I bought this type is because my goats aren't full-grown and the bits are slightly too big for them. I didn't want anything lumpy sliding back and forth in their mouths. The mullen mouths slide smoothly side-to-side and the boys have been very accepting of them. The worst part was getting them used to the idea of having something in their mouths. They never had one problem with the feel of the bits themselves because we haven't had a single issue with head-shaking, resistance, or refusing to walk forward. Now that they're used to the bits they take them easily and have no problems eating treats while bitted. They even ate a bunch of apples we found near the road while we were out driving a couple of weeks ago!
The half-spoon that hangs down keeps the bit rings from being able to slide partly through the mouth should the goat resist a command and gape his mouth open. The spoon also gives a little outside pressure on the jaw to push the head over, much like a full-cheek bit except that these are safer for driving. Full-cheek bits are notorious for getting caught on things, especially when used without keepers. It's more comfortable for the animal if the pressure exerted on the outside of the mouth is distributed over a half-spoon than if it's concentrated on a small section of a round ring. Having outside pressure to push the goat over is also helpful in training youngsters to turn their head and not just shorten one side of the neck when you pull the rein.
Mine are not eggbutt half-spoons but I wish they were. Eggbutt bits are particularly gentle on the outside of the mouth and their design prevents them from ever pinching the lips. My bits have enough of a swell at the outsides where they meet the ring that they probably won't pinch, but they're not as gentle as eggbutts. Oh well. When one buys the smallest possible bit on the market, one doesn't have as many choices. An eggbutt mullen mouth with a copper mouthpiece would probably be the "ultimate" goat bit.
The bridles came with the harness I ordered from Chimacum Tack. They're made of beta biothane, which has the look and feel of leather but is much lower maintenance. Originally the bridles had browbands and throat latches but I removed those because the bridles never fit right with them on, and they made taking the bridle on and off a lot more complicated with the horns. But because of the horns, the bridles don't need the extra straps. If the crown strap goes behind the horns and in front of the ears it can't slip forward or back at all. I'd love to have decorative browbands because they look so classy, but I'd want to make them in such a way that I could snap them on after the rest of the bridle is in place. Otherwise you have to slide the crown through the browband and then buckle it while the bit dangles to the side of the face--not fun if the goat shakes his head!
I was in the chat room and saw you asked about the bits I use. These are half-cheek driving bits with mullen mouths. A mullen mouth bit is a solid bar with no break in it but with some curvature to conform to the shape of the mouth. It's a very gentle design and also nice for stability. One reason I bought this type is because my goats aren't full-grown and the bits are slightly too big for them. I didn't want anything lumpy sliding back and forth in their mouths. The mullen mouths slide smoothly side-to-side and the boys have been very accepting of them. The worst part was getting them used to the idea of having something in their mouths. They never had one problem with the feel of the bits themselves because we haven't had a single issue with head-shaking, resistance, or refusing to walk forward. Now that they're used to the bits they take them easily and have no problems eating treats while bitted. They even ate a bunch of apples we found near the road while we were out driving a couple of weeks ago!
The half-spoon that hangs down keeps the bit rings from being able to slide partly through the mouth should the goat resist a command and gape his mouth open. The spoon also gives a little outside pressure on the jaw to push the head over, much like a full-cheek bit except that these are safer for driving. Full-cheek bits are notorious for getting caught on things, especially when used without keepers. It's more comfortable for the animal if the pressure exerted on the outside of the mouth is distributed over a half-spoon than if it's concentrated on a small section of a round ring. Having outside pressure to push the goat over is also helpful in training youngsters to turn their head and not just shorten one side of the neck when you pull the rein.
Mine are not eggbutt half-spoons but I wish they were. Eggbutt bits are particularly gentle on the outside of the mouth and their design prevents them from ever pinching the lips. My bits have enough of a swell at the outsides where they meet the ring that they probably won't pinch, but they're not as gentle as eggbutts. Oh well. When one buys the smallest possible bit on the market, one doesn't have as many choices. An eggbutt mullen mouth with a copper mouthpiece would probably be the "ultimate" goat bit.