A goat for company?

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SamanthaG

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Looking for advice please. Does anyone keep a goat or another animal with a horse for company? I had two horses up until the weekend. One is out on trial and looks like he will be staying. I dont feel I have the time for two at the moment hence rehoming one. My youngster is just two and im looking forward to having the time to spend with her doing some in hand work with her.

She is currently alone. Shes turned out 24/7. Shes not showing any signs of being bothered about being alone. The other pony did bully her a little so maybe she is enjoying the peace. I just feel guilty about her being on her own. So I was wondering if I should get her a non equine friend.

I don't want to go down the route of getting someone to share with me as it makes things like feeding, poo picking etc a nightmare. Been there done that and I don't want to do it again.

Obviously the "friend" will have its own needs with regards to care and feeding etc. So I need to make the right choice.
 
A goat is not an ideal companion for a youngster, they have very different needs and while it may appeal to you to keep her without equine company it will not do her any favours to be alone long term even if she seems to be fine for now, it is something that may impact on her in the future, keeping her in isolation is not fair, I don't even like to see them on individual turnout. Get a mini if you want something small, at least it will be an equine that your youngster can relate to.
 
be positive said:
A goat is not an ideal companion for a youngster, they have very different needs and while it may appeal to you to keep her without equine company it will not do her any favours to be alone long term even if she seems to be fine for now, it is something that may impact on her in the future, keeping her in isolation is not fair, I don't even like to see them on individual turnout. Get a mini if you want something small, at least it will be an equine that your youngster can relate to.
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Yeah have to agree, not a cool move :(
 
def not. we bring horses up alone at times to our house stables, and we have goats. they horses have absolutely no interest in interacting with them, and don't view them as company at all. if i was in your boat id foster a mini. i wouldn't leave a youngster without pals or socialisation.
 
also, goats are very very highmaintece fecing wise. and very destructive. they aren't easy animals to keep unless your fencing is absolutely top class stuff like thick horsewire. they also chew rugs, tack, horse tails etc. our two are tiny and an absolute nightmare
 
Thanks everyone. It was suggested to me due to our large amount of grass. I was looking at a shetland and was told definitely not as we have too much grass.

So does anyone have any advice on getting something little that will cope on lots of grass? I've never owned a dinky one.
 
goats wont eat grass anyways (we learned this with ours!) , you'd be better getting a sheep for that.

a dinky might need a grass muzzle or sectioning off by itself. could you foster another youngster from a charity? that way yours would have a play buddy and you wouldn't have as much of a lami risk. i kept my mini in high grass before and had no issues though, as it was very rough grazing
 
I really dont want to have to section a dinky off by its self. The land is split into half acre and acre paddocks. Its very old grazing land so the grass isnt lush but there is a lot still. We have been there over a year with no lami problems (touch wood) i would like to avoid a grazing muzzle also if possible. Also getting another youngster kind of goes against the reason i have rehomed my other one. I don't have time for two youngsters. A old retired or companion pony would be perfect. Happy to rescue also. It just needs to be the right pony. And needs to be able to cope alone for a hour whilst my horse is out of the field.
 
It's a very bad idea to be keeping a 2yo with non equine company IMO.

I think blue cross will foster out youngsters and if I recall will cover some vet cost, might be worth looking into
 
I think an oldie sounds like a good idea. When my youngster was 2 his young friend went and he was only with a miserable old sod (LOL!) and they got on fine. It was much easier and older horse didn't mind being left while youngster did things. You might be able to find someone that wants retirement livery and get some money for the grazing?
 
ihatework said:
It's a very bad idea to be keeping a 2yo with non equine company IMO.

I think blue cross will foster out youngsters and if I recall will cover some vet cost, might be worth looking into
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This what I would do ,WHW also used to foster youngsters out and I think you can foster for the RSPCA.
I had a friend who took on an ex eventer as a loan he came with his own goat it worked well for him but I would not dream of it with a youngster .
Young horses need companions of similar age and sex and preferably size and type .
 
Goldenstar said:
This what I would do ,WHW also used to foster youngsters out and I think you can foster for the RSPCA.
I had a friend who took on an ex eventer as a loan he came with his own goat it worked well for him but I would not dream of it with a youngster .
Young horses need companions of similar age and sex and preferably size and type .
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I was going to suggest fostering too. Or offering grazing to weanliings so that there are other babies to play with. Absolutely don't get a goat! They make Houdini look like an amateur, happily climb trees in order to effect an escape, will quite likely chew your youngster's mane and tail and browse on weeds and shrubbs, not graze on grass. Another possibility would be to offer grazing to sheep. Small scale and hobby farmers often want that and you get the added bonus of the fact they are not selective grazers like horses and gently fertilize the fields in the process.
 
I'd go for something whose needs are very similar to your youngster's. Having two horses with the same routine isn't much more work than one. Having two with completely different needs not only means a lot of extra work but that they're not doing their job as a companion if they're having to be in for half the day.
 
One of my ponies recently went away for schooling. This left my three year old on his own for 8 weeks. I tried to find a temporary companion but couldn't find one so I let the pony in with my goats and sheep
The pony struck up a friendship with one of the goats and they often played for hours and curled up together at night
It was however a very temporary situation and the pony is clearly happier now the other pony is home
It worked better than I thought but was definitely not a long term solution
 
Everyone else is probably right, and picking up goaty habits may be a problem, but hell, we have cross-species pals...so why not?

Only thing is that goats are MASTERS of escape. Watchtowers and a beaten zone will be needed.....
 
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