Water on hikes

[Sanhestar]

Mine have to drink from the streams or go thirsty. I figure that even if they get a little dehydrated, they're not going to die of thirst in sight of water.

They might not die from dehydration but they can "throw" a urinary calculi = stone when they run out of water (or refuse to drink because the source is not acceptable for them) and empty their bladder due to more exercise. We all know how much goats pee on hikes before they switch to "desert mode".

Had this actually happen to one of my wethers years back after an only 1,5/2 hour hike in warm spring wether, panting, without water to a new pasture. We built the fence, drove home to pick up the heavy gear and water and when we came back he had already a stone blocking his urether.

A few years before that we had another back luck case: we had taken all the goats with us on a 14 day medieval reenactment event. Due to food changes one of the wethers developed enterotoxemia. Luckily the vet we called had extensive experience with goats and managed to get him stabilized with antibiotics and i.v. fluids. He was on the mend, we stopped the i.v. fluids but didn't pay enough attention why he would refuse to drink from the water we offered in a large bucket. We later learned that this bucket had been used years ago to mix paint and must have held some (for humans unsmellable) traces of paint or paint thinner which for him in his weakened state where unacceptable (the other goats drank from that bucket).

Growing really thirsty and desperate this sick wether than drank water from a standing puddle. Due to some organism in that puddle his rumen (which we just got going) shut down again and we were unable to get it going again.

These incidents might not compare to drinking/refusing to drink water from a stream during a hike but thought me several things. One, to pay attention when the goats refuse a water source that at first glance is acceptable and two to keep in mind that there is a risk of stones dislodging when/before they go in "desert mode". I believe Carolyn Eddy mentions this in her book, too.