we finally bought a farm! Woohoo! I’m planning to move my horse home but I know he’ll need a friend. What are the best companions? Hoping for something that isn’t herd bound (my guy still goes to lessons and shows), easy to handle, easy keeper. I wasn’t sure that another horse was the best choice but what do y’all think? Donkey? Mini? Pony? Goat? Thanks!
If your horse does fine alone i’d go with that. If he needs company maybe a pony,but i have just 2 horses and the one is very herd bound. I can’t take other horse out without the other one going nuts,it’s a major pita.
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My 2 horses are quite fond of goats and you don’t have the herd bound issues and they eat way, way less. If you can test it first to make sure your horse will not chase or be aggressive, I would look at getting 2 goats. Make sure they have a place they can get away from the horse and eat separately and bed down. Horses and goats eat the same diet too.
Goats are also fun to have and are quite funny and personable.
We have assorted, mini donkeys on our place. Donkeys are good because they don’t need additional companions when you take a horse/friend away. They are low maintainence, don’t founder (usually) and are non-hostile…unlike ponies and mini’s!!
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I have a mini mule for mine. I have no idea if he’s herd bound to her (he likes her) because I’ve never taken her and left him. She doesn’t love it when he leaves, but survives just fine until we get back. It helps that I haul him out to ride 4-5 days per week so she’s used to it. The only time she gets really concerned is if I come home with the trailer but without him which doesn’t happen often anymore now that I don’t tend to leave him for training for a week at a time.
I would say mini donkey too. Goats are a pain in the a.
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Definitely a donkey, for all the reasons already mentioned. They also make excellent guard animals - most donkeys I know won’t allow dogs or anything else in their pasture. The one donkey I worked with also let out the LOUDEST snort every time she saw anything out of place (someone walking down the road, bicyclist, etc).
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My mare lives alone at home, not counting her barn kitteh (who’s aged and keeps to herself now) or the five immature hens whose run adjoins my mare’s paddock (my mare thinks they’re fun to look at, sometimes). I don’t want another horse or pony, because I trailer my mare fairly often and don’t want to have to bring a second animal along, or else worry about it melting down left alone at home. A donkey would be nice to have here, but my neighbors on all sides are simply too close to enjoy a “chatty” donkey. Goats are darned cute, but would require a major boost to the fencing and also, DANG, they are destructive. Ergo, why my mare lives alone… but luckily, she handles it well.
I’m pretty smitten with my donkey. Best farm addition ever! She does a wonderful job keeping her flighty mares in line.
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Consider that some horses do fine alone, really, if they are getting plenty of interaction and things to look at, etc.
Also, you can have a companion that doesn’t has to live in with the horse, just be across the fence can be plenty of company and won’t eat tails, need to be fed separately, etc.
Our now old horse has generally preferred it alone, but likes to watch cattle come and go, some come up to the fence to chat with him.
When someone comes to ride in our covered arena, he turns his back to them and stand there, never responding if one nickers to him.
He clearly is not interested in horse company, but is fine with them when our other horses come back.
Now that he is 19 and has Cushings and is on medication, even when we have other horses here, we have to keep him by himself, which is fine with him.
I assume you know your horse and that it needs company, why you are asking.
If your horse doesn’t need someone right in the same space, your options are much better, a couple goats across the fence, a couple braying donkeys if no nearby neighbors.
Just be sure it is some critters you also like to live with and care for and that they also may need a companion other than your horse.
Before you choose, ask your farrier if they will work on donkeys/mules. Goats also need specialized hoof and health maintenance, so make sure you read up on them.
This is why I have 5 horses. LOL. Well, not really, but it is why I have a mini and a pony. Because I got the mini to be a companion, and then needed a companion for the mini in the dry lot for summer grazing season. Be careful to think through the turnout situation if you have pasture. My little ones can’t have any and it turned into a bigger problem than I anticipated.
