A sheep or goat for company?

D

dulcie_dustyxx

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 April 2017
Messages
201
Visit site
Can sheep or goats live with horses with no other sheep or goat?

My poor Dad's horse is 16 now with arthritis in her hocks and is slowing down a bit bless her. We do everything we can but obviously there will be times (showing, or even just riding Dusty) when she's left alone. She neighs and neighs and has even stopped wanting to be brought in because I think she knows that she'll be left. My Dad has a very busy job and I mostly care for her anyway, but he'll be with her when he can.

Unfortunately we only have 1 and 1/2 acres of grazing so... as we have no room for a companion pony we thought a sheep or goat might do? But we also don't want to neglect them either so:

Has anyone ever successfully used a sheep or goat for company?

We have a converted spare box as well which can easily be converted back into a stable as the layout hasn't changed (apart from door and storage) and more than enough hay and bedding.

Thanks in advance x
 
Not sure about sheep, but I've used a goat as company before and he ate my horses tail!
I have 5 sheep at the moment, but no horse, I think 1 sheep would get lonely, but could be wrong.
 
We had a sheep who shared a stable with our elderly cob, she was the last of 3 Ryelands and grazed with the cob and 2 other horses. That sheep had grown up with the horses and the cob, an ex broodmare, had taken her under her wing for a long time. I don't think that a single sheep is a good idea in other circumstances.
 
I've seen both sheep and goats living very happily with horses :)
Get some wee cheeky pygmy goats.. they'll keep her busy!
 
Generally absolutely not. Yes it may occasionally work well, my cob hates other horses, loves sheep and cows. I've had the occasional sheep who prefered horses to other sheep. However I'm a shepherd and found that out by accident. How you'd go about getting a good match I've no idea, and some horses are very vicious to Ovines, so I'd say no. Get a mini Shetland.
 
i have had goats and sheep around mine and they don't seem to rate them for company at all. and goats are an absolute pain in the arse. they destroy everything and escape constantly, our two pygmys were a nightmare unless you have first class fencing. a mini shetty would be better company.
 
Don't have goats!! They are a pain to keep, are browsers rather than grazers and like Fruitbat's ate my horses' tails off overnight!! I have kept sheep with horses but it's not always successful - sometimes the horses chase the sheep, sometimes the other way round!, Plus you would have to have a holding number and be subject to visits by Defra etc. As Paddi22 suggests, a little native of some description would be more useful.
 
plus with sheep you'd have the hassle of shearing etc. Goats are an absolute pain - our two were demons, they generally spent their day eating tails, forelocks, rug straps, haynets, leadropes, basically anything you needed to use. And thats when they actually stayed in the field and didnt escape, on those occasions they would eat coolant pipes on the jeep, wiring going to the horse box, stirrup leathers. there is a reason satan is drawn as a goat
 
paddi22 said:
i have had goats and sheep around mine and they don't seem to rate them for company at all. and goats are an absolute pain in the arse. they destroy everything and escape constantly, our two pygmys were a nightmare unless you have first class fencing. a mini shetty would be better company.
Click to expand...

I agree where I used to work had goats and they were so destructive and quite aggressive, the owner of the yard would come out and let them run around the yard, I was in the feed room making feeds and 2 of them literally set about me to get to the feed bins horrible little things.

I would also be careful putting sheep with horses some horses really don't like them and sheep are quite defenseless, 2 sheep got I to the mares field next door to me and they chased them and kicked the granny out of them and one sheep managed to get behind the electric tape but the other one got kicked quite badly and didn't make it:(
 
paddi22 said:
plus with sheep you'd have the hassle of shearing etc. Goats are an absolute pain - our two were demons, they generally spent their day eating tails, forelocks, rug straps, haynets, leadropes, basically anything you needed to use. And thats when they actually stayed in the field and didnt escape, on those occasions they would eat coolant pipes on the jeep, wiring going to the horse box, stirrup leathers. there is a reason satan is drawn as a goat
Click to expand...

I have never even realised Satan being a goat thing that is so funny but god its so true!
 
paddi22 said:
plus with sheep you'd have the hassle of shearing etc. Goats are an absolute pain - our two were demons, they generally spent their day eating tails, forelocks, rug straps, haynets, leadropes, basically anything you needed to use. And thats when they actually stayed in the field and didnt escape, on those occasions they would eat coolant pipes on the jeep, wiring going to the horse box, stirrup leathers. there is a reason satan is drawn as a goat
Click to expand...

