Goats and horses?

MaisieMoo

MaisieMoo

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2007
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We recently acquired a 1 year old Anglo Nubian goat at the yard who now goes by the name of Elmo.

He is a very friendly, affectionate soul and having come from a petting zoo that sadly shut down he loves attention.

At the moment, he has the run of the yard during the day as we now trust him not to run off - he perfers to follow you around like a dog! And how own 14 x 14 ft stable at night complete with his own salt lick and treat ball:rolleyes:

He is really good with the horses but is almost too cocky with them. Some of the horses will happily let him in their stable to share their hay net while others (i.e. mine) aren't so keep and will paw when he's trying to share their food.

The long term intention was to either keep him in the field with the horses or section of some field for him but we're not sure how he will fare in the field if the horses do try to kick etc as he is quite clumsy and tends to just fall over when he tries to get away or is totally oblivious to their threats.

Does anyone keep goats and horses together like this and how did you introduce them to ensure they integrated properly without any fights/injuries?

Here's piccies of him and Casper!
As you can see, he has no fear of the horses!
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Peeing in Casper's freshly mucked out stables!
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Hi, we keep out goats in with the ponies and everyone is fine - there were a few disagreements about food to start off with but sorted themselves out in no time. The goats very quickly learnt that they were lower in the pecking order!!. Ours came from the local childrens farm and are very people friendly - the one thing you'll have to watch out for once he is out in the field - he may go looking for humans!!. Could the YO get him another goat for company?.
 
Anglo Nubians are at a slight disadvantage because of their floppy ears, which can at times restrict their all round view of things..........he may come to grief if a horse kicks out, if he doesn't see it coming.

Personally I wouldn't keep goats with horses..........they constantly test the fencing, may chew horses' tails/manes, have a habit of jumping all over horses when they are lying down, and can present problems in gateways when horses are being moved around.......and I certainly wouldn't allow a goat to even think about entering a horse's stable and sharing its food.

Maybe ok in a small private scenario, but I don't think it could work on a livery yard.

Also, it's probably only a matter of time till he gets into, and wrecks, the feed store, and may end up eating himself to death.

On the positive side.......Anglo Nubians are nice to eat. :D
 
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I keep 3 goats in with my horses and have no problems, we have quite big fields so they all have enough space to get away from each other if they want to but do tend to hang around together. I haven't had a problem with them chewing, thoough I have heard other people say that too!

If they are ok in the stable then I am sure they will be fine turned out together (my horses wouldnt like them in their stables with them). Perhaps if he keeps bugging them then he needs a goat friend :eek: My goats do play together a lot and rear up at each other and bash horns so perhaps he will try and play with the ponies if he doesn't have a goat to play with :confused: Not sure:D

I have never seen them climb on the horses but they do have other stuff to climb on. They lay down with the horses which is quite sweet and the horses seem to like them so its ok.

The only problems i have had is they do find little holes in fences so double check all your fencing and I have one of my horses in a strip because he is too fat and the goats rub on the poly posts so I have to move them straight everyday or the posts end up leaning over and would eventually fall down.

When we call the horses in the goats are first up so I dont think you will have a problem getting him in.

AengusOg - that is mean to say they are nice to eat :eek: :D
 
Thanks guys.

The fencing is our current issue.

Y/O was trying to replace all the sheep wire but it is the only fencing that will keep Elmo in. The feed room is another area we've had to secure as he will do anything to get into it.

We have a small miniture shetlend who we are perhaps going to try pairing him with - as you see from the photo's he is generally comfortable with the horses and in turn the horses, including some highly strung mares and a 10 month old foal are absolutely great with him and will try and groom him, share a net with him and let them lick inside their nostrils:eek::D

The plan originally was to get 2 goats but the other ones at the market were not suitable.

He does have plenty of company just now be it human, horse, cat and dog (yes he's made friends with them too):D
 
Fanshawe is the person to ask about this. Her lovely mare is kept with 15 goats at the moment, she loves them!
 
Anglo Nubians will also grow like Topsy and become HUGE and when they want in or out you have to be like an all in wrestler to MAKE them do what you want and go where you want.

I would also get those horns taken off by the vet, they are lethal weapons and he will use them as he gets older and cockier and they can do real damage. I speak from bitter experience,

I take it is he castrated, if not this is VITAL.

