Well, being a HUGE fan of working goats, I thought I should be the first to start a discussion on this matter. This is like the only area of goats, I can call my self knowledgable. I know nothing of breeding, showing nationally, milking, cheesemaking, or even basic health concerns - but driving is ny area!
I have training my ND's to pull a cart for three years now and even have my own fan club. Yes, at my county 4-H fair every year, people look forward to seeing my goats pull thier cart. And there is a special little girl with down syndrome who always loves riding in the cart!
This year at my county fair they added a working goats category in the goat show --- much to the dismay of the national show participants. We had beginning reinging, where the goat is in full harness, no cart, driven around the arena. Next we had single carting, with one goat pulling and then of course we had our team class, where a team of more than two could compete. It was quite fun and it was the highlight of the show for the audience!
So, if there is anyone out there who seeks further knowledge, don't hesitate to ask!
TTYS,
WG4
You're welcome. :) If you expose your goats to enough crowds, slowly, they will become accustom to it. Having them on leash with large groups of people to start out with will help --- and then later having them pull with people watching. It's all a process of building them up to where you want them. As for the candy, be watchful of it in a parade. Most goats will be in "working" mode, so they won't try to eat it, but still, be on the lookout.
- WG4
Margaret Langley said:
Thanks for the tips! I can just picture my 4 yr. old granddaughter riding in that in the Christmas Parade!
How about tips on how to train them to handle crowds! And the possibility that some candy and things being thrown might hit them! One thing for sure, is that they come from the perfect home for starting to get use to noises!
Glad that helps Debbie! Two brothers sound perfect. If you happen to have a friend to help you, ideally you could train the two together at the same time. If the one is shy, he will feel more comfortable being trained alongside his brother. Granted, you won't be able to do a single cart with him because he'll likely become dependant on the other -- but, they are Nigerians, so you will likely always do a team.
Sadly, I don't have any plans. They were made by dad using one sheet of plywood, a 2x4, and two bicycle tires. I wish I did have some plans as many people would love to have them. The cool thing is that the box part comes out and makes an awesome training rig.
Thanks for the tips! I can just picture my 4 yr. old granddaughter riding in that in the Christmas Parade!
How about tips on how to train them to handle crowds! And the possibility that some candy and things being thrown might hit them! One thing for sure, is that they come from the perfect home for starting to get use to noises!
Thank-you so much, that makes perfect sense. I have two wether nigerians that are brothers and close to one another, one is more independant and interested in people but his brother is more cautious, but will come up to you. They may pair well, like your two sisters do. We will see what time allows this spring and summer. Oh I just love your 4 goat hitch photo! You wouldn't happen to have plans for that cart of yours would you, very, very cute indeed. I could see painting that with a farm name or anything you like on the side :)
WorkingGoats4 said:
Debbie,
Great question. :) The goat should be very comfortable around people for one thing. I tried to train a wether once that was more attached to his goat friends than people, so he would often be distracted by where his herd was and cause many problems. So, they need be people-friendly and have a bond forming or formed with you already. Also, independant and attentative. You also need to pay attention to pecking order, especially in teams. Goats that you know are in competition for number 1 are probably not best suited for working as a team because, if they are not work-oriented, they will be butted heads side-to-side or biting each other.
Now, of course, this is just sort of the ideal. I do have a doe who is very attached to her sister and isn't much of a people goat that pulls just fine. However, its only because her sister pulls as well. So, when the two are together, she pulls great. So, if you have two goats that are like best-friends and really enjoy companionship with each other, chances are you could train them together and do just great.
I actually haven't done much with pack training. Most of what is done with that is for hiking or trails, and we don't have much of that around here. But I will tell you I had a team of 4 goats pulling a few years back. Here's a picture: http://nigeriandwarfgoats.ning.com/photo/champion-working-goats-201...
