Goat Companion Help

[CowgirlUp157]

Hello everyone! First off I want to say I am an experienced equine and goat handler. I've trained horses my whole live a variety of breeds and disciplines and have been ranked top in the nation in many of these events so I don't need a whole lecture on horse health etc as I also currently am a vet tech and went to school for prevet with a minor in equine science.

So that aside this is simply because I've never done it and want to see if others have!

So I have a Pygmy boat cross that I need myself and helped birth. I was with my ex at the time and he lived at his house and when we broke up I said when she's weaned from the mom I'm taking her. Now I really didn't have a place to keep her but at that time I was an exercise rider and an assistant trainer at the racetrack where I worked with thoroughbreds. We had one very nervous horse who would stall walk etc so I decided to bring her as a companion. They were inseparable and best friends! After he was retired we put her with a horse that had colic surgery but they didn't get along and somehow ended up biting part of Faith(my goats) ear off. Because it was dead of summer and I worried about when I was at the track her ear getting care I brought her home which she was them house broken and lived inside with my my two dogs and cat and my parents (thankfully I have awesome parents)

I then moved my personal horse and the owners had goats which I moved her there as well however she didn't care for the goats. She instead would walk along the fence line where the horses were grazing or would sneak out into their field with them. Long story short still to this day after living with goats for years she doesn't care for them.

So now I own a house with a lot of land which has both woods and grass and I have my dogs cat and chickens and ducks. So I want to bring her home. I want to get a mini horse for her as a companion since I think she would be much happier with a horse than a goat. I was first looking at mini donkeys but heard about their rough housing issues with goats.

Has anyone here had a mini wth their goats and how do they all get along? I know Faith doesn't care she doesn't head but (since I taught her at the track not to but horses) and standard horses including my own personal horses love her. How would a mini and just her get along?

 

[cassie]

I have known people to house mini donkeys with their goats. How well it works depends on the donkey. If the donkey was not raised with goats it may be very aggressive toward them.

 

[MeepBeep]

I have considered getting a mini to share the pasture with my goats and llamas and from what I understand as has been said it will mostly depend on the horses personality. the horse biting and nipping the goats or simply being aggressive towards them seems to be the biggest concern and that is an individual horse thing... Also when I was reading up I found a lot of people reserve a special stall for the horse so that they can be isolated if a problem does arise or at night to prevent issues from arising...

 

[Bunnylady]

My minis and my goats get along well enough - for the most part, they ignore each other. I have seen some people say they have problems with goats eating the horse's mane and tail, but since this goat hasn't done that when housed with other horses, it probably won't be an issue. My minis do push the goats around, though this wasn't always the case - both of my mini mares were weanlings when they came here, and the bossiest goats dominated them, too. My mini mule was the exception - she took charge from the get-go, and even my bullying wether Spike got out of her way.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I think if you got a mini that was young or used to being housed with goats it would probably be fine. I think the biggest problem will be the horse not getting along with the goat. Many horses I've worked with tended to spook at goats if they had never been exposed to them. I would also be cautious about minis trying to kick goats. They may be small but they can still pack a punch! I think if you introduced them slowly it is do-able.