Sheep net will not keep a goat like him in, he'll pop over it from a standstill.

Basically withing the next 12 months he will have wreaked havoc, he will start to mug folk carrying a bucket, he'll barge and bash.

Goats like him who think they are human need a very firm hand, ones that are in a goat herd and are regularly handled by one person are not so bolshy.

Angus is right, they go down well with a drop of robust red and a tattie or two!
 
At one point we had 8 goats, all were different with the horses. The two big nanny goats did not get on with the horses and were never in the field with them as one of the ponies tried to kick them. However the others were totally fine with the horses and wondered around with them all the time.

I think it really depends on the horse, at one point Dan, who is really moody, was best mates with a highland cow and a pig!! But he went everywhere with them.

All the best with your new goat.
 
We rescued our two from our local animal shelter. They are a pain sometimes, they are kept together and have their own little pen with a shed and tyres etc to play on. unfortunately, they jump out EVERY night and are now kept in a stable (just them) over night. When there is someone to supervise them they are tethered during the day (if not they stay in their pen which is massive)

They are very happy and are lovely but they DO chew horses tails clean off!!

xxxxx
 
Bit OT but..... has anyone else ad their goats dehorned? - our vet did ours last year as we thought it would be safer with them being turned out with the ponies - our goats horns have now grown back:confused:
 
Goats & Equines

Wally has already said most of what I would have written but would emphasise what she says - if he is a boy, get his bits off quick - billy goats stink to high heaven - never let one in your car - I speak from experience - phew,phew.
And yes, get those horns off - he might not be bargy or anything like that but all it takes is for him to twist his head slightly when you are bending over him and you will look like a pirate with your eyepatch!!!
The two Toggenbergs and 3 pygmy goats here live happily with the donkeys, pigs and llamas. They can all loup a five bar gate or fence from a standing start. But they are great fun and very loveable.
And yes, I have to confess, the (castrated) billy kids I had in past years (long time ago) did grace the table eventually!!
 
Frances said:
Good luck - you will really really need it. The cute small phase goes and then if you have not done your work, be prepared for a rugger scrum every time you go near them.
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Now you're scaring me!!:eek::p

Elmo has been neutered although we suspect it was recently as he still sometimes seems to have some urges!:confused::eek:

We'd talked about dehorning but I believe that someone told Y/O that it was a pretty horrid and painful process for them - please feel free to correct me as we would consider it - I've already been on the receiving end albeit totally accidentally - he would never intentionally hurt any one and absolutely adores children.

You can see that over time he's getting more sure of himself and will now challenge the dogs if he's feeling sure of himself. He also races you to the feed room and will try to barge past you but is too small to really do much at the moment but we'll need to sort it if he's going to grow.

He is very people oriented - he had an infection in his hoof recently and afterwards spent a good 10 minutes literally sobbing in Y/O's arms so not sure if that may signal a slightly less independant character?

Whatever happens I think he has a good home with us for life - we all absolutely adore him (he gets as much if not more attention than the horses now) and wouldn't be without him - horns and all!:p
 
The vet will give him a local anaesthetic, so it won't be too bad, but really, it is a genuine safety issue, those horns will get longer and sharper and pointier and someone will get badly injured, maybe only by accident, but losing an eye bay accident is no fun thing, on a yard with kids is your YO willing to take the risk for mild discomfort to the goat for 24 hours.?

He can also get them caught up in haynets and hang himself. It really is in the best interests of everyone.
 
Wally said:
The vet will give him a local anaesthetic, so it won't be too bad, but really, it is a genuine safety issue, those horns will get longer and sharper and pointier and someone will get badly injured, maybe only by accident, but losing an eye bay accident is no fun thing, on a yard with kids is your YO willing to take the risk for mild discomfort to the goat for 24 hours.?

He can also get them caught up in haynets and hang himself. It really is in the best interests of everyone.
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I'll make the recommendation to the Y/O but it's her call what she does.

He's shown his first signs of possible trouble tonight - we have a new livery at the yard and the 2 girls were mucking out their stable when Elmo tried to jump up and eat some of their haylage. When the girl tried to move him away he went right up on his back legs with front legs flailing! Now, he's not going to cause any real damage doing that but it's the first time he's ever done it - usually you chase him away and he'll wander off but he seems to think he can push these people a little further so need to keep an eye on him!
 
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