I'm normally a real animal lover but goats....bleeding goats!!!!! The old one would actually lead reasonably well but if it got out it would run up the road and when you caught it to fetch it back would lay down and scream at the top of its voice like you were about to kill it. It would do this as you dragged it all the way home down the road and all the cars would stop to see what the commotion was. The current one is only small, just the right height to sneak up behind you and butt you in a way that its horns jab into your inner thighs and leave a pair of lovely bruises. All the other things paddi says are true too...
 
I would say not a good idea.
I have had both. Goats are really needy, love company and are not really grazers and will try and escape to eat anything you do not want them to have. Sheep really need other sheep, they need shearing, get fly strike and unless they are very tame are a devil to catch and will head off to eat all your best plants.
For both you need a CPS number, they have to be tagged and all their medication logged. I had a goat when there was Foot and Mouth and the stress was enormous, I felt scared to take my ponies out and was really worried about her being culled.
 
I would say goats are fab, as long as you have shelter (must), good fencing (very good fencing) and dont mind goaty affection! They dont suffer with flies like sheep and dont need clipping, easy to train to a halter. As for grazing, they wont graze it down like sheep but if you manage it well they will plough through nettles etc and long term will improve pasture. We kept 10+ out with a horse and never had any problems - apart from the odd houdini. Plus I do think you get alot more interaction out of a goat :-)
 
DON'T GET A GOAT!! We had a couple, they escaped from the field and spent a very happy afternoon destroying all the neighbours front gardens. Our name was mud for a very long time afterwards.
 
We have both sheep and goats and I am pretty sure that my horses would not be happy living with them. As others have said, goats are terrible escape artists and sheep are surprisingly hard work. I would probably say that my sheep cost me more than my horses at the moment with shearing, vaccinating, fly strike treatment, antibiotics for mastitis........ I could go on! They are definitely not a cheap alternative but if they irritate you enough, at least you can eat them!
 
I would say no to goats but yes to sheep.

I have always kept sheep with my horses and never had a problem, you would need two though.
 
My in laws rent their field out to a pony and a sheep. They are best friends although they're still able to take the pony out for rides. There are usually other ponies within eyesight though.
I remember, many years ago, my French exchange had a goat in with his horse, it was an absolute pain in the "derriere". It used to escape all the time, liked to stand almost underneath the horse when you were doing anything and could not be out of sight of the horse. I would not even contemplate one if it were me.
 
If you're just talking about a few hours when your horse is being ridden, would a stable mirror be a better (certainly lower maintenance :D) option? If you're going to a show, could you not just take her too and lead / rider her round the show. She might enjoy an outing!
 
I have just (last night) put my daughter's lead rein pony in with a little flock of Jacob sheep owned by our YO. We have had to move her out of her regular field due to one of the big geldings becoming very possessive of her which was causing an issue and will have to wait on the YO pony proofing an empty field against escape attempts before we can go in there. So the very secure sheep field was the best solution. So far so good I have to say! She has been in with sheep before albeit with other equine company too and has settled in fine. The sheep on the other hand are on high alert and they are doing a synchronised dance around the paddock so they stay as far away from her as possible at the moment. One downside I noticed this morning was she was covered in sheep crap from lying down to have a snooze on it! So going to need to be very strict with hand washing having known a child end up hospitalised from e-coli caught from sheep.
 
lrw0250 said:
I have just (last night) put my daughter's lead rein pony in with a little flock of Jacob sheep owned by our YO. We have had to move her out of her regular field due to one of the big geldings becoming very possessive of her which was causing an issue and will have to wait on the YO pony proofing an empty field against escape attempts before we can go in there. So the very secure sheep field was the best solution. So far so good I have to say! She has been in with sheep before albeit with other equine company too and has settled in fine. The sheep on the other hand are on high alert and they are doing a synchronised dance around the paddock so they stay as far away from her as possible at the moment. One downside I noticed this morning was she was covered in sheep crap from lying down to have a snooze on it! So going to need to be very strict with hand washing having known a child end up hospitalised from e-coli caught from sheep.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry too much. Mine graze with sheep and one in particular is permanently covered in sheep poo. I'm not very assiduous with hand washing and have never had a problem. I suppose it depends how young your daughter is.
 
