Teaching a goat to wear a harness for the first time is usually a pretty simple task. First it is important to know the parts of the harness and the proper fitting of these parts on the goat. Let's start at the front the breast strap , the breast strap should fit on the brisket of the goat . It should never be adjusted too high where it is riding on the neck , this will restrict  the airway  of the goat. The breast strap should ride on the front of the brisket . The back saddle is next on the harness and it should fit behind the withers of the goat. The girth attaches to the back saddle and should be snug on the barrel ( bottom of stomach ) of the goat. The breeching is last , placed under the tail and should ride in the largest part of the muscle on the rear legs. The breeching should be snug but not tight, if it is too tight it will restrict movement of the rear legs on the goat. On top of the breeching is a large two inch brass or stainless ring . We call this the spider and the spider should sit on top of the tail bone. The spider connects the breeching to the back saddle . This is very crucial to keeping the implement ( cart, sled, or disc , etc. ) from running forward or backward when on hills. 

On our harnesses there are many adjustments to make to make sure it properly fits the goat.  A proper fitting harness is extremely important to insure the health and safety of the goat . When first teaching a goat to wear a harness  usually we put a harness on them and let them just wear it on a walk or when they are in the pasture ( we watch them at all times, never put a harness on a goat without watching them as they can easily injure themselves).  Goats usually accept the harness within a couple of sessions of wearing it. 

Next blog we will start to work the goat in harness.