Horses and sheep

RightMove

RightMove

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What are the advantages disadvantages of horses and a couple of sheep sharing a field, and does anyone do this I am considering getting a few Lincoln longwool, I can put them in a separate field if I need to but I want to see people's views on mixing with horses I will make a max of 5 and 12 acres
 
Mine have been out with sheep before and it was fine. The only issue was that my grey (then a 2 year old) would chase the sheepdog as she'd been worried by a dog before, so wouldn't tolerate one in the field with her. So whenever the farmer came to round up the sheep he would ring and I'd get the horses in. I'd then turn them out again once he'd finished.
 
I think it's good husbandry to have mixed species grazing as it's better for the land (can't quite remember why though!) we have about 40 odd on our 12 acres now to eat it down a bit to save our horses waistlines, we only have them in a month or so and get so e free straw in return. A bonus this year is some of them have scoffed all the ragwort for some reason, so will be less pulling out for us! They don't have long enough lives to suffer any effects.....
 
I have 4 sheep, 2 x Soay rare breed and 2 common sheep. They live out in the field all year, they keep the pasture nice and will eat what my fussy horses won't, including Dock.
I've heard thier dropping referred to as black gold, don't ask me where, as it keeps the field nicely fertilised.
The only thing to watch is them chewing the horses tails, mine never have so far.
However they do need shearing ( done today) and I feel like I've been wrestling an elephant!!
 
Sheep and horses ...great mix, sheep eat the grass and weeds the horses dont eat and stop your horses getting too porky in the summer, just make sure you feed hay in separate piles in the winter...my lad roly polied a tup once when he tried to eat from his hay pile ( cried with laughter, no the tup wasnt hurt) :)
 
If the land is a bit wet the sheep seem to tread it level, while the horses poach it badly! We're on solid clay which can be a real mess in winter, but my neighbours' sheep run on it spring/summer/autumn and they work wonders! Also keeps the grass worm free
 
Do sheep like clover? I have one field full of the stuff (only about 1.5 acres) and its a bit long to cut unless collected, just wondering if some borrowed sheep would clear it? It has white flowers if that makes a difference!
 
stencilface said:
I think it's good husbandry to have mixed species grazing as it's better for the land (can't quite remember why though!) we have about 40 odd on our 12 acres now to eat it down a bit to save our horses waistlines, we only have them in a month or so and get so e free straw in return. A bonus this year is some of them have scoffed all the ragwort for some reason, so will be less pulling out for us! They don't have long enough lives to suffer any effects.....
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Sheep keep worm numbers down, and they also eat grass horses don t want so in the end the pasture is better managed. My horse killed two sheep, but he was not a nice horse and farmer [a relation ] never told me his intentions. I have never heard of this happening before or since.
 
meesha said:
Do sheep like clover? I have one field full of the stuff (only about 1.5 acres) and its a bit long to cut unless collected, just wondering if some borrowed sheep would clear it? It has white flowers if that makes a difference!
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Wild white clover is low growing, so yours might be cultivated, of course it is tasty, but sheep can colic on it, it is called bloat, but farmer would know if it is safe.
 
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Liz H said:
I have 4 sheep, 2 x Soay rare breed and 2 common sheep. They live out in the field all year, they keep the pasture nice and will eat what my fussy horses won't, including Dock.
I've heard thier dropping referred to as black gold, don't ask me where, as it keeps the field nicely fertilised.
The only thing to watch is them chewing the horses tails, mine never have so far.
However they do need shearing ( done today) and I feel like I've been wrestling an elephant!!
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Wd with shearing, there are some bred for smallholders that don't need it, main thing is to keep rear end clean and short, or flies lay eggs = maggots [fly strike],
 
We've got a friendly farmer who puts his sheep in our 10-acre field which the horses have part of.

It works well; the sheep eat up the ganky stuff the horses don't like, plus tread in the dips in the field caused by wet weather. They're beneficial too in that they're eating up the young thistle plants as they grow, which is when they're succulent - result no thistles!

Also apparently sheep help with the worm burden if horses are in the field; they'll motor up everything and it won't hurt them.

Our two horses are fine with sheep; however we had a livery some years ago now and hers tried to kill a sheep by grabbing hold of it by its teeth and then kicking out with its front legs:( - luckily the sheep was OK afterwards, but it was something I'd never realised could happen until that occasion.

Think the sheep somehow settle the horses too: particularly if one horse is taken out and the other is on their own in the field - seems more chilled if there are sheep there than if not.
 
Yep our horses and sheep share and generally get on fine. The sheep learn to stay out of the way when the horses are knobbing about. I also ride in the field and they never get in the way. The sheep belong to my husband and his rather expensive pedigree texel tup is hopping lame with a suspected fracture of his foot. Horse got the blame!!
 
Wow thanks everyone for you replies I have read up on it but wanted personal experiences, I think we will defo be looking at getting some I have fallen in love with a certain breed Lincoln longwool I'm going to speak to a few keepers and see how high low mantinece that coat it, the fields are split into three by wooden fencing so if at all the horses don't like them I can always separate and rotate fields but I think they shouldn't come to much harm staying in with the welshies the Lincolns are quite a big breed
 
We keep horses and sheep together (four horses, three sheep) and have never had a problem. The land is much better for having the sheep. We have never had a problem with horses hurting sheep, the old cob used to share her stable with Sue Sheep after the other two we had with her had died of old age. The current three sheep were hand reared lambs and are very tame :) We do make sure that the sheep have electric fenced escape space to get out of the horses way.They are a nuisance if they get in the yard (they eat flowers!) and shearing is a pain, we have ours to do this week.
 
Ours live with sheep , even new bor lambs no problem, worm count really low re clover as said can cause bloat and red clover contains oestrogen so csn lower conception rates.
 
Our OH has a few sheep that he puts in the horse pastures in rotation, as others have said it keeps the pasture in excellent order. A few years ago, in the days when he actually bred them, he had put all the new mums, with lambs, in our field. I arrived to find all the ewes apparently having a mothers' meeting at one end of the field and my boy (all 16.1, IDx of him) up at the top of the field, lying down with several lambs snuggled up against him and the rest playing King of the Castle on and off his back. He looked ever so pleased with himself, baby-sitting!
 
I keep mine separate now as the dietary differences between the either pregnant or mothering sheep v pony on supplements was too complicated for me to faff about with as they'd steal each others food or knock me over while trying to. The ponies now follow the sheep in a grazing rotation which is working well.
 
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