# has anyone taught their goats to pull a cart?



## i8sumpi (Dec 11, 2014)

has anyone taught their goats to pull a cart? just curios how much weight can your average goat pull?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Good question. It would depend on what they weigh.


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## Naunnie (Jul 4, 2014)

Just this morning I saw a Pin about how to make a goat cart! It really peaked my interest. The age and breed of the goat, would determine how much they can pull. Plus, what kind of cart you would want to train them to. I saw a picture of a beautiful Nubian pulling a load of firewood. I also saw a picture of two Nigerians pulling a child in a Christmas parade. I love the idea of the boys helping us out next year with the yard work! :wink:


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## Sundancer (Jan 21, 2012)

I'd like to look at that pic of the cart...if it has four wheels. That takes the load off the goats back.

Have a couple people interested in them and asked if I could build but can't find a decent plan....hmmm...:chin:...might have to design one but would make it a bit easier with a pic and a lot easier with a plan


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I drive goats. I've been told that if he's in shape, a goat should be able to pull up to 1.5 times his own weight. However, I would not load him that heavy if you're going over hills or on rough roads. 

Sundancer, a lot of folks use a Radio Flyer wagon or a garden handcart and remove the handle and replace it with homemade shafts. Depending on how handy you are and how much spare time you have, buying pre-made often ends up being cheaper and better than anything you could make at home.


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## Naunnie (Jul 4, 2014)

The plans I found are for a 2 wheel _driving_ cart. http://www.mylittlehomestead.com/homemadegoatcart.html . Most of the 4 wheel _"hauling carts_" I've seen, are a converted garden cart. I'm just starting to research this but I thinks there is also a differences in "driving" and "hauling" harnesses.

I currently only have Nd's. I'm thinking we will just start out with very light weight hauling. Besides the right harness, I think pneumatic wheels are key for hauling.

I've seen pictures of folks using Mini Horse wagons for "driving teams" of larger Goats. Just something else to consider....

I don't want to risk copyrights, but a google search..."Working Goat Carts" will lead you to the that gorgeous Nubian hauling a green garden cart. Well...I got all kinds of inspiration googling this! I particularly love the vintage pictures...:dance:


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## SeventeenFarms (Dec 10, 2013)

I've been rolling over the same thought of teaching a goat to pull a cart. I have the radio flyer wagon, but is there anywhere to get a simple harness for a reasonable price just to start? I am ok building the shafts, but not the harness, and ones I have seen are a bit pricey for experimenting around. Maybe someone has a found a source? Thanks!


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## Sundancer (Jan 21, 2012)

I have built full size horse wagons over the years...the most fun were the gypsy wagons but more folks around here like to have a farm type wagons to participate in local fairs, parades and such. Did build a few 2 wheeled dog wagons for people that do the farmer's markets around here and they are usually at the fairs and such.

I don't much need a plan as I need height above ground dimension so I can make them to the correct scale for whatever critter will be pulling it. Then I design the rest of the wagon. No two wagons I have made are the same except perhaps the running gear. Small changes in the way each box looks made them all unique and I do burn my name and the date of completion somewhere on the wagon. 

The 2 wheeled carts I've made for mini horses and were designed to carry the load a bit further back to take the stress of the back.

Anyway....the hardest part to do is the wheels...easy if you use bike tires or something...lots worse if they want wood spoke wheels.

And my prices are not bad...been retired for a decade now . Most have gone to good causes so I get my materials cost back...we barter them for things too...got a side of beef as payment plus they bought the mats. And my DW says if I don't stay out of the house she'll have me doing housework :-(


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## i8sumpi (Dec 11, 2014)

i found a video on youtube, just go and search driving goats.its so cool!


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I went ahead and bought a harness. It's well worth the money. A good harness is time consuming to make and could be uncomfortable for your goat or dangerous to use if you don't know what you're doing. I think I spent $200 on our first harness from Hoegger's and we've used it for 10 years. It doesn't look as nice any more but it still has lots of serviceable years left. 

I just bought a betathane harness from Northwest Mini Tack for about the same price. It's a miniature horse harness that they modified for goat use and I love it! It's easier to clean than the old nylon one and should wear better. If you're worried about spending money on a harness, have the family all pitch in as a combined Christmas or birthday present. That's how I got my first one.


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## Naunnie (Jul 4, 2014)

Thanks Damfino....You helped me make up my mind.  I have been reading Working Goats website. Lots of great info IMO. This is about harnesses. http://www.workinggoats.com/?id=210 This link is for their custom made wagon harness. http://www.workinggoats.com/?action=Store&itemid=919


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I saw a little cart made for a goat out of a milk crate! (Made by a 4h'r). Would work well for a Nigie!


Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

What the working goats site has to say about the importance of a properly fitting cart harness with all the parts is spot on! Personally, I like having options so I would always go with a full harness instead of just a "wagon" harness. One thing I don't like about their wagon harness is that it doesn't have tugs. Tugs are the straps that run from the breastcollar back to the singletree. As you can see, their wagon hitches are designed without singletrees and the cart is pulled directly by the shafts.

I don't recommend this set-up for several reasons, particularly if you ever intend to put something heavy in the wagon. Without a singletree, the breastcollar will chafe when the goat walks. A singletree is a crossbar on a pivot that sits behind the animal. The tugs fasten to the outsides of the bar. The pivot action compensates for shoulder movement and keeps the breastcollar from rubbing back and forth. This is very important if you ever go on hills, have a decent load in the wagon, or plan to work your goat for any length of time.

The other reason I like having tugs is redundancy. Sometimes pieces fail, and having your goat hitched by the tugs _and_ by the shafts reduces accidents. Singletrees should be attached to the wagon separately from the shafts so that if the pin holding the shafts to the wagon were to work loose (not uncommon), the goat will still be hitched to the singletree.

I also don't like seeing load-bearing shafts hitched to a wagon by nothing more than a snap on each side. Tugs are usually constructed as a continuous piece with the breastcollar and have no rings or snaps to break. Fastening your biggest load-bearing pieces to an animal with nothing but a snap can be unsafe. Fortunately, these kind of safety considerations are not usually so critical with goat hitches since goats are small and easily managed and their loads aren't heavy, but it's good to keep these features in mind so you can make a fully informed decision. I owned a small commercial horse carriage business for a couple of years, so I've come to appreciate the importance of a properly constructed harness and a safe hitch.


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## Naunnie (Jul 4, 2014)

Thanks again Damfino! So much more to learn... Is this what you mean? Also found this picture of a labeled harness helpful....
http://www.homegrownandhandmadethebook.com/2013/10/working-goats-your-journey-begins-here.html


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Yep, that's a singletree (also called a whiffletree). The working goat site looks pretty neat! I didn't really have time to browse, but it looks like there's a lot of good info there. You might also do a search on this site. Keywords might be harness, driving, cart, wagon, hitch, pulling, and combinations of those. Confine your search to only the working goat section to narrow results.


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