Pig with my minis.

[Tucker]

Ok this going to sound crazy this 200 pound sow shows up in pasture grazing with my minis everyone gets along and best part is she eats acorns up as they drop.well shes made herself at home gaurds the horses its crazy runs dogs off cats ect loves people.well I found out she had been dumped off people 4 miles down road moved and could not take her so shes mine i let her run around farm here has anyone else let pigs run with there horses.I no nothing about pigs shes like haveing a dog around is it ok for her to be runing around with horses?

 

[mininik]

The lady who owns the place where I keep my ponies has pigs. She has a huge sow, and a bunch of pot bellies. They are allowed to roam with the horses when supervised. Most of the time it's even okay for there to be horses in the pig stalls, but I think she said the sows can get really nasty when they come into heat. She raised her sow as a pet so she is fairly tolerant of people most of the time, but that's not an animal I would want to be around alone, especially lacking experience. Definitely look into proper handling techniques, housing and dietary needs ASAP to avoid a problem.

 

[tinypony]

Sad news in my state regarding pigs/horses. Had a friend boarding her horse on a pig farm. Pigs there are super sweet, friendly, and kept separate from the horses for convenience. Sometimes they mingle on weekends when the owner is cleaning up and the horses (full size) love the pigs. One day my friend was cleaning her stall and had allowed her horse into the 40acre field where there were pigs. The lead sow apparently was having a bad day, attacked the full sized mare. My friend responded by running out there (stupid!) and she was attacked. By the time the owner showed up, the horse was dead and my friend had to go to the hospital for minor wounds. So I don't recommend the mix, just in case. Sure is cute though I'm actually scared of those cute piggies now.

 

[Tucker]

Well we are makeing a pig pen for her she will have plenty of room to root run ect.oh and a place where she can sleep at night stead of my porch .this is crazy I never wanted a pig but I got one anyway.

 

[love_casper]

Funny how things happen sin't it! There is a pig at the place 2 of my horses are boarded. The pig is fine with the horses, he's a huge pot belly, really cute. But most of the horses are terrified of him! It's so funny every time they walk by they stop and stare and snort at him. Well tell us how yours works out! Pretty neat story.

 

[mininik]

Just be careful. If a pig can attack and kill a full sized horse, just think what it can do to a human or your other pets. I was charged once by that friendly sow where I board and let me tell you, I've never been so afraid of an animal. Thankfully I was able to get up the steps faster than her and there were other people around to get her back to her pen.

What are you feeding the pig?

 

[Reijel's Mom]

Sad news in my state regarding pigs/horses. Had a friend boarding her horse on a pig farm. Pigs there are super sweet, friendly, and kept separate from the horses for convenience. Sometimes they mingle on weekends when the owner is cleaning up and the horses (full size) love the pigs. One day my friend was cleaning her stall and had allowed her horse into the 40acre field where there were pigs. The lead sow apparently was having a bad day, attacked the full sized mare. My friend responded by running out there (stupid!) and she was attacked. By the time the owner showed up, the horse was dead and my friend had to go to the hospital for minor wounds. So I don't recommend the mix, just in case. Sure is cute though I'm actually scared of those cute piggies now.

Wow!! We had pigs growing up on the farm, and they co-existed with our cows and my pony, most of the time quite harmoniously. Momma sows would sometimes try to attack US if they were concerned for their babies, and we didn't allow pigs in with the cows if they were calving, but it is incredibly hard for me to picture a horse losing a fight with a pig! Pigs are fast in a short sprint but they certainly don't have much stamina. I can't imagine a pig being able to kill a horse in one bite, and I can't imagine a horse not turning tail and kicking and running away from a sow if they did get bit. That has GOT to be a fluke!

I'd be a lot more scared about a horse kicking a pig square between the eyes and killing it then I would be worried about a pig killing a horse.

