Pack Goat Tracking
Pack goats need records the rest of the herd doesn't — fitness built over a season, trips that prove it, and test results that determine where you're allowed to hike.
Where: the 🎒 Pack tab. If you don't see it, enable Pack in Settings → 🎯 Farm Focus.
Pack Goat Details
Each pack goat carries their own profile information: training level, equipment notes, and NAPgA membership if you're a member.
Their 🎯 Training profile tab holds the working history.
Conditioning Sessions
Log training walks and pack sessions through the season — date, type, distance, duration, and notes.
The point is the accumulation. "Is he ready for a twelve-mile day in August" is a question your records should answer, not your optimism. A goat who has been out twice since April isn't ready regardless of how he looked last season.
Trip Logs
Record actual trips with the goats who went, the date, distance, and terrain. Trips build each goat's lifetime working history and feed their lifetime mileage.
Trips are logged for the group, so one entry covers the whole string rather than repeating yourself per animal.
M. ovi Testing
Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae status is recorded per goat, with the date of the most recent test.
This matters beyond herd health: many public land agencies in the western US restrict pack goats where they might contact bighorn sheep, and documented M. ovi-negative status is often the condition of access. Because Herd Manager works offline, the record is on your phone at the trailhead whether or not you have signal.
Regulations vary by agency and sometimes by individual ranger district — some areas ban pack goats outright, some require testing, some are unrestricted. Herd Manager stores your results; it can't tell you what a given district requires. See the trip planning guide for how to check before you commit to a route.
The Rest of the Herd Tools
A pack goat is a goat first. Everything else applies:
- Hoof trimming on schedule — non-negotiable for animals working on rock
- Body condition scoring — working goats lose condition on a hard season
- Weights — and for young goats, whether they're ready to start carrying
- Health records including CAE, CL, and Johne's testing alongside M. ovi
Wethers and Castration Timing
Most pack goats are wethers, and castration timing affects urinary calculi risk more in pack goats than in almost any other class of goat — they live long working lives and urinary blockage is a common cause of early loss. The castration timing guide covers the tradeoffs; record the date in the goat's health history either way.