Thursday, December 27, 2012

Driving a goat.... seriously?

Yes, this seems like an odd idea in this day and age but in the past goats were used for driving, packing, and pulling by folks who couldn't afford a horse. Or by rich kids. So, you could get milk, meat, landscaping and gardening AND a draft animal. Isn't that something?

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Well, the idea when I decided to keep my first goat kid was that he would be trained to drive. He was just so stinking adorable I just had to find an excuse not to eat him.

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So i handled him a lot, took him for a lot of walks, and from 7 to about 12 months of age i worked at teaching him the basics.

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yeah.... that was just to get him used to the feel of a harness on him. *chuckle*

Around that time my life went sideways and he got relegated to being a buck companion and pasture ornament. He is now a week away from being 2 years old and is such a handsome fella!

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Today I tried on my mini horse surcingle and a goat halter and took him out to see if he remembered anything.  he was a bit goofy but he seemed to remember everything he learned over a year ago. Now I just need to rig up a breast collar and traces and find a decent sled, hehehehe!