[ohiogoatgirl]

i'm in ohio and out in the boonies, which i love! but i can't find anyone else who is into pack or harness goats!!! how do i get others interested? i would like to start a small group for my area. any ideas?

 

[IceDog]

I think the best way to get others interested is just get out there and do it. People will see what a great time you're having and it will generate interest.

I'm not out on public trails yet, but I post photos of our hikes on my FaceBook, it plants a seed!

Here we are on our first outing with our new pack saddle yesterday....
[attachment=1:2534pj54]DSC07447 Mack & Phoebe 11-1-10 PSC8-500x400.jpg[/attachment:2534pj54]
And Phoebe dutifully following us home in spite of the fact she'd rather stay out on the trail.....
[attachment=0:2534pj54]DSC07477 Phoebe11-1-10 PSC8-500x400.jpg[/attachment:2534pj54]
I think Phoebe is going to be a fabulous pack goat. Mack is still easily spooked on the trail. Maybe Mack is too old to adjust to life on the trail.
Phoebe is 3 years old, Mack is 6 or 7 years old.

 

[ryorkies]

Good answer Icedog.
I had the forest service guy stop and take photos
of Sully to show his son.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

i post pics on facebook and take the goats to pet shows and walk them through town- which isn't really TOWN, just houses, post office, church. and even though i've been walking them through town almost every day for like a month i have only seen about ten people. ten! and usually they pet the goats like its a circus attraction and no one in the right mind would walk goats... ugh... makes me so mad that people are so lame and unwilling to try new things... or go back to an old idea... GR!!!

 

[Nanno]

...and usually they pet the goats like its a circus attraction and no one in the right mind would walk goats... ugh... makes me so mad that people are so lame and unwilling to try new things... or go back to an old idea... GR!!!

People aren't lame for not wanting goats. Getting goats would require a substantial life change for most people. Many zoning laws don't even allow goats in their neighborhoods. We've been walking our goat in public for nine years and only one person has been inspired to get a goat (and I don't think hers worked out very well for her :? ).

Goats are a lot of work to keep if you're not already set up for it. They also aren't people-pleasers the way dogs are. Goats have independent, "what's in it for me?" personalities, they are hard to keep penned, they will destroy your garden and your ornamentals, they keep messy bedrooms, and they can become aggressive if not handled properly. They must have their own shelter and a high, sturdy fence (which can be very expensive). Goat owners need a decent-sized yard, and hay storage since you can't usually buy hay one bale at a time like you can a bag of dog food. When you sit down and think about it, it's obvious why more people aren't inspired to be goat owners.

So before calling people out for being lame and uninteresting in their preferences, think about what's really involved in your own lifestyle choices and be willing to celebrate your individuality while conceding that your choice probably isn't practical for most people. Besides, it's just plain awesome to do something that no one else is doing!

 

[IceDog]

I think once your not just walking your goats, but have a pack and they're carrying your stuff for you, people will see it differently.

Whether it's for them or not will still be up in the air......but you'll be planting that seed!

Good luck on getting that pack saddle. Get the economy pack saddle kit if that's where you can start. Find some free wool, wash it and felt it into a saddle pad, use the reusable grocery bags as panniers (I am for now) and have the goats carry some groceries home!

Then let the fun and the sharing of the idea of a working goat as opposed to just walking a pet goat begin!

I'm willing to bet that when you're packing groceries home with your goat a lot more people will raise their eyebrow and think.... hmmmmm.....

I am hoping to enter my goats all decked out in packs in our small town parade next year (Sept 2011). Anyone want to join me?

 

[idahonancy]

I would love to join your parade. My boys are the most handsome in North Idaho but the drive to SE Idaho maybe to far away. We have our own private parade in our neighborhood regularly. We stop traffic with people who cannot drive another foot, despite the traffic behind them, unless they ask a question or give a big smile and wave. Sometimes people jump out of thier cars and take pictures. I doubt I have planted any "gotta have a goat seed." The most often asked question is "what are those?"
I do live in a neighborhood with a rule about "no goats."
It took me 4 months to get written permission from everyone to have goats. It is alot of work to take good care of a goat. It is rewarding but a person is wise to study long and work hard before taking the project on.

