Keeping sheep and horses?

[rubyrumba]

Firstly do they get along? I don't want my horses to hurt them!
I am thinking of buying a few sheep to put in my fields with the horses to eat everything the fussy horses don't eat.
Is there more to it than that? I know that sheep can't have copper so no horse licks etc and i know how to care for them (my friend has sheep)
Anything else i should know or anyone do this please?
Thanks!

 

[milliepops]

We have sheep grazing alongside the horses and they are fine. However, I wouldn't fancy keeping my own - they seem to be suicide machines! Someone else will come along and explain I'm sure, but aren't sheep covered by a whole load of Defra-type regulations too?

 

[rubyrumba]

Apparently, or so i've been told is that you have to have a holder number for the land and something when you move them. (can't remember what it was called!)

 

[martlin]

Well, apart from the sheep, you need:
a CPH - holding number from DEFRA
a flock number from Animal Health
some sort of arrangement to dispose of fleeces - the usual is Wool Marketing Board
I think that's it for the registrations.
They obviously need to be tagged (electronically nowadays), you need a licence to move them anywhere and that's about it.

 

[MyBoyChe]

Not all horses will graze with sheep! My TB is very polite and will move out of their way but my friend has a mare who will make a bee line for them and try to stamp on them or kick them, she will not rest until she has chased every single one out of the way, nnedless to say, she is no longer allowed to share the field with sheep in it!

 

[milliepops]

Not all horses will graze with sheep! My TB is very polite and will move out of their way but my friend has a mare who will make a bee line for them and try to stamp on them or kick them, she will not rest until she has chased every single one out of the way, nnedless to say, she is no longer allowed to share the field with sheep in it!

My mare was like that but she's got used to them now. She entertains herself chasing the geese instead now - she's braver than I am!

The only time that the sheep are kept away from the horses at our place is when they have young lambs, as they are a bit vulnerable when there are large hooves around.

 

[DuckToller]

Aaah, don't get me started on sheep! Having kept a few shetland sheep in our field a few years ago, I have come to the conclusion that the only useful sheep is a kebab.

Damn things drove me mad - baaing everytime they saw me, greedier than a labrador, prone to all sorts of horrible things like fly strike, impossible to sheer even with two of us, even harder to trim their wiggly cloven hooves, and prone to pooing all over the place, especially the yard. Then there was the paperwork - we had to get a holding number from Defra, then fill in an annual form to say how many we had, along with the breeding info if we put them into lamb, and the local Trading Standards liked to come round every so often to check out what we were up to (presumably it was an easy morning's work to come and check our half dozen rather than go to a real farm and sort through hours of paperwork, or am I just cynical?).

And to add insult to the above catalogue of horrors, did they want to eat the long tufty grass in the field? Hell no, they spent their whole lives trying to escape either into neighbours' fields (we had stock fencing and extra rails everywhere) or into our back garden, whereupon they would munch on anything they could ram (ha!) down their greedy throats - my shrubs, my potted patio flowers, the tender resown grass shoots, just about anything in fact other than course grass.

Then the ram we bred decided he liked headbutting, and took to attacking us at every possible opportunity, which was not good news especially when he went for children.

But go ahead, don't let me put you off, just don't complain to me if you get some and they drive you stark raving bonkers. I gave mine away (after doing the paperwork of course) to a local chap who decided he fancied breeding a few and then quickly changed my phone number

 

[touchstone]

If your friend already has sheep, then I'd just ask if I could borrow them! I borrow some over the summer from a farmer, they do a grand job at eating patches of grass that the horses don't like and keep the worm burden down along with free fertiliser, but they are monkeys for stealing hay and feed if they can, but that's the only downside about borrowing them.
Having your own means regular foot trimming, shearing, dagging out, worming treating for fly strike etc, not to mention the lambing side if you go down that route.

 

[Mugsgame]

I think sheep and horses generally do very well together, with any livestock there is always some risk of an accident / kick - even if it is between two horses. Our live very happily together, but they do need watching and as others have said, there are more to sheep than many people think - and yes, they seem to wake up one morning and declare it is the day they wish to die even if apparently otherwise healthy up to this point!!!

That said, if your friend has sheep and knows about them they will be able to help you hugely while you get going, they will have contacts for shearers and so on. My friend bought five young ewes last year to run accross the land - they can get under all the fences and keep the edges quite tidy. She brings them to us in the horse trailer for shearing and tupping and we are on call if she has any questions. There were plenty at first and we helped with lambing but now I would say she is quite self sufficient!

She now has the five ewes and seven lambs - some to keep and some for the freezer. The one thing they catch on to very quickly is if you feed in the fields - and horse feed is quite poisoness to them (not to mention you need your horses to eat it!!). Most of our youngsters would get bullied from their food by the sheep! I do have one pony though who will chase them, but thats just his nature. He is only allowed out with the tups as they mind their own business and he won't bother them, I wouldn't dream of bringing any food into the field though!

I think if you have weighed up the pro's and con's you could have some fun with them - and like someone else said - you could always borrow a few from your friend as a trial period! I also hope your fences are sound!!!!!!

Good luck!! ;-)