3 Days on White Pass

[Nanno]

Ya, I wish it where a simple fix like the saddles or a hoof trim.  Its alot of things with his goats.  Bad diet, little pack training, no exposure to long walk with elevation change, no experiance on trail, they never got wade before the trip so who nose what % they where carrying, no minerals or suppliments.  Just bad all around.  One of the other guys dragger the ober about miles to camp, the alpine mix who's gear we had to take off I hooked the Garbie and had Garbie get him to camp.  It was s challenge for sure.  I had a hard time not loosing my mind.  I had a feeling this was going to happen before we left.  I am really hoping that this trip will get things going for him and his guys.

Nanno, I agree with you about those custom fit saddles.  I tried the one I had on all 4 of my guys in all its configuration.  It never looked right or comfertable.  I like tge traditional wood cross buck.

If you have Swiss-bred goats it's hard to go too far wrong with traditional wooden crossbucks. 

It's too bad your friend's goats have so many gaps in their care. An animal can't work properly if it's unhealthy, unfit, or untrained, and it's not fair even to ask it to work under those conditions. I hope your friend picked up some valuable knowledge during his time with you.