Driving Lessons

[DownUnder Gal]

I need some training advice please. Koby and I have been ground driving for months now and we seem to be stuck in a bit of a rut.  I think the issue is my lack of experience . He is engaging in some unhelpful behaviour and I don't know how to overcome it.  I wish I could get into his head! Here's a bit of background:

1. I have a Hoegger's standard harness that fits Koby well (he was 2 yrs old in August). He has almost outgrown the driving bridle that came with it but it is still useable on the last hole.  I have a new driving bridle which can be used with or without a bit; it came with a mullen mouth ring snaffle. I haven't tried the bit yet.
   
2. Koby knows all the basic commands - walk on, whoa, left, right, trot, back up, stand.  These were clicker-trained using a halter and lead and we have a couple of sessions a week (in harness but me leading him from the halter) to reinforce them.
   
3. I have a wagon like Nanno's and a mini-horse easy entry cart but I feel we are not ready to hitch him to either (we were planning to start on the wagon, which he is used to following off lead when I pull it along). In any event I was not going to ask him to pull a person until he is 3 years old.
   
4. I do not generally carry a driving whip.
   
5. So far my style of training is to reward good behaviour until it is ingrained and generally ignore bad behaviour.
   
6. It is largely up to me to train Koby on my own. I have never trained a goat (or horse) to drive. Overall he is a very quick learner when motivated; food is his greatest motivation. 
   
7. At 198lbs he is very strong
   
8. He can be a bit of a nervous nelly sometimes and generally doesn't like going out on the road with me alone. He seems to feel safer if there are others with us, such as another goat and/or my partner and his dog. I guess this is herd mentality - safety in numbers and all that.
   
9. Koby is doing well with his noise de-sensitisation lessons e..g chainsaw and lawn mover running close by.
   

Training Challenges

Coming home: When ground driving along the road outside our property he always walks well in front of me on the way home, but he sometimes pulls. I can live with that because I can generally calm him down by turning him in a circle a few times. He soon remembers that turning means delays and more effort than walking calmly.

Going out: Sometimes he will walk well going down the road away from the house but unfortunately this seems to be the exception rather than the rule. He typically stops and refuses to move forward (I think separation from the herd is part of the issue because this is also a problem when I lead him down the road with just the halter).  Perhaps 30% of our walks does he walk out well away from the house and this is almost always with other people around.

The other thing he does is move forward OK but then he puts his head down very low and pulls wildly to the side of the road to eat whatever is growing theres. I tick him off verbally for this and try to resist his pulling but I'm rarely successful with the latter; he's just too strong.

How do I get Koby to walk happily in front of me generally - regardless of what direction we are travelling in (away or home)?  All the information I've read about this stage of training recommends having someone at the goat's head to help guide them along and understand what is required of them (i.e. walking in front of the driver rather than being lead from behind). Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of a helper. Is there any way around this or do you think this isn't really an issue?  Koby knows jolly well that I am behind him on the way home and he walks fine. Is this baulking behaviour on the way out more about leaving his herd? If so, what is the likelihood of his getting over leaving them?

The second challenge is how to stop Koby pulling like a train whenever he sees something he wants to eat - this seems to be just plain naughtiness; I think he knows he shouldn't be doing it and he only does it ground driving. I thought about introducing the bit on the bridle but I don't think either of us are ready for that; I don't want to ruin his mouth.

Looking forward to your ideas and advice - thanks.