 

[h2t99]

I grew up on a pig farm, and yes you need to be careful when they are in heat and mostly if they have babies. A female will be very aggressive if she has babies. We currently have a pot belly that has the run of the farm, he plays with the horses and will steal food from them if he can. The big horses are pretty good at chasing him off. If your new addition is friendly with the horses already then you really have nothing to worry about. Not all pigs are aggressive!! We had over 100 pigs when I was growing up, and we only had 1 that we had to send to slaughter because she had babies and attacked my dad!! Plus she was always not very friendly. Pigs are very social animals, they like treats, and affection!! Rub her belly and she will fall down for more belly rubs!!

Very clean animals!! They only poop and pee in one area, so they are very easy to clean up after!! Our pot belly is fed maybe a handful of corn, and he is fat!! they are very good at eating grass, nuts, seeds!!

So enjoy your girl, and it sounds like you got a great one!! We want to see pics!!!

 

[Sixstardanes]

We were told by the family that had Saber that the place they purchased him from had him in a big area with 40+ pigs all just roaming about how they pleased.

We sometimes joke that some of Saber's talking sound more like piggy calls that horses.

 

[disneyhorse]

Pigs are WAY scary. They have no problems killing humans.... I am afraid of full size pigs, and cattle (got attacked by a steer and that was that!)...

Enjoy your pig though, I hope it works out!

Andrea

 

[Shortpig]

How cute! My little pot belly Shorty lived out with the horses for sometime. He and my stallion would share a pile of hay pleasantly chewing away not problem there. He got along great with Jasmine and Ariel they too would share their hay with him. Then came Duckie as a yearling who just wanted to play with the cute little piggy. Well they were running and Shorty stopped quick, Duckie tried really hard to jump over and clear him, caught him very slightly on the back with her back hoof on the way over. OMG! You would have thought she had killed him. Then the fun began. Everytime she looked at him he squealed really loud. I separated them and she would stand at the fence and look at him, he would squeal. I would then holler out the window for her to stop looking at shorty. He would squeal. By the way this went on for 5yrs. The day before Shorty passed away I was leading Duckie thru his area and back to hers. Shorty stepped right in front of her and when she put her nose down to him he planted his flat little piggy nose tight against hers for a few seconds. Grunted a couple of times and slowly walked away. If that wasn't a kiss goodbye I don't know what else to call it. The evening he passed all the horses were lined up at the fence facing shorty, heads down in silence not a whisper. He was their friend forever. He never once tried to hurt one of those horses. They were truly his friends. He also had kitties he loved dearly and a great big old Collie dog that mothered him.

I think you would see signs or a change of personality if your piggy has issues with her chosen herd.

 

[Shari]

Marie,, there is a big difference between "He" piggies,, and "She" piggies. Both my husband and I had to deal with the standard bacon pigs when growing up.. the boys (Gelded) were never a problem with any of the stock ,, either one of our families had. But "She" piggies.. I would never, ever, want them around any of the farm livestock. They can and will kill anything they think is a threat.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Guess just like most animals, it depends on the pig.

I was attacked by a sow when I was a child. I was hoeing in the garden and had the presence of mind of bring the sharp end of the hoe down with all my strength on her head as she charged me. It stopped her momentarily, and by then our dog was on the job. Have not liked pigs since. By the way, the sharp hoe did not leave a mark on her. Her head was obviously tougher than the weeds I was chopping!

 

[Kawgirl]

I don't think I would want a pig in with my horses. Even if it's a small pot belly pig, it can give a nasty bite! I've heard many old timers in my area tell about a man that was attacked by his own pigs, was killed and partially eaten!

They can be very dangerous! OH!

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

We raised our hogs (sows, boar, weaner/feeder pigs) with our feeder steers and replacement heifers.. Never had a problem with running the two together.. Now come farrowing the sows were all pulled into our farrowing barn and farrowed separate from the cattle and each other (yes we used farrowing crates), and yep around the end of gestation and after some of the sows could get down right nasty.. Boar(s) were pulled after breeding season and put out in a separate lot, had a few of them that no one would go into the lot with as they were not friendly.. I DO NOT miss the pigs at all! Sure the piglets were cute but boy are they a pain in the butt!