Wow thanks for all the replies. I feel as if both are out of the window not, I don't think our neighbours appreciate our very VERY vocal dog, let alone a goat when our fencing isn't it's best haha. And didn't know sheep were so high maintenance - i generally thought that you only sheared them if you wanted to sell the wool, and didn't know flies bothered them. Haha oh dear.

Someone mentioned using a mirror? Never heard of that before - can some explain how that works please? Shannon's quite strong around other horses and grass, she's this huge cob/irish sport horse with plates for feet and really doesn't know her own strength. We could always try taking her to a show but doubt my Dad will be keen on the idea.

Ooh always feel like I'm presenting so many problems in my threads haha
 
Goats can escape, they are pains in the arse when trying to keep them out of feed rooms/tack rooms/farriers vans and water butts, they can eat a whole dandy brush without missing a beat

Sheep are sweet in general but spend their whole time trying to find more and more exotic ways to kill themselves, you say you dont have room for a companion but sheep eat an incredible amount of grass, they strip my fields quicker than the ponies do but their little hooves smooth out the gateways and their poo is much smaller!

So really neither are ideal

If those are your choices then get a couple of goats but go for bigger ones, they are generally more placid and less 'escapish' dont get small goats thinking they are easier - think 'are shetland ponies easier than horses' and there you have your answer

The good thing about goats is that they can eat the same as a horse just in smaller amounts whereas sheep cannot have copper and sheep feed is generally very high in sugar and starch so you need to spend a bit of time and effort to ensure that each get suitable nutrition - I have to separate my sheep and ponies for feeding and for the sheep to have access to a mineral lick bucket which is highly molassed and which would make the ponies feet explode!
 
What does she act like if left OUT alone? I know my boy would stand in the field looking at the fence but generally getting on with life. If he is left alone in the stable, he goes bonkers.
 
equi said:
What does she act like if left OUT alone? I know my boy would stand in the field looking at the fence but generally getting on with life. If he is left alone in the stable, he goes bonkers.
Click to expand...

I honestly don't know and would love to try HOWEVER (here I go again, lol) Dusty's a pain to catch and either one usually follows if the other is caught. Shannon' barged through electric fencing before (unscathed luckily - obviously the grass was greener on the other side haha) and as she has arthritis I don't really want her running around bat (bleep) crazy in a realtively thin and small field. Is this a reasonable reason not to try this?
 
dulcie_dustyxx said:
Wow thanks for all the replies. I feel as if both are out of the window not, I don't think our neighbours appreciate our very VERY vocal dog, let alone a goat when our fencing isn't it's best haha. And didn't know sheep were so high maintenance - i generally thought that you only sheared them if you wanted to sell the wool, and didn't know flies bothered them. Haha oh dear.

Someone mentioned using a mirror? Never heard of that before - can some explain how that works please? Shannon's quite strong around other horses and grass, she's this huge cob/irish sport horse with plates for feet and really doesn't know her own strength. We could always try taking her to a show but doubt my Dad will be keen on the idea.

Ooh always feel like I'm presenting so many problems in my threads haha
Click to expand...

If the horse is unhappy in a stable alone, putting up a stable mirror can make them think they have company. It needs to be a proper (plastic) stable mirror as a normal glass one can break and cause injury.
 
If you can't get your fencing bullet-proof, forget a goat.

But if you can, they ARE a pain, but are also the most charming characters....don't rule them out.

And they make quite good eating if you get VERY cross with them :)
 
I have both. Sheep are very easily bullied and deserve a nice life so we keep them on their own. As others have said, sheep are high maintenance - feet, fly strike, shearing, the list goes on. Goats are charming, clever and treat life as one big game. They are also very loyal BUT I think you have to love them to keep them successfully. Also they are not waterproof and hate rain so must have access to shelter at all times. Our goats get on quite well with the horses but have never formed the type of friendship that two horses do. Having said that they do keep our mini Shetland company when the cob is out and about. If you did decide on goats ( you need at least 2) get neutered males and not pygmys. Female goats that have not kidded can still produce milk and unless you have a lot of time on your hands daily milking is a pain. Pygmys just get out. ALL the time. they make shetlands look like saints.
 
We have goats, not with th horse, we have found electric tape fencing top and bottom on stock fencing keeps them in, BUT they do chew everything including the wire to the electric fence unit, post and rail fencing, you name it they chew it, our big wether is also about 6 feet tall when he stands on his hind legs. I don't think I would try to keep the horse with them, I think they would bully him :-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top