Horses and Goats?

Question

If you have one horse and it needs a companion like a goat. Would you keep the horse in the same Pasture?

And when i read the questions about having one horse, people say get a goat. But what if your horse comes in the stall at night? You cant bring the goat in can you? wont the goat be all by itself? I dont want that. So would I have to get two goats?

I wouldnt want my horse or goat getting lonely.

Advice?

Answer 1

Well, goats can get out of the best of fencing - even if it is electrified. So, unless you have amazing fencing and a HARDY thick skinned goat which will cope in wet weather (a goat's coat is not water proof) then I would think twice.

When it comes to stableing - that's up to you. I would suggest getting more than one goat in that case. Also, goats need their feet trimmed regularly, so they do require more maintenance than they are made out to have!

If you are keen to get a high-maintenance escape artist as  a paddock mate, then you might as well get a donkey. They would probably make a better paddock mate and can be stabled easily at night.

Answer 2

Haha, I used to keep my horse at a goat dairy! It worked out perfectly. My horse didn't get attached to them because she was with other horses, but I could definitely see her getting attached to one if she was all by herself. Do you only have one stall? Is your horse at a boarding barn? If your horse is at your horse, which I'm assuming it is, you could get two goats. Goats eat weeds, while horses prefer grass, so it works out very well. Also, if a horse ingests a goat parasite, it dies and doesn't cause any damage.

Does your stall have an attached paddock? You could lock the horse in the stall, and the goat in the paddock, and put a shelter in the paddock for the goats. Goats hate rain, so make sure the goat has good shelter.

If you get two goats, they could stay out in pasture, and the horse could go inside.

More info would be helpful though!

Good luck!

Answer 3

I have a great big Nubien. My horse and him are best buddies and he sleeps with her though I don't lock the stall and they can go in and out as they please but I love to go out when its raining and peek in on them all snuggled up sleeping together like kittens. Its adorable. Coarse he's pretty big. I don't know if I'd feel quite so secure with a little guy but I've never had one so don't know.

Answer 4

The stable where I used to ride had a horse that had to be stalled but he also hated to be alone so they got a goat and put it in the stall with him. They became best friends but they also became so attached that when one couldnt be in the stall the other would be very upset, so when they took teh horse out to ride the goat always went into the arena with them. It was cute and they would even roll around together but the goat was always right there so you always had to be really careful.

I think that it would be fine if you took the goat into the stall with your horse as long as you know that they will not intentionally hurt one another

Answer 5

The weathers good right now. Just leave your horse and the goat outside for a few days and nights and they will get real attatche if there are no other horses. If you know the horse won't get aggravated by the goat and bother it(aka the pecking order has been established) then they will be fine in the stall together. I would seperate them for feeding though or the horse may try to play musical feed bins and the goat won't be able to reach the horses.

Answer 6

I have three Pygmy goats and they are right with the horse, but they pay them no mind.  If you had one horse i think it would work, i have to many horses for one to get attached.

Answer 7

I keep my horse and goat together at home. During the day they are out in a pasture, and at night I bring my horse into his stall and the goat into another stall. This way neither gets lonely and both are safe. I would reccomend putting them in stalls next to each other and not to keep a full wall in between them, maybe just half of a wall so they can see. I hope this works out!!

Answer 8

Well, there's not much point IMO of getting a goat as a companion for the horse if their not together, so yes  I'd pasture them together. If your horse is stalled at night it would be an easy matter to either stable the goat in the stall next to the horse. If you have an area that the goat can move freely into it would probably, on it's on, just stay adjacent to the horse.

Or, and I've saw this done many times, if your stalls are roomy enough let the goat stall with the horse. If the goat is its only companion and they get along it's very doubtful the goat would be injured.

One word of advise, I'd go with a nanny (a female) goat. The males are pretty smelly and most horses objetc to that.

Definitely let them become well accustomed to each other in an open area, or even across the fence from one another, before stalling them together. Some horses love goats, some ignore them, some are afraid of them and some just plain dislike them.

It probably would be the best to get more than one goat or you're going to run into problems of the goat being a problem when you try to take your horse places or ride it out ect. In al;l cases I've seen the horse is alpha and the goat naturally wants to go with it everywhere but if it has a companion they won't mind so much being left behind.