I had a team of two do a parade back in 2007 -- we made it 1/2 way through. :( The thing to keep in mind is that goats are like any other animal --- endurance has to be built up. I know of teams from other states that do parades all the time, but they were trained with parades in mind, so they have the endurance to walk the long route. You should also keep in mind their size --- Nigerians probably won't be able to go as long as some of the boer teams I've mentioned. But, it is very possible and worth training for. You'll just have to add long walks to your training --- build it up over time, go further and further each time. Just like humans training for a race. You won't go the full 5k the first time out, but you will build yourself up to it.
Great question. :) The goat should be very comfortable around people for one thing. I tried to train a wether once that was more attached to his goat friends than people, so he would often be distracted by where his herd was and cause many problems. So, they need be people-friendly and have a bond forming or formed with you already. Also, independant and attentative. You also need to pay attention to pecking order, especially in teams. Goats that you know are in competition for number 1 are probably not best suited for working as a team because, if they are not work-oriented, they will be butted heads side-to-side or biting each other.
Now, of course, this is just sort of the ideal. I do have a doe who is very attached to her sister and isn't much of a people goat that pulls just fine. However, its only because her sister pulls as well. So, when the two are together, she pulls great. So, if you have two goats that are like best-friends and really enjoy companionship with each other, chances are you could train them together and do just great.
I might just start with this little buckling that I just had born here! His mom is a little boar mix and his dad is an ND. So I call them my Mini Meat goats! I should have 9 NDs kid in the next few months and depending on what they have I may have a couple of wethers to start training! If I can get the hang of it and have time I would actually like to start training on all of them, ideally. Don't know if I can get it down well enough to do all of them this year.
I will check out all this info you gave us here, and will gladly read anything that you update. I actually bought that book a few years ago from Caprine Supply but doubt I could put my hands on it now. So, I might just need to reorder it now.
Do you do any pack training? And if I trained this Mini Boar would he need to work alone or with another goat his size, or is it possible to put him in front of a smaller pair to pull in a team of 3 or even 5 one day? I think that would be so cute!
I would really like to do this and have them walk in our little community Christmas Parade one day! I know they would get loads of attention and I think it would be sooooo fun. Hopefully it would get us some breed recognition in this area because people around here really DO NOT know anything about them! I just know that the kids would love to see them! I am only worried about how far they could walk and about them walking on the pavement! Got any tips about that?
I'm interested in your training journal as well :) One question I do have, what do you look for or like to see personality wise in a team of wethers that you find makes them more suited to the task of driving and pulling? Thanks
I look forward to your training journal. Hopefully you will start from the very beginning and we can follow along! I showed the picture to my son and he thought it was great. He taught our bucks to pull a wagon in one day, and you can probably guess what happened. They wrapped him around a tree! Thats too bad that you didnt have support from the members of the goat show. I think thats a great idea! Will mention it to the Wyoming goat club.
Replies
Margaret,
You're welcome. :) If you expose your goats to enough crowds, slowly, they will become accustom to it. Having them on leash with large groups of people to start out with will help --- and then later having them pull with people watching. It's all a process of building them up to where you want them. As for the candy, be watchful of it in a parade. Most goats will be in "working" mode, so they won't try to eat it, but still, be on the lookout.
- WG4
Margaret Langley said:
Glad that helps Debbie! Two brothers sound perfect. If you happen to have a friend to help you, ideally you could train the two together at the same time. If the one is shy, he will feel more comfortable being trained alongside his brother. Granted, you won't be able to do a single cart with him because he'll likely become dependant on the other -- but, they are Nigerians, so you will likely always do a team.
Sadly, I don't have any plans. They were made by dad using one sheet of plywood, a 2x4, and two bicycle tires. I wish I did have some plans as many people would love to have them. The cool thing is that the box part comes out and makes an awesome training rig.
Let me know if you have any more questions,
- WG4
Thanks for the tips! I can just picture my 4 yr. old granddaughter riding in that in the Christmas Parade!
How about tips on how to train them to handle crowds! And the possibility that some candy and things being thrown might hit them! One thing for sure, is that they come from the perfect home for starting to get use to noises!