 

[Nanno]

I do live in a neighborhood with a rule about "no goats."
It took me 4 months to get written permission from everyone to have goats. It is alot of work to take good care of a goat. It is rewarding but a person is wise to study long and work hard before taking the project on.

Us too! I had to collect a lot of signatures, but it was worth it in the end, and all of our neighbors absolutely adore Cuzco (even if he doesn't return the feeling--he's pretty cranky with strangers and is getting worse in his old age).

I also have people ask me what he his. Llama? Alpaca? Donkey? Ugly dog? Unicorn? We decided we prefer the unicorn classification. If we can call Cuzco a mythical creature, then "no pets" and "no livestock" rules no longer apply and we can take him everywhere.

 

[IceDog]

You're so right IdahoNancy, Northern Idaho to Southeast Idaho is a long ways!

In case anyone else is closer.....one year Good Morning American even broadcast their show from the little hometown celebration and parade. LOL Doubt that's going to happen again anytime soon!

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

i am sorry, i did not mean people are lame that no one else has goats. because i understand goats are not for everyone. i meant that people in my area are all walmart-ad wanna-be's and no one seems capable to be there own person. and even people who are there own person would never go so far as to go out in the open with one of their ideas. not that pack or harness goats is my original idea. i mean that no one would go to the store in clothes they made because "you're supposed to BUY clothes" etc.
since i don't have the money to buy equipment i am making my own. as best i can anyway. i am making plans for a two-wheel cart now. but on my walks moonbeam wears a practice pack i made from an old towel and milky way pulls a little sled.

 

[ryorkies]

since i don't have the money to buy equipment i am making my own. as best i can anyway. i am making plans for a two-wheel cart now. but on my walks moonbeam wears a practice pack i made from an old towel and milky way pulls a little sled.

i showed him all the equipment i needed on northwest packgoats website and he wont buy it! i have the money to buy it but not the credit card/etc. required for buying things online.

Ok, you got me confused?

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

i had a job and a savings account and at the time i had enough for the whole thing. but my dad never got me anything for my b-day or graduation (still hasn't) and he'd already said he would buy me some pack stuff so i thought that was fair. even if I'd payed 3/4rths i would have been happy. since then I've lost that job and had to spend money. so now i don't have hardly any money and am trying my hardest not to spend any as long as it isn't absolutely necessary. $350 for fence really hit me in my pocket... and now they rarely have money in them. sorry for confusing you.

 

[ryorkies]

Money has a way of doing that.
Here today gone tomorrow.

As for birthdays I do not celebrate
them.
[url="http://www.ehow.com/how_6245...w.ehow.com/how_6245362_build-s ... addle.html

this is for a horse and you would need to modifiy it for goats.
good luck. I am not that talented to build my own..

 

[Rex]

i had a job and a savings account and at the time i had enough for the whole thing. but my dad never got me anything for my b-day or graduation (still hasn't) and he'd already said he would buy me some pack stuff so i thought that was fair. even if I'd payed 3/4rths i would have been happy. since then I've lost that job and had to spend money. so now i don't have hardly any money and am trying my hardest not to spend any as long as it isn't absolutely necessary. $350 for fence really hit me in my pocket... and now they rarely have money in them. sorry for confusing you.

Ohiogoatgirl... send me an email with your name and UPS shipping address. I may have some used stuff I can send to help get you started.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
i sent my address to you in a PM.
THANK YOU!!!!!!

 

[Rex]

lol....I'll see what I can find to send out for you.

 

[Bob Jones]

Birthdays? Every year on my birthday my mother and aunt would buy tickets to the Ice Capades because they wanted to go. Just them and me. If I complained they would tell me how ungrateful I was for the cool birthday present. It could have been worse. They could have forced me to bring a friend.

Ice Capades! That's as bad a ballet. No it is worse. The expectation is set high and then sprung on you. When you go to an ice rink you expect to see men dressed like Star Wars Militia getting their teeth knocked out and squids, not men in tights doing ballet on ice.

To this day I won't even turn on the Olympics Ice Skating. Even visiting an ice skating rink gives me chills.

In retaliation, at Thanksgiving, after the big dinner, I would tell her what good ice cubes she made.

After childhood trauma like that it is amazing I turned out so normal.