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I am looking to get a goat as a permanent mount. Nothing fancy, I want to ride her, use it as mule, and be able to do basic tricks with her. I don't plan to use it in combat. If it matters, I am looking for a female to drink her milk and bake cheese. I am fine with a look-alike animal that we can adapt to be flavorful.
My character is a gnome buffer bard. I will buff as far as I can from the battle. I am fine with investing one feat if needed, but I don't want to dip.
What are my options?
Yes. In fact, Pathfinder already includes a medium-sized Goat. Behold the mighty Dire Goat! You will need a bit of Handle Animal:
To rear an animal means to raise a wild creature from infancy so that it becomes domesticated. A handler can rear as many as three creatures of the same kind at once. A successfully domesticated animal can be taught tricks at the same time it’s being raised, or it can be taught as a domesticated animal later.
(emphasis mine)
If you dont have a lot of rank into Handle Animal, maybe someone else can tame the Dire Goat for you.
This giant goat stands as tall as a halfling at the shoulder. Its fur is whitish–brown and its horns are yellowish–brown.
A Ram is male sheep. Sheep and goats are closely related: both are in the subfamily Caprinae. A female is called an ewe. They are Medium sized. You can buy one for 25gp and 50gp if combat trained. You can find them under the Ridable Creature section of the page Ride.
A formidable pair of heavy horns curls from the forehead of this sturdy, brown-and-white-furred ram.
There are two basic approaches to this sort of question. One is to find rules for goats, and then look for a way to make them ride-able, and aloisdg has given three options along those lines.
The other way is to find something that's already ride-able, with roughly the right stats, and make it a goat. For instance:
Take one Riding Dog.
Change "dog" to "goat". Change "bite" to "gore". This is a minor downgrade since the damage changes from B/S/P to P, but since you're not planning on using this for combat, it doesn't matter. No need to change the Trip special attack. Optionally, move one skill point and the Skill Focus feat from Perception to Climb.
Voila! You now have a Medium-sized riding goat.
In the end, the stats are pretty similar to the ram that aloisdg suggested. However, reskinning is sometimes easier to sell to a GM. There's less need to worry about balance issues, especially in this case where the reskin is based on a "standard issue" mount for small PCs, and it reduces the number of rulebooks required (something that, IME, GMs often appreciate!)
Wait. Bards doesn't have familiars!
Duettist Bard does. Be a duettist.
If your DM lets you use the 3.5 feat Obtain Familiar (Complete Arcane, p. 81), go for it. The other solution cost two feats! (thanks @KRyan)
Pick Skill Focus, to unlock the mighty Eldritch Heritage. Skill Focus can be used for your favorite Knowledge skill. As a Bard, I am sure you check the CHA 13 condition. With Eldritch Heritage, you select the Arcane Bloodline which grants a familiar.
OK, now you can have a familiar. Let's continue.
In the list of familiars, you will find the goat.
Problem is, this goat is Small. A mount suited for you is at least one size category larger than you.
Wait. Why can't I buy a goat directly? Yes you can, but it won't scale and no mauler for you.
A small and timid herd animal.
Since you are fine with a look-alike animal. I have another solution for you. Paizo has medium-sized goatlike deer. The Ringhorn can be use as Animal Companion. As far as I know, there is no way for a bard to get an Animal Companion.
Animal Ally is a feat from Pathfinder Player Companion: Faiths & Philosophies who grants an animal companion:
Your respect for nature is so great that you can form a deep and lasting friendship with an animal.
Prerequisites: Nature Soul, character level 4th, must not have an animal companion or mount that advances as an animal companion.
Benefit: You gain an animal companion as if you were a druid of your character level –3 from the following list: badger, bird, camel, cat (small), dire rat, dog, horse, pony, snake (viper), or wolf. If you later gain an animal companion through another source (such as the Animal domain, divine bond, hunter’s bond, mount, or nature bond class features), the effective druid level granted by this feat stacks with that granted by other sources.
As a DM, I would close my eyes on the last prerequisite. Check with yours. With Nature Soul, it is two feats for an animal.
In another hand, 3.5 has the Wild Cohort feat as alternative.
The horns of this goatlike deer grow up and curve around into a pair of massive, spiraling rings atop its head.
