Chat
01-09-2015, 12:19 PM
You will get many different answers on this. What I have come up with after sifting through all the info is as follows:
Once a goat reaches 100 lbs & one year old, I will put up to 10% of their weight on them, including weight of the saddle. So this generally consists of having the goat carry your lunch and maybe something like a small first aid kit or an extra sweater etc.
I stuck with the 10% rule until through age 2. The goats weighed more, so naturally 10% was a little more weight with a 180 lb goat. My goats are now about 210 lbs, and are almost 3 now. This season I will start them off at 10% then work up to maybe 20% once they are conditioned. When they are four I might try to get them to 25% with good conditioning.
I think carrying a pack, even a very light one, helps keep you in the game and it also teaches the goat how to maneuver with a pack on. It's easy to loose interest and end up selling your goats as weed munchers if you have to wait 4 years to really start packing at all. For me, having the goats carry an appropriate light load keeps me interested in the hobby and gives you that packing "fix." They also need to get used to the idea of having these things sticking out from their sides, and that does take some time.
Once a goat reaches 100 lbs & one year old, I will put up to 10% of their weight on them, including weight of the saddle. So this generally consists of having the goat carry your lunch and maybe something like a small first aid kit or an extra sweater etc.
I stuck with the 10% rule until through age 2. The goats weighed more, so naturally 10% was a little more weight with a 180 lb goat. My goats are now about 210 lbs, and are almost 3 now. This season I will start them off at 10% then work up to maybe 20% once they are conditioned. When they are four I might try to get them to 25% with good conditioning.
I think carrying a pack, even a very light one, helps keep you in the game and it also teaches the goat how to maneuver with a pack on. It's easy to loose interest and end up selling your goats as weed munchers if you have to wait 4 years to really start packing at all. For me, having the goats carry an appropriate light load keeps me interested in the hobby and gives you that packing "fix." They also need to get used to the idea of having these things sticking out from their sides, and that does take some time.