Mini(s) with sheep

[AJ]

I was asked whether mini's could be put with a flock of sheep without any problems. I know some of you will have experience/answers to this, so I will await your comments that I can pass on. Thanks.

 

[AnnaC]

I think it will depend entirely on both the minis and the sheep. A ram out with his girls might object, an experienced ewe with lambs might object - would hate to see any young mini foals get head butted by an agressive/angry sheep!

Then you have the minis - the youngsters can pester the sheep, and just as with the sheep, a stallion/mare could also be a problem.

That said, we have succesfully run quite a few of our minis with sheep with no problem at all - it is so good for healthy pastures to run them together. But we did have to watch them for the first few days to make sure all was well.

The funniest one is our Falabella stallion who is mad about HIS cows - he even screams for them as much as he does for his girls if he is removed from their field. We do not put him out with the cows and their calves, but with the weaners upwards. He bosses them about, will share scratches - they lick and he scratches! When they are all laying down, he often cannot be seen coz he's right there in the middle of the gang hidden by their bodies, flat out, totally at peace and happy as a sand boy!

Wishing your friends good luck - with care it can be very successful.

 

[Eagle]

The funniest one is our Falabella stallion who is mad about HIS cows - he even screams for them as much as he does for his girls if he is removed from their field. We do not put him out with the cows and their calves, but with the weaners upwards. He bosses them about, will share scratches - they lick and he scratches! When they are all laying down, he often cannot be seen coz he's right there in the middle of the gang hidden by their bodies, flat out, totally at peace and happy as a sand boy!

now we need a photo of this little guy with his "friends"

 

[AnnaC]

Will try to get Cathy to take her camera when she goes to visit him! Wish we had taken pics of the minis with the sheep too for the OP, but sheep are now way over the other side of the farm (Cathy and Euros' farm, not mine.)

 

[Genie]

Our experience with sheep and minis was not successful.

The stallion was "tossing" the lambs around. He would grab them by the back of the neck and throw them.

 

[Minimor]

I have a friend who has sheep and a Mini mare, and her mare lives with the sheep. She is currently in with one very elderly ewe. This friend wanted to raise a foal from her mare so I took one of my stallions over there. I wasn't sure how he would get along with the ewe & was actually afraid that he might be aggressive to her, just because she is so much smaller and he is a mature stallion that has never been around sheep. Turns out there was no need to worry--to start with he was very afraid of the sheep but after a couple days they became pals.

I do have some horses here (a few geldings, a few mares) that I very much doubt could live peacefully with smaller animals. They have different temperaments than the above mentioned stallion & I would be surprised if they didn't chase or bite the sheep if they were put in with some. Perhaps they would surprise me, but I wouldn't count on it. I would have to say that it would depend on the individual horse--some will be fine with the sheep, some won't be. I don't see the sheep being a menace to the horses, with the exception of rams, and especially a ram that has horns.

Sheep cannot have copper supplement, so horse minerals have to be kept out of reach of the sheep.

 

[Genie]

I have a friend who has sheep and a Mini mare, and her mare lives with the sheep. She is currently in with one very elderly ewe. This friend wanted to raise a foal from her mare so I took one of my stallions over there. I wasn't sure how he would get along with the ewe & was actually afraid that he might be aggressive to her, just because she is so much smaller and he is a mature stallion that has never been around sheep. Turns out there was no need to worry--to start with he was very afraid of the sheep but after a couple days they became pals.

I do have some horses here (a few geldings, a few mares) that I very much doubt could live peacefully with smaller animals. They have different temperaments than the above mentioned stallion & I would be surprised if they didn't chase or bite the sheep if they were put in with some. Perhaps they would surprise me, but I wouldn't count on it. I would have to say that it would depend on the individual horse--some will be fine with the sheep, some won't be. I don't see the sheep being a menace to the horses, with the exception of rams, and especially a ram that has horns.

Sheep cannot have copper supplement, so horse minerals have to be kept out of reach of the sheep.

I forgot about the dietary differences. Yes, that was also a potential issue.

 

[ohmt]

I have a new england baby doll ewe that I keep with my mares and foals. She fits right in and ks always right in the middle eating or sleeping. I do have to separate her when I give grain because she can get pushy with the foals. I have the mineral blocks just high enough that she can reach them, but the mares and foals can (she's an itty bitty little thing). I do not put my ram out with my horses because he does because he is much more aggressive so i'd rather not even risk it. Oh, I have also had my ewe in with a stallion and a fawn that I rescued for about a year. They were the cutest little trio there ever was. The ewe took the fawn in like he was her own and in the winter all three would lay down and cuddle together in their barn

We kept our contact with the fawn to as little as possible so we were very happy to have the stallion an ewe raise him.

 

[ohmt]

Excuse my spelling and grammar errors-using my phone and it's so hard to type!

 

[Little Hooves]

We kept our mini stallion and 2 mini mares out with several ewes and their lambs for the summer one year. There were no problems. And when the pasture was grazed down and the weather was cold again, we split them up for winter quarters. The biggest issue we dealt with was coyotes. There was no ram, though... but our stallion for the most part just flat out ignored the sheep. I think if you have a big enough area, it would be OK. But like it's been said before, it always depends on the individual animal, so keep a close watch until you think they can be trusted.