Chat
Nancy was asking questions about harness goats in another thread, so I thought I'd put on my driving instructor hat and post some photos to look at for criticism, instruction, and inspiration.
First, I will post one of the most "correct" driving pictures we have. This is Cuzco cantering in harness with my husband Phil in the driver's seat.
If this were a horse and cart photo and I were judging it for dressage, I'd give it excellent marks. It shows balance, softness, collection, impulsion, and control. What the photo can't tell you is that Cuzco is happily headed home.
One thing to notice about the harness is that everything is in a straight line. Breastcollar, traces, britchen, and shafts are all at about the same height and horizontal to the ground. All the straps going over the back and hips and under the belly are at perfect right angles to these. However, I have two criticisms.
The first you can't see because the goat is in draft, but the britchen is too loose. Here is a photo taken the same day of Cuzco at a halt and you can see there is far too much slack in the traces.
This means the britchen is not tight enough, which is fixed by wrapping the holdback straps once more around the shafts.
The second criticism is more serious. Cuzco was not quite two years old when this photo was taken and was far from full-grown. As this was our first experience with goats, we thought Cuzco was quite big and surely done growing. Boy were we wrong! Knowing now what I do, I would not have a goat this young pulling full-grown adults. I don't mind making young animals do their fair share of work because I think it builds bones and muscles, but overworking them can be dangerous. The one saving grace is that it was so cold we didn't go out often, and when we did we didn't stay out long. Cuzco also was not well-trained enough to leave home with someone in the cart, so we usually led him up the road and then drove him home, which was a slight downhill pull.
First, I will post one of the most "correct" driving pictures we have. This is Cuzco cantering in harness with my husband Phil in the driver's seat.
If this were a horse and cart photo and I were judging it for dressage, I'd give it excellent marks. It shows balance, softness, collection, impulsion, and control. What the photo can't tell you is that Cuzco is happily headed home.
One thing to notice about the harness is that everything is in a straight line. Breastcollar, traces, britchen, and shafts are all at about the same height and horizontal to the ground. All the straps going over the back and hips and under the belly are at perfect right angles to these. However, I have two criticisms.
The first you can't see because the goat is in draft, but the britchen is too loose. Here is a photo taken the same day of Cuzco at a halt and you can see there is far too much slack in the traces.
This means the britchen is not tight enough, which is fixed by wrapping the holdback straps once more around the shafts.
The second criticism is more serious. Cuzco was not quite two years old when this photo was taken and was far from full-grown. As this was our first experience with goats, we thought Cuzco was quite big and surely done growing. Boy were we wrong! Knowing now what I do, I would not have a goat this young pulling full-grown adults. I don't mind making young animals do their fair share of work because I think it builds bones and muscles, but overworking them can be dangerous. The one saving grace is that it was so cold we didn't go out often, and when we did we didn't stay out long. Cuzco also was not well-trained enough to leave home with someone in the cart, so we usually led him up the road and then drove him home, which was a slight downhill pull.