# No laughing......



## Electra552 (Aug 23, 2013)

Ok this may sound weird to the pack goat people....but does anyone pack or hike with smaller goats?.. Like nigerians or minimanchas or mini toggenburgs?..
I live on Ohio...it is incredibly flat. So i was thinking maybe the less demanding terrain and shorter trips might work. It would be so much easier to transport them in the suv to the places we want to hike. Has anyone tried this?..


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## MarcoPoloMom (Sep 28, 2013)

I guess you could really "hike" with any kind of goat, small or big. It really depends on the terrain, length, weather, conditioning, and the pack. I suppose you could forgo the pack & just go on a walk with them. When I first got goats I would take my 1 month old boys on little walks (no pack). Around the property at first, then for a half mile, then longer. I've seen some pack companies take their young goats on pack trips with no pack just for the conditioning & experience. . . . .


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

They wouldn't be able to carry carry much.... But you can hike with them, sure.


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## Charlie Horse (Dec 16, 2012)

This little guy is about 4 months old and he made it to the top with no sign of trouble:










They dont need to pack to be fun to hike with. Think about how people have herded goats for thousands of years. Many goats would walk for half of the day, or climb a mountain, or whatever the herdsman wanted. Being short shouldnt matter as long as the goat is healthy.

I have heard of people hiking with nigerian dwarfs but its obviously not the best way to pack equipment heh.


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## Electra552 (Aug 23, 2013)

Look how cute he is)))


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

He could certainly carry lunch and snacks for a day hike.


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## sanhestar (Dec 10, 2008)

the most pressing problems about packing with smaller goats would be finding fitting pack equipment.

the packsaddles are all made for large goats, softpacks for dogs often won't fit and having a wooden packsaddle on a small goat will seriously limit the amount it can carry as load.


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## nchen7 (Feb 25, 2013)

there's someone here that hikes with her nigi, AND has a little backpack for him for water bottles and snacks.

http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f191/orions-urban-adventure-143055/


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

I hike with my minis! 

Peggy Sue LOVES to go hiking, so long as I don't go swimming while we're out (that really freaks her out!) She's a Pygmy and I've taken her everywhere with me since she was 3 days old. Her son, Jean Paul, is bigger than her (he's a mix) and can happily carry a medium/small pack, but he has too much anxiety when we leave home, so he never finished his pack goat training. 

So, yes, minis are great for hiking companions.


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## Nanno (Aug 30, 2009)

HA! Axykatt, I just noticed your tag. 

I like to sing, "Happiness is a warm goat (bang! bang!) (butt! butt!)," to my goat, Cuzco. Yeah, big Beatles fan. Even bigger Cuzco fan. Can't help but mesh the two from time to time. 

And as for the topic, yeah we take our goats out from the time they are little babies. We took our four-month-old kids on a weeklong hiking vacation with us in Utah recently. Hiking buddies are fun whatever their size, even if they don't carry gear. Our big wether prefers to carry gear while hiking because he likes to feel indispensable.


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

Peggy Sue out hiking with my roommate! I keep the harness on in snaller parks where people bring dogs. She loves to hike in the woods and eat all the new dried leaves.


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