mini with a goat
- Thread starter MPR
- Start date
Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:
rabbitsfizz
Well-Known Member
You will get differing answers to this one, but I truly believe you might just as well use anything- a dog a llama- if it is not a horse it is not truly company.
Horses are herd animals.
If they are on their own they are lonely.
If you give them another animal they will make do, but they will never speak the same language or have the same habits.
Horses need Horses, anything else is "better than nothing"
Horses are herd animals.
If they are on their own they are lonely.
If you give them another animal they will make do, but they will never speak the same language or have the same habits.
Horses need Horses, anything else is "better than nothing"
M
mountain_waif
Guest
....
Last edited:
Rabbitsfizz is right. Goats dont have the same body language as horses. Its like sticking a chineas person with a spanish person. But if you realy need to get a goat and dont want another horse im sure your lil guy would be just dandy with a lil goaty friend.
: Good luck with your search!!
wcr
Well-Known Member
One thing you have to watch out for is tail chewing. I have seen goats totally eat the tail off horses.
VerticallyChallenged
Well-Known Member
My mini is in with three goats. He LOVES them. Ultimately he rules the roost there, but he has one who he hangs out with quite often. The goat will scratch him where he needs scratching, and lay at his feet when they're standing out there. My mini was not introduced to goats until he was 5. He and "his" goat will run around and play with each other, eat together, sleep together... (the goats are pygmies), he also has some "horse" company in my older 14 hh mare....but he chooses his goat. If I take one out, the other calls for him. So it's obvious they are bonded. They are all grained separately just so they don't have to share. The goats have toys out there they can jump on but the mini can't...although I think he'd like to! It would depend, I would think, on the mini and the goat. I really believe goats need more of their kind more than horses do in most respects. So I'd probably be more worried about the goat. But, again, they're all individuals...just telling you how things work around here!
Angie
Angie
Margaret
Well-Known Member
I also raise Nigerian Dwarf goats. When they were initially introduced, they ran in a fence adjoining the horse pasture. Once the horses got used to there presence, we allowed the goats to try out the mini horse pasture.. Their was a little curosity on the horses behalf, but the goats stayed clear of the minis.. Now we allow them to run together all the time.. The horses leave the goats alone, and graze the pasture, and visa-versa, the goats respect the horses space, and cohabitate peacefully. At night every one goes back to their own space for overnight feeding, and rest.
:
I posted some pics last week of my mini with his goat friends in an earlier thread. It has worked great for me. As much as I wanted another mini to put with him, at the time, we just had too many other animals so I settled for the goats. I bought them as a pair (brother and sis) when they were young, had the boy neutered and had their horns removed. Didn't want to deal with the "stinky Billy smell" and didn't want to walk outside one day and see my mini with a puncture hole in him. Everyone is different but I just lucked up I guess because they all bonded real well.
I think Rabbitz put it very well. Also, I have seen MANY horses whose tails and manes were stripped from the goat(s) eating the hair off. Some horses will not tolerate other animals as companions either - depends on the personality of the horse.
We also have had experiences with goats getting stuck in fences as they always seem to try to want to eat what is on the OTHER side, stripping bark from trees and eating your best flowers when they have tons of fresh grass or hay for them to eat, etc...
We also have had experiences with goats getting stuck in fences as they always seem to try to want to eat what is on the OTHER side, stripping bark from trees and eating your best flowers when they have tons of fresh grass or hay for them to eat, etc...
Margaret
Well-Known Member
That is true Laurie, about the bark being a tasty treat...only I have had more problems with the minis on that than the goats ...(so I chicken wire around my trunks) Actually the goats do us a favor and eat the suckers comming out from the bottom of the trees insted.
: All my goats are de-horned, and would not dare to venture close enough to the horses to nibble on the manes or tails...-maybe cause the goats are soo small, (dwarfs) in comparison- and the mini horses would not tolerate it anyway..
In our experience goats and horses get along great since they are both herd animals but I do feel strongly that a horse is happier with a horse as a companion and vice versa. The goats we have (pygmy/nigerian cross) never chew on the horses mane and tail but I have heard of it happening. Also, I would strongly suggest having your goat dehorned if its going to be in with horses. Our foals and goats have loved playing together. The stallion and mares seem to treat the goats like they do a foal and tolerate them more. The goats are very entertaining and very affectionate, our kids have enjoyed the goats as much as the horses
LindaL
Well-Known Member
As others have said, if you have goats in with horses make sure they are dehorned. My buck gored a mare of mine and she was "lucky" that he just missed her gut, instead goring her upper inside legs...some as deep as 6"!!! :new_shocked: She recovered, but it was very traumatic and I got rid of my goats right after that.
