Testing out the goat harness

 

Fltr: Rolf with Knickers, Susan holding Murphy, Eileen, Sungiva & Simon in cart, Angelika with Konrad on back and Leila on leash.

A big hit with the two toddlers, and a nice change from "mama, I'm tired, can you carry me..." to "I wanna be in the cart, no, I wanna be!". I don't think either Sungiva or Simon walked very much that day so as a device to burn excess toddler energy it's not as useful, but to get Murphy the pony dog to slow down / stop pulling and use some of that strength usefully it worked fine!

The harness is from a design off the internet and assembled with expert sewing instruction from Eileen. I think it cost about $20 in webbing and buckles. It's sized to a full size goat (and a Murphy). After using it with a dog I know now why dog harnesses are different, as this one is not attached to the cart at the back / butt he can swivel his body around within the shafts and get twisted - goats are not that flexible. I have used it with boer/saanen cross goat Monica and she seemed fine with it - goats need (more) training as a following cart can trigger their flight response - but as she is either pregnant or nursing most of the year she's not ideal. Which is why we designated a buck goat from this year's "crop", wethered him and are training him to walk on a leash, with cart training starting next Spring...

After about halfway he got used to it - plus we were on the way back home - was wagging his tail, grinning his grin, and started to pull away again!