I dont know if this is the right forum to ask this.I got a sheep 2 days ago for my pony so he is not alone.When we brought the sheep she would keep meeeing but the horse didint care about her.When the horse tried to smell her she would run away but when my dog came near her she didint care.When we leaved them for a bit the horse started chasing her.Is the sheep afraid of the horse or does she need more time to adapt?
Most people keep goats, not sheep, as companions for horses.
That is how we ended with a goat dairy.
Goats are way more social to any other than goats.
Sheep seem to mostly want to be with sheep.
Also be careful with horse feed, that I think may have too much copper for sheep, if I remember right.
Have you tried asking your vets what their experiences are with people with sheep and horses?
We have pet sheep (why??? I guess because I think they look cute). They graze alongside the horses without conflict. I would describe it as mostly ignoring each other, not as a social interaction. I recall the first meeting to have involved a little snorting, trotting and tails flying, but nothing too exciting. I was concerned that sheep would increase worm and tick load on the farm, so we treated upon arrival and prior to turning out. No increase in parasite load has been noted.
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I would not allow my sheep and horse out together. Horse can easily hurt the sheep and sheep can be quite annoying to a horse by wanting to graze under horse.
Young horses like to chase and bite sheep, some horses hate sheep.
Old horse, no energy horse might get along with a sheep friend without trouble.
Sheep and goats should not have access to horse mineral blocks or grain with copper in it, they can’t tolerate it.
Is the pony taller than the sheep? You could set a section of fence inside the pasture, that the sheep can get under but not the pony, so the sheep can get away from the pony (and have access to shade/shelter away from the pony)
My sister kept a herd of sheep alongside her 2-3 horses with no issues, other than that the sheep were just dumb and always trying to kill themselves.
I grew up with pet sheep that kept my first pony company. She LOVED her sheepies! But, we would get the lambs very young, if they were sick or got rejected. So, they were bottle fed and introduced to the pony as soon as they were big enough to live outside. We just kept a careful eye on how the pony was fed, since it’s very easy to give your sheep copper toxicity! NO HORSE FEED EVER or anything with added copper. They are very easy keepers as well.
Some horses just don’t “do” sheep, so it won’t work for everybody, and you have to have a horse with the right personality so everybody can all be friends. We also had really big sheep…like 150lbs+ so they weren’t as easy to push around as those tiny ones most people have. (I can’t recall the breed mix ours were.)
I was always told that sheep lay awake at night trying to think of ways to die! LOL!
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So maybe when humans can’t get to sleep we should try counting all the ways sheep are lying awake trying to think of to die …
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I worked for a farm that kept a small herd of sheep with 2 ponies (~12h and 14h). No issues, apart from sheep being as dumb and suicidal as horses. Oh, and copper… plain white salt block; ponies got hay and a handful of feed for attention and there was no way in heck they were letting the sheep near any of their precious few pellets.
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It depends. Some horses don’t care. Others don’t tolerate small ruminants and will try to kill them. I realize that goats work with some horses but I’d personally worry due to the size difference (unless you happen to own Black Phillip from The Witch, lol) I also know of more than a few horses that think goats are the scariest thing ever and fly into a blind terror at the sight of one.
I always had decent luck grazing cattle with our horses. There’s little to no size disparity and cows don’t act as weird as goats do. We had Longhorns and I was wary turning them out in the same pasture but for short periods in extreme circumstances (the polar vortex). It was interesting. Even with the cows in a separate field the horses seemed more relaxed for their presence. The cows didn’t tolerate predators (I once watched them run down a fox) and I guess the horses appreciated that the cows “had their six” as so to speak.
Is this a full grown sheep or a lamb? Because a weaned lamb will have a much better chance of bonding with your pony than a full grown sheep that’s a few years old and has only known other sheep. And for future, its typically best to introduce new herdmates to each other slowly - just to make sure they are going to get along (like sheep in a paddock inside ponies pasture or stall next to pony or something similar).
I agree that a goat is more typical with horses. We had two (they passed away from old age a few years ago). My horses adored their goats and the goats loved their horses. We got them just weaned, introduced very slowly (and after they were larger). My big guy (17.2 hand draft cross) did chase them at first, but that was short lived - the goats thought it was a game and all sorts of fun! LOL But they were best friends in no time and he got very depressed when they passed away 4 months apart. I also think it is best to get two kids or lambs. Never had an issue with their size - they were about 150/165 pounds each - the size of a mini (though not as round). And they were naturally polled - I’d not have sheep or goats with horns with my horses (though my neighbor did - I just didn’t want to have to constantly be liberating them if they got their horns stuck in my non-climb horse fence, which she does not have)!
I gave my parents a lamb for their 30th wedding anniversary. My mother had always wanted one (and they lived on a very large property in the country at the time). She was a recently weaned Suffolk. She was adorable. They named her Amanda. She lived with their two Labrador Retrivers, staying in the outdoor dog run. After a short time. she thought she was a dog. It was hysterical. She would follow my mom and dad around as they did yard work and play fetch with the dogs. Alas, lambs grow up and at a year or so old, she was topping 200 pounds and when playing with the older of the two dogs would unintentionally get a bit rough. So poor Amanda had to go back to the farm where we bought her as a baby. We all cried when we said goodbye. She was a delight and full of personality. So young lambs can certainly adjust to their new sisters and brothers from another mother. And there should be no issue with a lamb of that size with a pony, assuming the pony takes to the lamb.
When I was growing up, we had two sheep that lived with the horses. They were extremely bonded to one of our QHs, and would follow her everywhere, including on trail rides. One did eventually get stepped on and had to be euthanized. The other however lived to be fourteen!
I now have two sheep to keep our stone walls clear of brush and vegetation. They’re in the horse pastures, but are mostly separated by electric fence. When I’m moving their fencing, they will graze with the horses, but my two year old gelding thinks it’s fun to herd them, so it’s generally short lived.
Regarding parasites: parasites that live in horses cannot live in horses and vice versa. Therefore grazing sheep along side horses may actually reduce the parasite burden. More reading here: https://extension.psu.edu/prevent-parasites-through-grazing-management
I have no personal experience, but coincidentally, read this just a month ago: https://thehorse.com/167577/horses-and-sheep-coexist-well-improve-pasture-health/
Also, we have some neighbors who have had a few sheep for 35+ years. For some years they had one horse, too; they still talk about how that horse and their ram bonded.
However, it will depend on the horse, I assume the sheep, and their introduction. A fellow llama-owner warned us of how her horse, when first turned out across a fenceline from llamas, ripped the skin off its back. Our horse is fine with our llamas as long as they stay away from his food.
One other way to achieve the same grazing management is to graze one species first, then the other, not both at the same time.
Especially if you feed a mineral supplement, horse supplements can be toxic to sheep.