But with what's been said negatively on pigs, it goes back to they are animals, just like cattle, horses, sheep, dogs etc. etc., any and all animals can have a "mean side"..

 

[Bonny]

We have 2 young yorkshire hogs, boar and gilt. They are about a year old and 300 plus lbs. They have been raise from babies and are super sweet.

However a Sow with piglets is VERY DANGEROUS! They will attack if they feel threatened. I have my pigs in a separate pen because of that reason foremost.

I also wouldnt want them in with the horses because of the damage they cause to the pasture.

Also, heads up, if you live in a country area, you can be sure when she is in heat you will see boars around, you wouldnt want that going on with your horses.

Best of luck. I love the piggies!

 

[Miniv]

Well.........This has turned into an interesting thread!

Over the years I've visited a number of miniature horse farms that also had one (or two) pot bellied pigs that were given free roaming rights!

One thing I did happen to notice though......the pigs were never enclosed into a small area with the horses.

 

[dannigirl]

We have a potbelly that lives with our other animals. She is with a llama all the time and we let a stallion in the pen with her every day. She has been here 12 years and has even been in a pen with mares and foals. She probably weighs less than 100lbs though. The worse thing she does is run others off the feed. We just make sure everybody has enough feed spots so they can move when she gets to theirs. She is outside in a large pen all spring, summer and fall and then in winter, she lives in the aisleways of the barn. We were told the only way a pig like that would live past 7 or 8 is if she were pampered a bit and had shelter and special feeding ect. She is going on her 13th winter. We feed her what we feed the horses and have her a place out of the rain and cold. Other than that, no special treatment. My husband wanted her and now she just continues to live to annoy me.

At least that is what I think. I would miss her though--just don't tell anyone here that I said that.

 

[Shortpig]

I agree Shari female piggys are different than male piggys. Also piggys bond with their families very tightly and have a hard time changing to new owners. My shorty only weighed between 65 and 90lbs during his many years here. He was not a huge piggy. I was once told that horses and pigs are natural enemies and shouldn't ever let them run together.

I was just saying it never became an issue for me here. I never saw Shorty hurt another animal. Even when we had an irritating obnoxious Jack Russell Puppy here for a short time he would put her in a submissive position and walk away wagging his tail. He never hurt her just let her know he didn't want to play her silly games. He was truly a special

pig.

 

[novachick]

She is going on her 13th winter. We feed her what we feed the horses and have her a place out of the rain and cold. Other than that, no special treatment. My husband wanted her and now she just continues to live to annoy me.

At least that is what I think. I would miss her though--just don't tell anyone here that I said that.

She may be around to annoy you for a lot longer! We have 3 potbelly pigs...all were rescues. Hot Rod we got when he was 3 and then when we moved to our farm we got 2 more, Reggie and Josh Reggie was 15-16 when we got him, we figured, why not...even if he only lives a year or so, at least he has a great home and not living out his life at the rescue. Well...it's been 2 years now and when the vet came out he said he is the healthiest looking elderly pig he has ever seen. Said he's only seen a few live to his age and only 1 documented to live to 21. Reggie is now 17-18 and honestly, I don't see any sign of him slowing down!

I love my piggies, (don't tell the horses), but the pigs will always be my favorite. I love that I can let them roam the unfenced yard and will always find them close by, never farther than the neighbors fruit trees or down at the creek taking a swim! We've actually forgotten to let them back in their pens at night and they always come home and have rooted around our summer kitchen and made a bed out of discarded feed bags!

That being said, I don't think I would try putting them in with the horses. Pigs have a pecking order, just like horses and can get nasty in determining that pecking order. I know that when introducing the pigs to each other, we seperated them by a fence for several weeks and still had wounds to clean when we put them together. I wouldn't want to take that chance with the horses. Plus, I think the kick of a horse could do substantial damage to a pig.

Jen