Sheep and Tb's, good idea?

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jacksmum

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Having moved house and now have my two boys at home I have the problem that I cant ride one without the other going into complete melt down!
I don't really want to get another so was thinking about sheep/goats, has anybody used these as companions?
Do they help to settle horses? And how easy/difficult are they to keep?
Open to any other suggstions :-)
 
i personally have never had sheep or goats as i am on a livery yard
however i have a friend who owns 2 cobs and 3 sheep who all live together, she has often said in the early days the horses would chase the sheep round the field
but after a wile have learned to get on just fine.
As a child i was often told coats eat cloths (not sure if that is true!!) but if it is i wouldn't want coats eating my horse rugs!!

sorry cant be more help!!
 
Sheep are quite high maintenance- you need a CPH number, they need shearing, they are escapologists, they get daggy- I'd go for a mini
 
Bede is right - sheep are a high maintenance problem - and they look for ways to die and get fly strike. Goats need somewhere to shelter as they hate rain and their coats aren't waterproof.

Get another pony - the rescue centers are full of ones needing homes, esp. those that cannot be ridden.
 
I have sheep and goats, my yearling lives out with them at night while my other pony is stabled.

The goats are naughty and cause me a reasonable amount of trouble

On paper sheep are harder but I have found the reality to be surprisingly ok. You MUST make sure they get the right feed at the right times of year (they cannot eat horse food) - I separate mine to eat their tea as the sheep always try to steal horse food. You can feed horses separately from hook on mangers (or similar) to ensure the sheep don't have access to it - a goat would levitate and manage to get at the feed and horned goats are a nightmare when it comes to feeding time!

Sheep can eat hay or haylage, my goats get bloated on haylage

Sheep need their feet trimming every couple of months, you grab them, sit them on their bums and trim away. Goats need the same but act like you are trying to murder them and leg it at the sight of the foot shears - often to a property not belonging to you and that houses a championship dahlia grower/giant vegetable grower/golfer/swimming pool/allotment/ming vase

Sheep will stay within a well fenced area. Goats will get out of fort knox and look you in the eye as they do it

Sheep do need shearing once a year, we tend to do it early to avoid fly strike. Wormers are easily syringed (goats act like cats when its time for medication) and fly stuff is poured on their backs after shearing

I find my sheep characterful and generally docile, they are interested but not 'in your face' you can catch them when you need to but they aren't over friendly

Goats are like the weird uncle that makes an exhibition of themselves at a family party

You need a CPH and flock number for both sheep and goats, two five minute phone calls plus a form to fill in once a year. if you don't plan to move, eat or lamb the sheep the rest of the paperwork is confined to simply keeping track of any medication given at any point.

I love my goats but would choose sheep all day long over goats
 
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I wouldn't bother with sheep - my horse just used to chase them! I have two horses at home and initially they were silly when we took one away to ride or whatever. But I always put the one that stays behind in the stable with plenty of hay, so that I know they are safe and have something to do. They soon get used to it. (If I were to leave one in the field though they would be silly!)
 
WelshD said:
I have sheep and goats, my yearling lives out with them at night while my other pony is stabled.

The goats are naughty and cause me a reasonable amount of trouble

On paper sheep are harder but I have found the reality to be surprisingly ok. You MUST make sure they get the right feed at the right times of year (they cannot eat horse food) - I separate mine to eat their tea as the sheep always try to steal horse food. You can feed horses separately from hook on mangers (or similar) to ensure the sheep don't have access to it - a goat would levitate and manage to get at the feed and horned goats are a nightmare when it comes to feeding time!

Sheep can eat hay or haylage, my goats get bloated on haylage

Sheep need their feet trimming every couple of months, you grab them, sit them on their bums and trim away. Goats need the same but act like you are trying to murder them and leg it at the sight of the foot shears - often to a property not belonging to you and that houses a championship dahlia grower/giant vegetable grower/golfer/swimming pool/allotment/ming vase

Sheep will stay within a well fenced area. Goats will get out of fort knox and look you in the eye as they do it

Sheep do need shearing once a year, we tend to do it early to avoid fly strike. Wormers are easily syringed (goats act like cats when its time for medication) and fly stuff is poured on their backs after shearing

I find my sheep characterful and generally docile, they are interested but not 'in your face' you can catch them when you need to but they aren't over friendly

Goats are like the weird uncle that makes an exhibition of themselves at a family party

You need a CPH and flock number for both sheep and goats, two five minute phone calls plus a form to fill in once a year. if you don't plan to move, eat or lamb the sheep the rest of the paperwork is confined to simply keeping track of any medication given at any point.

I love my goats but would choose sheep all day long over goats
Click to expand...

A very funny and informative post,WelshD. You should do a goat blog...
 
Consider maybe offering single retirement livery. Essentially getting the costs covered for a retired horse where you'll know the background and have a better handle on the behaviour.

Saying that I do like sheep, and sheep are edible. However some horses will not just chase them but attack them.
 
I am at livery but we graze sheep with the horses in the summer. They are gr8 at eating down any weeds and seem to like the rougher grasses the horses leave. However the horses don't really seem to bother with them in anyway so I don't think they would be good as companions when u were riding. You might be better with one or two Shetlands.
 
I love (other people's) goats :)

all of mine are happy left alone but they do seem more at ease if there are sheep and/or cattle next to them. I work with sheep and wouldn't want them at home (except possibly some Moorits).
 
We have sheep in the files with ours. They don't interact. If one horse goes away the other acts like the field is empty!

I have two at home. In the big fields they create if alone, on the hardcore winter turnout or a small 20x30m paddock next to the yard they are fine. I would fence off a small paddock and let the grass grow lush and long (another way of distracting them when the other goes away), then initially pop them in a stable while you hack out, then build it up to the paddock.
 
Neighbour has sheep in with her horses and they have eaten their tails to dock level so for me that would be enough not to have them. I must admit though her pasture is beautiful, fairly weed free and a good length for horses so maybe borrowing might be a better idea while the horses are not there but for OP that doesn't solve the problem. In your shoes if I was looking for a companion of which there are many I would chose a retired horse with the same care requirements as yours so if yours are able to eat all the time get a companion that can tolerate that or if you have horses that need restricting for what ever reason get one that needs restricting it makes life simple and means you can use the same regime for all the horses. Do not buy a little fat pony to keep poor doing TBs company or you will make your life a living nightmare
 
We keep three sheep with four horses, works well for us and them. The sheep get rid of the weeds and encourage the grass to have closer root system. They also keep the worm burden down. The sheep are very friendly, but they were all cade lambs, so got used to people early. The last three were great friends with the old cob and when we only had one sheep left, she was stabled over night with the cob and followed her nicely when they changed fields. :)
 
We have always grazed sheep with our horses, works really well. Sheep have fab little feet that level the fields, and cross grazing is great for parasites.
 
My horse and the landladys TB mare are out with goats and sheep.

And horses still stress if one comes in without other etc.

Don't have tail eating problems. Goats do bully the TB off her feed sometimes but tried once with my mare who told them otherwise. The goats also smell, trash the hay in the barn, pull apart the fencing and go houndini. ( I don't like goats can you tell )

Personally I would get a mini or two. By the time you have had sheep sheared and vaccinated etc prob not much less maintenance than having a mini or two.
 
I also wouldn't bother - in my experience both my horses ignore sheep or goats but as long as there's an equine about one is happy to stay behind (no matter how small the equine may be!)
 
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