# should I bother?



## nebowhunter (Apr 18, 2010)

I am going to colorado for a week on labor Day then from there to wyoming for another week. I have 2 goats that are 3 years old. the saddle didnt bother them. But we walk less than a mile and they are wore out. it is less than a month b4 i leave, I dont think that is enough time for better conditioning It Was very warm. but i took 2 little goats (6 monthes) they did fine. Is it a waste of time to drag them along? ps they were carrying less than 20 lbs each.


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

If you're going bow hunting with goats that you aren't accustomed to, it is probably more trouble than you want. 

Generally goats prefer to walk slower than you probably want to hike, so they may do just fine if you slow down a bit. I have progressively increased my speed because I was mostly dead but decided to go far a walk. As I have gotten better, the goats have been able to perform better as well.

You can do a lot in a month. Schedule it like a workout regime. A day on a day off. On off days, walk casually with light packs just so they get in the "We're doing this together" mode. On on days. Jog with no packs. Increase the distance, not the speed. Once a week, give them a day off then the next do a hike with medium packs. 

I had a swim coach that trained his race horse the same way he trained the swim team. I didn't care for the harnesses ;-)


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## sweetgoatmama (Dec 10, 2008)

You can work on this like weight training. Use progressive loads of water jugs and start out with about 20-30 pounds and as they start to tire, pour out water. When they look like they have had enough and are panting turn around and dump all the water. On the way back they are packing empty containers. Repeat every couple of days.


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