# How do I tell when my goats need a break



## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

This is a common question. The way I tell is if they are breathing hard with their mouths open or if they are trying to stop frequently. When I see this I'll stop and give them a breather. If they stand around eating then I wait till they are breathing normally again and head out. If one or more lays down then I'll wait till they get up and start eating. It may be five minutes or it may be 20 minutes. I let them dictate how long they need. Once they get up and start feeding, break time is over.

As a side note, I once had a goat that would try to stop the hike by laying down any time it even thought it might have to work hard. I quickly learned not to stop for a goat that lays down or you'll never get anywhere. I'll keep moving and the goat will get up to follow then a minute or two later "I'll" stop and give them a break. If its just a lazy goat I'll keep it moving. If its usually a hard working goat that lays down its because you weren't paying close enough attention and didn't give them a break when they needed it.

If you ever think your goats are totally worn out simply turn them toward the trail head and you'll soon see how much energy they really have.


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

I started hiking with my guys when they were ten weeks old. The smallest would start whining. When the second one would whine I'd go another 100 yards and give them a break. On the first trip my nubian would lay down, I'd hoist him up and pull him. But he hasn't done that since.

I started using a boatswain whistle to talk back to them while we were hiking. Some of what I thought was complaining was just chit chat and by my responding to them they were less stressed and able to go longer without distractions. They would chit chat if I went out of site around a bush, even if it was only 20 feet away.

On our first hikes, I was walking with two canes out of necessity so the baby goats and I were about evenly matched. Now I can walk without a cane and they have grown a bunch. On our last trip, after a long day, I took them on a run just to see what they would do. 
We ran three miles downhill then walked back. We all were beat.

Although they dragged a bit further behind and complained, no one quit before I did. We don't have packs yet. But if we train together I expect we'll be able to stay together.


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## CASDOG1 (Feb 1, 2013)

What kind of stamina do goats have? I regularly hike between 5-10 miles in relatively mountainous terrain (the Appalachians, so the elevation gain is reasonably gentle most of the time). I don't do summer heat so most of my over night trips are in fall & spring with lots of day hikes in the winter.


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## idahonancy (Dec 13, 2008)

That depends on the goat. A willing attitude with adequate training and conditioning, a moderate load for their size, cool temps, and moderate elevation gain you can reach 10 miles. It is not much different than you or I taking on a 10 mile hike. It would not be advisable for a human couch potato or goat barn potato to take on such an adventure. So conditioning together is wise. You will get a feel for your individual goat's endurance. Goat size matters but no more than attitude and fitness.
IdahoNancy and the Oberpackers


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## Nanno (Aug 30, 2009)

My goat, Cuzco, used to accompany me on long trail rides back when he was a young goat. Since I was on horseback, he had to maintain a very good clip, and sometimes we went all day for many miles, and in that area the terrain was very, very steep and the elevation over 9,000 feet. He never carried a load on these trips, of course, but we never had problems with him keeping up. I could always tell if he got too tired because he would start to lag behind, and he might even baa-aa once or twice to get our attention. That's when we would stop and give him a break until he quit panting. Once he was rested he would be good for another long stretch. I never really had to condition Cuzco when he was younger because he ran with my horses on huge ranches, so he never got fat or unfit. I was surprised how well he could keep up with them when the herd would take off on one of their gallops. Needless to say, if Phil and I loaded him down for a hike he had absolutely no problem carrying the pack and keeping up with us for as long and as fast and as high as we wanted to go! 

Later, after we moved and started keeping Cuzco in a small neighborhood yard, we had to be more intentional about keeping him fit. We took him for a good 3-mile walk every day and regular 5-mile hikes in the summer. He also used to accompany me for 2-3 mile bike rides on the dirt roads, which is a lot of very fast running! But once again, an occasional glance over my shoulder was all it took to know if he needed to stop or slow down for a while. Your goat will tell you if he's tuckered out, but any reasonably fit goat should have no problems with 5-10 mile hikes with a moderate load.


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