Thank-you so much, that makes perfect sense. I have two wether nigerians that are brothers and close to one another, one is more independant and interested in people but his brother is more cautious, but will come up to you. They may pair well, like your two sisters do. We will see what time allows this spring and summer. Oh I just love your 4 goat hitch photo! You wouldn't happen to have plans for that cart of yours would you, very, very cute indeed. I could see painting that with a farm name or anything you like on the side :)
WorkingGoats4 said:
Margaret,
I actually haven't done much with pack training. Most of what is done with that is for hiking or trails, and we don't have much of that around here. But I will tell you I had a team of 4 goats pulling a few years back. Here's a picture: http://nigeriandwarfgoats.ning.com/photo/champion-working-goats-201...
I had a team of two do a parade back in 2007 -- we made it 1/2 way through. :( The thing to keep in mind is that goats are like any other animal --- endurance has to be built up. I know of teams from other states that do parades all the time, but they were trained with parades in mind, so they have the endurance to walk the long route. You should also keep in mind their size --- Nigerians probably won't be able to go as long as some of the boer teams I've mentioned. But, it is very possible and worth training for. You'll just have to add long walks to your training --- build it up over time, go further and further each time. Just like humans training for a race. You won't go the full 5k the first time out, but you will build yourself up to it.
Hope that helps!
-WG4
Debbie,
Great question. :) The goat should be very comfortable around people for one thing. I tried to train a wether once that was more attached to his goat friends than people, so he would often be distracted by where his herd was and cause many problems. So, they need be people-friendly and have a bond forming or formed with you already. Also, independant and attentative. You also need to pay attention to pecking order, especially in teams. Goats that you know are in competition for number 1 are probably not best suited for working as a team because, if they are not work-oriented, they will be butted heads side-to-side or biting each other.
Now, of course, this is just sort of the ideal. I do have a doe who is very attached to her sister and isn't much of a people goat that pulls just fine. However, its only because her sister pulls as well. So, when the two are together, she pulls great. So, if you have two goats that are like best-friends and really enjoy companionship with each other, chances are you could train them together and do just great.
Hope that answers your question. :)
-WG4
I am interested too!
I might just start with this little buckling that I just had born here! His mom is a little boar mix and his dad is an ND. So I call them my Mini Meat goats! I should have 9 NDs kid in the next few months and depending on what they have I may have a couple of wethers to start training! If I can get the hang of it and have time I would actually like to start training on all of them, ideally. Don't know if I can get it down well enough to do all of them this year.
I will check out all this info you gave us here, and will gladly read anything that you update. I actually bought that book a few years ago from Caprine Supply but doubt I could put my hands on it now. So, I might just need to reorder it now.
Do you do any pack training? And if I trained this Mini Boar would he need to work alone or with another goat his size, or is it possible to put him in front of a smaller pair to pull in a team of 3 or even 5 one day? I think that would be so cute!
I would really like to do this and have them walk in our little community Christmas Parade one day! I know they would get loads of attention and I think it would be sooooo fun. Hopefully it would get us some breed recognition in this area because people around here really DO NOT know anything about them! I just know that the kids would love to see them! I am only worried about how far they could walk and about them walking on the pavement! Got any tips about that?
I'm interested in your training journal as well :) One question I do have, what do you look for or like to see personality wise in a team of wethers that you find makes them more suited to the task of driving and pulling? Thanks
Thanks Amy! Perhaps if there is enough interest, I might start one again later this spring/summer. Might be fun!
-WG4
I look forward to your training journal. Hopefully you will start from the very beginning and we can follow along! I showed the picture to my son and he thought it was great. He taught our bucks to pull a wagon in one day, and you can probably guess what happened. They wrapped him around a tree! Thats too bad that you didnt have support from the members of the goat show. I think thats a great idea! Will mention it to the Wyoming goat club.
-
1
-
2
-
3
of 3 Next