Goats & Horses

[Sfbayequine]

So I find myself needing to get one more friend for my mare. We moved to our own place and brought the horses home 7 months ago. The lovely herd bound behavior from my girl is no nice. Working on desensitizing it, but honestly if a friend for helps I’m all in.

That said, I’d like to also stay married so no third horse. No little burrito. No mini horses.

Enter the goat idea. Pros, cons, best breeds for hanging out? Barbados sheep were suggested, but I’d kind of like some creatures that can work for us and mow.

I’d love to hear your experiences with goats and horses as buddies. The goats won’t live full time with the ponies, but really close and get some pasture time together… supervised.

[Sfbayequine]

@4LeafCloverFarm

I miss my goats, Thelma and Louise, dearly. They passed away several years ago (from old age). They were the loves of my life - funny, silly, comical… loved the horses. My senior horse really had a hard time after they passed away (4 months apart). They were his pasture mates - all living outside together 24/7.

First, from my experience, its best to have two. They like to snuggle together to sleep. And, its best to get them as kids (unless as adults, they have been kept with horses). I (obviously) had two nannies, but wethers (neutered males) are fine (just don’t go with a buck/billy goat).

We introduced them slowly (allowing about 6 weeks after we got them for them to grow a bit and put on weight). We kept them in our round pen during the day - so the horses could hear and smell them. Kept them in a stall at night. Then once introduced, they lived outside with the horses for 11 years.

My goats were “Brush Goats”, which isn’t exactly a breed. A neighbor down the street breeds and raises them, they are a Heinz-57 of Nubian, Alpine, Kiko and maybe others. But they were BIG girls, weighing about 150 pounds each. I do not recommend dwarfs or pygmy goats if they will be in with horses. In all those years, there was never an incident of a horse stepping on or injuring our goats. The goats are very spatially aware and quick to move out of harms way.

Our farrier had experience trimming goats hooves, so they got trimmed on the horses schedule. Regular worming was their only other requirement. They did get shots as babies - though I don’t exactly recall what (one was to prevent a condition where they overeat constantly, IIRC).

The one thing I can tell you for sure with goats, is that they will bring you so much joy. Mine could always make me smile, no matter how bad a day I had. Good luck to you!

And if you have an questions, please feel free to PM me as well.

Thanks so much for your reply. That’s a wonderful story! ❤️

Thats totally in in line with everything I’ve read. I’m just nervous to take on and learn about some new animals. The more I research, the more I think they would be great additions. Thank you!

[4LeafCloverFarm]

I bought a bunch of books when we decided to get the goats… I went a bit overboard! LOL Probably one book would have sufficed - but I’m one of those anal planners who can never have enough info. I think “The New Goat Handbook” is good, though “Barnyard in your Backyard” is a great resource if you plan on having other critters (like chickens, rabbits, etc.). These are the books I purchased on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580174566/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1852239123/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812040902/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0882668250/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My three boys took varying amounts of time to warm up to the goats, but they all eventually became good friends. The goats loved those horses and my pony and elder horse thought they were their children. The other horse, Jazz, tolerated them, but never got the warm fuzzy “where are the goats, I need to go find them” kinda vibe. He was head of the herd, and I think he saw them as rivals or taking his attention or who knows. Or it could just be that the goats wouldn’t take orders from him. :winkgrin: They would laugh and play if he tried to move them off a hay pile and I think it ticked him off!

[Chall]

Is it goats that have the copper intolerance and can’t have access to horse’s grain, or is that sheep?

[Pohney]

@Chall

Is it goats that have the copper intolerance and can’t have access to horse’s grain, or is that sheep?

Sheep - I don’t think it impacts goats.

[Redemption3]

It is relative. I had a mare way back in the day that would pick them up by the back and toss them. These were not little goats either. I had a gelding do the same. I’ve also had two horses, including my Ol man that is okay with them. Females (does) work out better imo because feeding time for goats is an exercise in frustration if grain is involved. My does are all on horse feed for the safety of my Ol Man. Bucks and wethers need ammonium chloride in their feed, wethers especially, and they would not do well with grains. It could cause a lethal blockage in the urethra. For this reason I would recommend a doe. But as for getting along part it could be a nice friendship. You have to maintain their hooves but no need for a farrier and if you keep them on same feed and hay, not much to worry about. Goats are browsers btw. They prefer woody weeds, brush and vine rather than grass and they don’t pass along any parasites between them.

[candyappy]

Goats need copper as it helps them to battle worms which is really the biggest problem with goats health wise.

I have goats too and my horses do really well with them. They share a pasture but of course have a separate barn and feeding area.

I would encourage you to get 2 goats ( they need each other) and be very careful if your mare is frantic when you take your horse away as the goats would be in danger if they are sharing the same space.

[Bluey]

We had a goat dairy, 'nuff said.
It started as wanting to have goats for foals that needed raising on a bottle.
Goats trained to stand on a bale of straw would let small foals nurse and get them over those first few weeks, until foals could start eating foal rations.
With older, larger foals, you had to be careful to protect the goats.
The foals could get too pushy with them to the point of causing harm.

Some horses in race training took to one goat and some were dependent on the goat as a security blanket.
They fretted without it, which made for interesting times when traveling.

Goats are houdinis and can escape most anything.
Also a goat and horse may do fine forever and one day the horse is tailless.
The goat decided it tastes good after all, or maybe just that it needs trimming to the bone.

Loose goats love to climb, especially vehicles.
Much fun watching someone walk up to their vehicle and a goat had used it for king of the mountain play and there are scratches all over it.

If you have goats, well, you will never run out of stories to tell.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

One thing I forgot to mention, is my goats were naturally poled - no horns. I used to take care of a neighboring farms’ horses when they went out of town and their two goats did have horns. I much prefer mine without the horns. While the horns are handy to grab a hold of for a number of things, they can get stuck in fences, cause a nasty scrape if you get grazed with a tip, and (I feel) may pose an additional risk to the horses (though I personally did not ever see that at my neighbors house). So, I selected two babies that had no horn buds on purpose.

Horns can be nipped when they are babies so they don’t grow but I believe its not advised to remove them after that.

[Sfbayequine]

Bluey, you always have the best stories and advice. I’ve heard that about the rails 😳. I’m planning on a goat and horse area that are very close but separate most of the time. Turnout together, supervised, and hopefully they will take to each other. I have the sinking feeling that a couple goats may lead to breeding or cheese lol so we will see what happens. My poor husband. Lol.

4leafclover…I’m thinking about Nubian does and no horns. Something a good size around the horses, but may be able to do more with them down the road.

[Bluey]

@Sfbayequine

Bluey, you always have the best stories and advice. I’ve heard that about the rails 😳. I’m planning on a goat and horse area that are very close but separate most of the time. Turnout together, supervised, and hopefully they will take to each other. I have the sinking feeling that a couple goats may lead to breeding or cheese lol so we will see what happens. My poor husband. Lol.

4leafclover…I’m thinking about Nubian does and no horns. Something a good size around the horses, but may be able to do more with them down the road.

Nubians is what we had, bigger and good milkers and of very steady temperaments, sensible and easy to handle.
Well, we had one alpine, just because she was so gorgeous and sweet.
We also had 4H kids showing goats and registered goat shows.

Those that want goats should get in contact with any local goat breeders, even a goat dairy and maybe go to a 4H, fair or goat show to see what all is there?

Goat dairies are always looking for homes for their boys and extra girls.
Imperative for a pet goat to get a hand raised one that is gentle.
The wild ones can be more difficult pets.