Parelli Goat-Man-Ship

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

I could easily replicate this picture in real life... [insert evil laugh]

I've been a little bored lately (mentally, I guess... One is never without something to do while on a farm!), and wishing for a new challenge. Along with that, I've been wondering if I couldn't make Heidi a little more useful around the place. Add in the fact that Hoegger Goat Supply was having a sale on their harnesses, and you've got a recipe for some fun! 

My secret is out now... Yep, I'm training my whopping 200 lb. goat to be a draft animal! At first, I was just going by the books, on how to train her, but was getting extremely frustrated with myself and Heidi. She's a pushy goat, to say it lightly. She is either leading you around, or she's not budging. Disrespectful of your space, stubbornly fighting you at every turn, trying to get back to the herd... Things were not going right!! Then I watched a video by an acquaintance of mine... Her pair of goats were flawlessly trained in every aspect... Shucks, they even picked up their feet for her. Turns out she used the Parelli Natural Horsemanship methods on her goats!

I couldn't help but slap my forehead for not thinking of using Parelli sooner! I've trained a couple horses in the past using his methods, and the results are jaw-dropping. You can have a completely different animal in just a couple days. So, I went out this morning and tried a few horse methods on my goat, and wouldn't ya' know it. They worked like a charm. The problem was not Heidi at all. It was me. I was being entirely too confusing for the poor thing, and not allowing her the chance to respect me. Using the Parelli methods on her this morning completely changed everything, and for the first time, we had fun together. She's already understanding that being pushy, and being in my space (i.e. too close to me) is not okay, and has begun to anticipate my cues. 

So I'm excited... :) Training Heidi has given me the challenge that I have badly needed lately, and it's giving her a chance to be a very useful asset here on the farm. 

This was the first video I watched, and this is basically what Heidi and I worked on today. We just played together and worked on yielding. :)

I may not be able to train any horses right now, but I can at least do my goats... :)

So if you see someone going down Highway 18 in a goat-pulled cart, in the future,  just know that it's me!! LOL.