I have a horse that is on stall rest for 6 months and he gets very upset when the other horses get turned out. I want to give him a companion in his stall, but I board, so I don’t want the expense/commitment of a goat or donkey. I’ve always liked ducks and have had them as pets in the past, so I was wondering if a duck could serve as a companion?
Has anyone used a duck or something similar (chicken, goose) as a companion for a horse on stall rest?
It’s really going to depend on the horse. And the duck. Especially if the duck decided to swim in the water bucket.
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I don’t think a duck would be very happy in a stall with a horse, or very safe.
Have you tried one of those unbreakable mirrors?
Those help some horses calm down.
Amazon carries those in all sizes.
Could you get four panels and move them here and there, wherever it is safe to put your horse in there for a bit, maybe close to other horses, or where there is horse and human traffic to keep it entertained, if your vet agrees it is ok for whatever he is rehabbing from?
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That sounds like an awful 6 months for a duck.
Is there any way you could fence off a very small section in the turnout area, or is your horse unable to get to/from the stall to the turnout?
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I’ve done this - only using electric fence and T-posts/step-in posts (I didn’t have panels). We set up a small area outside our pasture (like maybe 15’X18’) where my horse could see and talk to his brothers in the pasture. Then he went into the stall at night. He had 6 stitches in his pastern and had to be kept confined for 4 to 5 weeks if I remember correctly.
Definitely don’t get a duck. I would never recommend an animal inside the stall with the horse, especially if it is a standard 10X10 or 12X12. Now, it you could erect a panel across a corner to confine the guest and the horse still had enough room, then maybe. But not a duck.
I think I’d try the mirror first like @Bluey suggested - I hear that does work for certain horses. Then go from there if it doesn’t work.
Good luck in your horses recovery.
For comparison: my horse is moderately curious/indifferent to Duck when she wanders into his pasture, same for the chickens. The chickens are leery about him, Duck actively avoids him as he’s big and scary and she can’t move as fast as the chickens. A chicken won’t stay in the stall all the time, though they might hang out if they decide they like it. The duck wouldn’t be comfortable at all and would need bathing water and readily-accessible water for drinking (ducks have to drink while they eat and it’s quite messy.) You would most likely end up with a squashed duck. A goose might be big enough to defend itself (eventually) but one big enough to put in might or might not like the horse.
A goat is a better option, but even then I’d be careful or just not put them in the same stall. Even they’re not entirely big enough to not get badly hurt, and there’s no way to be sure that they and the horse would like each other.
I’ve seen what goose poop does to the lawns in our parks (over run with Canada geese). I don’t think your barn staff want a waterfowl in your stall.
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We had a chicken, a rooster actually. He showed up from the neighbour’s house one day, and never went back. He struck up a relationship with several of the horses, two mares in particular. One of these mares was “mobility challenged”. That rooster spent a lot of time with her, they slept together, the horses nuzzled the back of his head. It was sweet. We had him for several years. He attacked most people, except me, I was his human. He horrified several of the owners who kept horses with us. It was amusing to watch, actually. And yes, he made an excellent pet for the horses who engaged with him. He figured it out pretty quickly which horses were “his” horses. His eventual demise was due to being run over and stepped on by one of his favourate horses, by mistake. But he was very old by then, and not very mobile himself. He may have just suddenly died in the doorway I found him on, and stepped on after the fact. Either way, he went into the manure bin, much to the satisfaction of some humans who had to deal with him. But I missed him, as did the mares who spent time with him.
But this was not an orchestrated plan on our part. We did not GET the rooster for this job, it just HAPPENED. And not all the horses liked him, several wanted to stomp on him. He figured that out. If you get your horse a pet, any pet, it may be stomped on by your horse, on purpose. If you are OK with that, you can give it a try. I wouldn’t go with a duck though. Cats, dogs, chickens, goats, donkey or pony are the usual selections to try.
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Thanks for all the thoughts/advice! He is in an oversized stall (12x16), so I thought it would be more reasonable to have a stall buddy than if he was in a regular stall.
I will definitely try the mirror. I do plan to let him graze next to the paddocks in a “stall-sized” pen, but I’m only comfortable doing that when I’m around. The barn is small and quiet (people are only there a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours at night), so it can’t be all day when the others are out.
I know ducks can be messy with their water, but their poop is much more manageable than a goose. I figured the duck could play in a baby pool in the wash rack while I’m there in the evenings, or forage outside, so that it isn’t forced to be in the stall 24/7.
It’s a bit of wishful thinking because I wouldn’t mind having a duck (I love their personalities and their noises), whereas I don’t really want to acquire a goat (destructive and annoying IMHO), or any other animal while we are still boarding.
I would feel pretty guilty if the duck got crushed, so I think I’ll start with the mirror idea.
What is it that makes you uncomfortable about leaving him out in the pen during the day? Is the pen not secure enough to make it safe to leave unattended? Six months is a long time, and would make it worth setting up something that was secure enough (if you were allowed to of course). He would probably stay pretty happy with netted hay in front of him and the ability to see the other horses. More so than feeling left behind in his stall.
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No on the duck(s), they are extremely messy especially with their water (they need to dunk their bills to clear out nostrils) which would in turn give you a wet stall.
I second contacting a rescue to see if you can foster a goat, donkey or mini. I would not go with the duck.
He likes to roll, but the pen is only 12x12 made of metal panels and I’m afraid he’ll get a leg hung up or otherwise do something stupid while no one is around and really end up hurting himself. This whole stall rest/no work is making him crazy.
I tried hanging a large plastic mirror in his stall and it did nothing to help. I’m going to try him on reserpine and see if that helps.
Honestly I’ve found a 12 x 12 with pipe panels to be very safe. If he’s calmer because he can see his buddies I wouldn’t worry. We have horses in Southern California that live their whole lives in those.
I suppose if you’re for some reason worried about him going under, you can bolt plywood sheets to the inside so you have 4’ walls but still lots of air and visibility. Make sure it’s 1 1/8" and exterior grade.
If there’s any space at all, you can buy two more panels and easily expand it to 12 x 24 for not much money if that makes you feel better.
