Loss of strength in the back end while on the trail

[Drasmussen]

I have to mature Saanen goats that are good packers but twice now when a solid high mountain rainstorm hits, their back ends have gone out on them and they barely have enough strength to support their own weight.I give them a day off and the next day they pack fine.  Has anybody experience this?

[Nanno]

Hello and welcome to Packgoat Central!
What a strange problem! I've never heard of such a thing. Do they get terribly cold during the rainstorm? I mean, I don't know that cold would make their back ends not work, but maybe if they were shivering violently that could have something to do with it? I don't know... cold and wet shouldn't make their back ends stop working. I know that goats get very hunchy when they are wet though, so I wonder if they scrunch up in such a way that their saddles start pinching the nerves in their spines? You didn't mention whether they were saddled or not during the storms. I'd love to hear more details about this such as, at what point during/after the storm did you notice the problem begin? Were they actually out in the storm or under a tarp? Were they saddled or unsaddled? Did the problem appear to originate in their backs, hips, or hind legs?

[Saph]

How old are your goats?

[CarlitaRoss]

Sorry, I don't know about your situation but I have a question about my sheep. She seems weak and has stopped eating well. Can you offer any suggestions? After conducting some research and consulting with a veterinary doctor, I decided to give my sheep some sheep supplements and I noticed significant improvement in their health after administering the supplements. As a farmer, I strongly recommend this to other farmers.

[Nanno]

Hello Carlita and welcome! You might want to start a new thread and describe your sheep's symptoms more fully. Also, this forum is very inactive these days and you may need more expertise than we have here. I would suggest trying over at TheGoatSpot.net and seeing if you can get help there. They have a lot more users and many of them are quite helpful with health/wellness advice.

Best of luck to you!