[Rex]

I weigh my gear out and write it down on a piece of paper. So I can remember what goes where.

I'm not nearly so organized. We lay out everything we want to take including a two burner propane stove, big dome tent and plenty of food. Fishing gear and a book or two. Then I pack it according to description. Food in one set of panniers, clothes and sleeping bags in a set, cook ware and other hardware in a set etc. I double check to make sure there won't be anything sharp, or hard for that matter, poking against the goats side when the panniers are loaded. Besides keeping each pannier the same weight, I also try to keep them the same size. Just because they are the same weight doesn't mean they will ride the same. Fat ones tend to hang lower than skinny ones if put on the same goat. Probably because the weight is farther out from the goat on a fat pannier making it have more "leverage". I also keep my top loads to a bare minimum. Preferring none if I can get away without them. The simple fact is that every pound you get above the goats top line increases saddle movement when the goat walks and it's just something extra to snag on brush and blow downs when traveling cross country or on grown in trails. When our gear is all packed into panniers and weighed, I go out to the barn and load how ever many goats I need to carry it all. :mrgreen:

All the panniers have outside pockets for water bottles etc. We use the water to regulate the weight distribution. If you eat the trail mix from one pannier then drink water from the other. If one side keeps hanging lower than the other then move the water to the high side. Pretty simple really. I'd rather take an extra goat than carry a back pack. Thats why I got `em in the first place.