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Donkey!!! There are so many in rescues and they are fabulous animals to have eon your farm.
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Word of caution on the donkey. I have discovered that my mare doesn’t really care for donkeys. Goats are okay but I think she doesn’t like the donkey noise.
We got a donkey when I moved my horse home. He and my horse get along great! Minus the typical big/little brother stuff. I take my horse off the property to ride 3-4 times a week as well as one longer trip once a week to lesson and the donkey does fine alone. Its really worked out so well. In terms of donkeys being guard animals they do get used to a dog being around. We have two dogs and the donkey knows them and doesn’t go after them. Except he and our one dog like to play tag. They’ll go at it for a good 15 minutes its quite funny to watch! Sometimes they can get my horse going too but he usually prefers to eat grass and watch
Add me to the donkey list, although mine is a standard size, not mini (less chance of overweight and founder). We have 3 donkeys spread around our neighborhood (about 200 acres total) and you rarely hear any of them. Maybe 3-4 calls a day; all are gelded boys. When I got mine 7 or so years ago he responded with one full bray to the first donkey call he heard and hasn’t done it since. So they’re not all noisy; if you’re considering one ask the owner about their vocal habits.
My mare does ok at home but I’m not really ok with it. It is more natural for them to be with another. She prefers being in a boarding barn but even then she is not allowed to be in a paddock with another horse. They like hair to hair.
At home I had a mini for her. They got on super well, and the mini did not mind when she left. They even lay together in the big stall where they were kept in an in/out situation. At first my eyes bugged out a bit, but mares and foals do it.
From observing the place down the road where he collects all sorts of auction animals (for his farm taxes), there are often llamas, goats, donkeys - while they all get on together, the do group off in batches of like to like and keep themselves
separate…so I feel a mini would be your horses’s preference…or an old pony to keep costs down. Mini poop is really hard to find and sift.
I think the trick to having another species as a companion animal is to have only one of a kind. Because when given the opportunity, just like you said, like will go with like. And the greater the difference between the horse and the companion species, the greater the risk they may not bond.
My donkey came to my farm as a weanling and I don’t even think she realizes she’s not a thoroughbred. The horses have completely accepted her into the herd.
A donkey is not much cheaper than a horse; the only place you really save money is on feed. But, I personally feel they are lower maintenance than most minis I’ve cared for, because they don’t have quite the degree of dietary sensitivities.
I also think a younger, healthy donkey is lower maintenance than an aging horse or pony, as most aging equines will develop health issues at some point.
While donkeys are social animals, they are not true herd animals. In the wild, they spend most of their time in the desert alone in search of food/water, only coming together in breeding season and when resources are plentiful. Which, IMO, is why they make such good companions if their horse friend will accept them, as they are less likely to become herd bound. (It’s also why they make good guardians; evolving as a solitary animal requires them to have more “fight” than “flight” ingrained)
I’m not trying to be argumentative, as I totally agree with you that a mini can be great! Obviously it works for your horse, and many others! I’m just a big time donkey lover these days, so I’m always looking for an opportunity to talk about how wonderful they are. :lol:
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Sure - love donkeys - and both have a tendency to get overweight and cellulitis. Keeping the feeds separate is a trick.
Ours lived strictly on leftovers.
Donkeys often make great companions for horses. As a species, donkeys tend to be lower-maintenance than horses — in fact, you might have such an easy keeper, you have to watch your donkey’s weight when the grass is lush. Cattle ranchers often keep donkeys with their roaming cattle herds to protect them from coyotes, and you might find your donkey has a built in watch-dog instinct (which might extend to your farm’s dogs — so be sure your donkey is used to dogs before you bring him home!).
Donkeys are pretty awesome. But if you look at getting a pony instead of a mini look at the hackney ponies. They are cheap, smart, and most are very hardy. All the ones I’ve boarded with go on grass just like a big horse with no issues. Most just need a ration balancer and have tons of personality. Not your typical bratty ponies either.
