What else do you keep alongside horses?

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lizziebell

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Thinking about getting some additions to the family. Something that gets on well with horses and is easy to keep.

Have ruled out sheep due to their habit of dropping down dead and getting fly strike.

I love pigs, but not sure I could cope with the additional mud in the winter.

Goats or Alpacas maybe?

Any advice, suggestions, experience of keeping other livestock would be much appreciated.

(Already have chickens, and thinking I might add a few ducks or geese .... Maybe!)

Also, already have dogs and cats x
 
Fish.

I have a pond with a good number of shubunkins and I also have a seven hundred litre aquarium with a pair of tiger Oscars. I'd love to keep chickens, but the other half isn't keen on the idea lol!

Have you considered keeping goats?
 
Cows! Although here it is the cows that have a couple of pet ponies rather than the other way around.

Personally I wouldn't have anything else. My husband has been after a pig (and some ducks) for ages but we really don't have the room. I dislike goats, in my experience they are messy and eat/chew/ruin everything (and they smell).
 
We've got an ideal situation if you can get it:-

There is a local farmer who puts his sheep into the field where the horses are: we don't get any of the upkeep/maintenance issues of keeping sheep, they eat up the pasture and keep it looking pristine for the horses. But as sheep are born to die, they can be nothing but trouble - and this arrangement is ideal coz we get all of the benefits and none of the hassles of actually owning the damn things!
 
We have Blackface and Cheviot sheep, Alpacas and Highland Cattle. The Alpacas and the pet lambs from this year are in with my pony at present. I am hoping to add a second pony in the near future, but they will stay in the shared field for now as the other animals help keep the grass down.
 
don't get pygmy goats. our ones are insane, evil and destructive - all the while appearing cute, i've posted many a lengthy rant on here about them. I dedicate my life now to warning others so they avoid our fate.

If you do want goats though, you can have ours and i retract everything i just said
 
Glad you have ruled out sheep. We have the neighbouring farmers sheep on our fields. They are helpful to keep grass down in summer but overall just a pain. Like you said they are determined to die plus they break more fences than the horses and use the field troughs as baths and then break them; and surprise surprise they crap everywhere which if you have a coloured like us who likes to roll in it...you get the picture.

I love goats but they are escape artists so you need good high fencing.
 
My horse lives out with 2 donkeys & 2 and a half alpacas - one had a baby last week :p

He loves them, the baby alpaca will stand under Billy when it rains and when Billy was on box rest the alpacas would lie outside his stable to keep him company!

image_zpsopjg8ute.jpeg


This was day baby was born
 
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You could make nice warm rug linings for all the others just from the alpacas.
Could they keep up with Billy on cross country camping treks ............ the possiblities and combinations are endless, the donks could drive, though they seem a bit small [might be perspective].
 
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I have had goats, pigs, sheep, cows and chickens in with mine. None of them belonging to me but the sheep just wander in when they feel like it, the cows break in and are a complete pain. The pigs, goats and chickens belonged to a neighbour and to be honest the horses didn't take any notice of any them. The goats were a bit of a pain because they kept jumping into the garden and eating all my flowers and the pigs did make a mess in the winter but I loved the pigs. My minis did like chasing the chickens which wasn't ideal. A friend of mine had a lama, I hated him but she loved him.
 
Geese poop every 3 minutes !! their eggs do taste nice and good for baking, but very short laying period. Goats were PIA big time, all gone now, sheep bring in ticks, pigs dig. How about some nice mini shitlands ? :)
 
nooo shetlands are a bad idea, they get fat so quickly and will need to be sectioned off from your horse! best to get something that doesn't gorge and at high risk of laminitis lol
 
We have sheep, chickens, ducks and geese :)

I am considering getting some pigs, but these would be purely for fattening.

Would love goats but they are complete destructicons!
 
LJR said:
We have sheep, chickens, ducks and geese :)

I am considering getting some pigs, but these would be purely for fattening.

Would love goats but they are complete destructicons!
Click to expand...

Pigs are very intelligent, they will soon work out how to change your plans for them, so best to buy two nice spotties and go from there, females are the best bet. Just buy them when they are weaning, so you can bond quickly. Train to harness and do some agility.
They like a good scratch and a deep mud wallow, and they will eat most of your scraps , though maybe not ham!
If you have some rough land they will cultivate it for you.
 
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