Chat
05-24-2017, 10:30 AM
I don't know that horns are the most important issue in regards to overheating goats. Here's what I've observed:
Body thickness-- more is hotter. Vincent VanGoat is a llamancha with a bit of a beer belly and lots of bulk otherwise. He pants a lot. Shelby is also black but has the skinny bony body with a tight gut and overheats much later. Its true though that Bacchus is rather bulky but has huge horns and is white so he doesn't seem to overheat as fast as I'd expect. Also fat goats are hauling more weight around even unloaded.
Breed matters perhaps-- I did notice my half-saanan overheats quicker than the others. I know that saanan heat tolerance is probably a wive's tale but I'm starting to wonder if its true.
And for DownUnderGal's question on the green panniers, they're the Acid Rain ones from NorthWest. I like them plenty. Certainly they're tough. They hold a lot. They look great and make any goat feel stylish. My only complaint would probably be that the zippers go unnecessarily far down the sides. I'd prefer they stopped half way to avoid water getting in on a river crossing and to avoid the side from flopping open.. ever. Nobody needs to open a pannier up like a suitcase. Its a 2-puller zipper design so to avoid it accidentally dumping things on the trail I bought some lightweight plastic dog-leash style clips and clip both zipper pullers together.
Body thickness-- more is hotter. Vincent VanGoat is a llamancha with a bit of a beer belly and lots of bulk otherwise. He pants a lot. Shelby is also black but has the skinny bony body with a tight gut and overheats much later. Its true though that Bacchus is rather bulky but has huge horns and is white so he doesn't seem to overheat as fast as I'd expect. Also fat goats are hauling more weight around even unloaded.
Breed matters perhaps-- I did notice my half-saanan overheats quicker than the others. I know that saanan heat tolerance is probably a wive's tale but I'm starting to wonder if its true.
And for DownUnderGal's question on the green panniers, they're the Acid Rain ones from NorthWest. I like them plenty. Certainly they're tough. They hold a lot. They look great and make any goat feel stylish. My only complaint would probably be that the zippers go unnecessarily far down the sides. I'd prefer they stopped half way to avoid water getting in on a river crossing and to avoid the side from flopping open.. ever. Nobody needs to open a pannier up like a suitcase. Its a 2-puller zipper design so to avoid it accidentally dumping things on the trail I bought some lightweight plastic dog-leash style clips and clip both zipper pullers together.