Character qualities I would look for in a potential harness goat:
- a wether 6-9 months old, intelligent,a little bit of an independent thinker and definitely a people goat.(mine thought he *was* human...)
- a Nubian or nubian cross for height, and to balance out the wagon(especially Boer or Kiko, to give lots of muscle for pulling) but most large dairy breeds would work
- one who is not afraid of strange objects when you walk him, but will stand and study it rather than running away(extremely important for a goat, as they can go so fast in such a short time...you don't want a bolter)
- A calm animal under stress, not whiny, crybaby (have had a couple of them, not fun) or angry or resentful. It is OK if he is afraid , *AS long as he still listens to the handler, and will obey.....this could be a real safety issue, especially in a parade behind a band (Brownie's first public appearance in harness-not training per se. He jumped three feet straight up and shook like a leaf when the band started up, but obeyed me, and waited til they moved off, then waited til I gave the signal to walk).
- And he should be healthy. this was an area I thought I had covered til I found out mine had picked up CLA (Caseous Lymph Adenitis- it is a wasting disease) at one of the places he had been boarded. There wasn't enough known about it like there is now, so do make sure your harness kid has been vaccinated, since once they get the disease there is nothing that can be done.
- halter manners and
- the commands walk on,
- whoa,
- back,
- foot(for lifting feet for trimming and if they get hung up on the lines) and
- stand(for standing still when harnessing and being groomed)
The first things I would teach would be:
I would give a timeframe of one week for learning each of the commands. If he still isn’t getting it. then he may not have what it takes to be a harness goat...The first 5 or 6 months of a kid's life he should be with his mom, (unless he was separated if she was a milker) and the bottlefeeding usually makes very people-friendly goats...
This is the process I used to teach Brownie how to pull a wagon.
Brownie is a Toggenburg wether, and was about 10 months old when I started training him. He needed to get some size on him first. We bought him at the stock yard for $15.00. He is worth many times more than that now.
On Day 1
With him standing in the pasture,I put his bridle on, and adjusted it to fit.I also used the command,"stand". He has no horns, so it was easy to get it around his head. I left it on his head and we walked around the pasture so he would get used to something on his head. You could also use a goat or foal halter to get the same effect.He follows me around like a dog anyway, so I knew it wouldn't take long.On Day 2
I took him out of the pasture on a leash (he wears a collar all the time),with the bridle on. We began to go for daily walks, and each time we went out, I put the bridle on. I did this for about a week.After the first couple of days, I took my son out with me, and attached the reins to the bridle, and we walked with my son holding the reins from behind. That got him used to the weight of the reins and pressure on his head from them.Day 3
I put his bridle on, then let him sniff the entire harness. This harness had no breeching(it was designed for plowing) so after he smelled it for about 5 minutes and was no longer interested in it, I rubbed it all over his body, and especially his sides and back. These are the places that seem most sensitive, and I wanted him to get used to the feel. I laid the harness out on him,so he would acclimate himself to the weight of the harness itself, then I put the whole thing on, and adjusted it to fit him...shake, shake, shake. Then we went for a walk and he was able to adjust to the harness on his body.Day 4
We just walked for a couple more days in the harness, then my son went with us, and took the leash, while I had the reins from behind. I used my voice to teach him "walk on", "whoa","trot", and to turn to the left and the right.The hardest part was getting him to walk in front of me, since he was used to walking by my side.Day 5,6,and 7
Now it was time to get him acquainted with a little drag from behind. I made a travois out of two 7 foot long cherry saplings with a diameter of about 3 inches at the big end, and used a two footlong cross piece lashed about a foot from the end. The smaller ends were tied to the harness with the tugs, and the traces were tied to the cross piece with thick twine. This training rig gave the feel of the weight and the movement of the harness with a weight behind, and taught him to adjust his pace without danger of hurting himself, if he spooked. He was fine with it, once he got used to the sound and feel of something dragging behind him.Some people put a wheel on the crosspiece, but I had to use what I had, and the tools just weren't there.(I kinda felt a little like the Western plains Indians, who taught horses and dogs to do the same thing).Days 8 through 12
we continued our walks, with the travois, and some extra weight on the cross pieces, until the wagon arrived in the UPS truck.This wagon and harness were ordered from Hoegger Goat Supply, and as it turns out, the wagon is Amish made, near Harrisonburg, Virginia. We are going to take a trip out there, and congratulate these people on thier fine workmanship.The wagon is beautiful,carries weight well, and is very easy to manuever, even on rough terrain. Ask me how I know!!Days 13 through 15
We have the wagon assembled(it took about 2 hrs- I am a slow mechanic) and brought Brownie out to smell it. After about 10 minutes, or when he seemed not to care, I hooked him up properly, and went for a walk,with my son to use the brakes.Since the harness had no breeching, I had to devise some false breeching for him. Worked like a charm.We took him to the next door neighbors house, and they were tickled to see him.My son was the first to get in the wagon, and use the brakes, with me at Brownie's head,so he wouldn't get confused. About this time, he was also taught"back", and "up"(to load into the back of my Toyota pickup-he gets his front legs up, and I help get his hiney up. I am going to build a ramp now, since there are two of them,and Brownie weighs about 150. His harness mate weighs more than that- he is a Boer).Brownie is a most curious creature, and the older he gets the more curious he is. He is not afraid of tractors, cars, tractor-trailers, other animals(except cows)motorcycles, motorhomes or any other mechanical device that I can think of. He would just as soon walk into a house as any human, and cars are a no-brainer. I believe he thinks he is human.I digress. Anyway, in our walks I specifically took him to places to get him used to sounds and smells he would see if in a parade or out on the road. The railroad,and the highway, are the two places he has not been on, for obvious reasons. But we did live right next to the railyard, so I would bring him down where the employees cars went in, so he could see, hear and smell the locomotives. He didn't really like them, but learned to be still when they made all thier noise. We also lived about two blocks from downtown,so I would walk him there, as well, to get him used to firetrucks, sirens and ambulances.
Days since then
In total,I actually took about two to three months to really train him, so I felt comfortable driving. I brought him to the Harvest Festival at our church, which was his first real job. He worked for about 4 hours, taking children around the parking lot, with me at his head. I used the collar and leash, even though he was harnessed, and if the child was old enough I would let them hold the reins, lightly. He was the hit of the evening. The wagon is so well built, it was easy for a toddler to get in and hold on to the seat handle, and with Mom walking along, even children as young as 18 months were thrilled,since they weren't really big enough to participate in the older childrens' games. He later participated in the Christmas parade in Blackstone,and had his harness mate,Andy, on a halter and leash nearby, for "mobile petting zoo" purposes. It was the first time most of the children and many of the adults had seen a goat cart, and some of the grandparents remembered when they had one.Well, I have to go,the goats are calling!
