Why horses and goats don't always mix...

[little lady]

Our old mascot goat passed away just before Thanksgiving...best goat anyone could ask for, never jumped on cars or people(unless you had doritos), was free ranging and just hung around the barns and in the pasture with the horses, NEVER chewed on the horses, manes/tails or foretops. He came when called by name and was more like a dog than a goat and will never be replaceable...however my niece thought I needed a replacement and she just happend to have a boer/nubian cross wether that she thought I needed. Well...on day two this is what I walked out to the barn to find...

now her forelock was almost to the middle of her nose or a bit longer and was the most beautiful foretop on the place before the goat redesigned it and they were not even in the same stall but ajoining stalls. I couldn't help but laugh but decided at that point that I wasn't ready for a replacement goat.

 

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

I have 2 goats pastured with my horses. Mine don't chew, they don't like the horses LOL but they don't come into contact with them at all. Sorry that happened! Hopefully it will grow out fast! I walked to the barn one day and a huge chunk of jazzy's mane was gone. But it wasn't chewed, you could tell, but still I just thought it was funny!

 

[little lady]

She crackes me up everytime I go out she comes walking up and looking at me as if she is saying"but you still love me , don't you." Then I give her reassurance that she is still adorable.

 

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

She is adorable with her little Mohawk! My guy had one in his mane now LOL

 

[Lizzie]

And don't forget, goats with horns are a no-no. They can do untold damage to other animals and humans, even in play.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Spare me! My neighbor's Boer buck came down to our property. The first I knew was one of my horses jumped the fence. We then saw the Boer buck in pursuit of Dapper Dan, who was galloping as hard as he could go. At first we thought it was humorous, then they ran through the electric fence, out onto the road, and through another fence. The goat was still pursuing my horses. My husband had to shoot him with rat shot to get him to go home. After that we learned that horned goats can kill a miniature horse.

The horse I am boarding now lived with goats. His tail and forelock are chewed. Sorry--do not think goats and horses mix.

 

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

Y'all might not like this, but we have goats with horns in with the horses. Don't get me wrong, we have cut their horn tips so that it is blunt. We let them keep the horns because our yearlings would try to attack them ( especially when they were in heat ) and breed with them. Weird. Anyway, my goats actually dont go anywhere near the horses, they hate the horses LOL but every once in a while Holly the goat will think she is a horse and run with the boys out in the pasture! Missy just hides in the barn LOL she wouldn't like to get run over

 

[Lil Eowyn]

Sorry about your previous goat and your mini's mane, but thats kinda funny he chewed it off--and sad! lol I was thinking about getting Eowyn a companion goat--I'm glad mom said no. XD

 

[cretahillsgal]

I have boer goats and horses. I don't keep them together in the same pens or pastures, but that is mainly because horses CANNOT have the medicated goat feed. The rumensin in it is deadly to horses.

I have had a few goats that would chew the manes and tails through the fence. It is very frustrating, especially when said horse seems to like it and will stand up against the fence and put its head down to give the goats access. Grrrr....

 

[suemahree]

I have 3 rescued pigmy goats...they don't have horns but as soon as the horses came they thought their whole world had come to an end. We have separate areas for them at night but during the day the horses and the goats are together. Maggie the smallest of the mini's will tear after the goats if they get to close to her hay but most of the time so far knock on wood things have been pretty peaceful between the girls and the goats. Maggie will be foaling in april or may so we have to change the barn up a little so that she will have plenty of room with the baby without the goats bothering her.

 

[little lady]

Well our first and only goat(the one we just lost)was my APHA mares best friend and one of our cats was very attached to this goat, she doesn't care for other horses, he never chewed on her tail,mane or anything for that matter. He also had acess through the fence with the mini's and never bothered them either and they pretty much ignored him also. But when this new goat came they all thought the boogie man had landed. The first day was quite amuzing for all involved(people, horses and goat), but I think our little world will be just fine for awhile without a goat.

 

[vickie gee]

Oh my. That is sad. I guess all goats are not created equal. Just curious, is the hair chewer a male or female goat?

We have two goats that are just basically pets and weed eaters. They like to follow the horses around in the pasture but seem to take on the demeanor of being second class to them. Sugar is an old Spanish goat that is smarter than a whip and loves to play games with the guard dogs. She also likes to bully Spice Girl who is younger. I think Spice is boer/nubian cross. She is dumber than a box of rocks but knows to run for her life when we let the stallion out as stampeding goats is a blast for him. Spice is so dumb it took two days to teach her to walk up the ramp to their goat hut on stilts. Sugar is extremely agile and is probably smarter than a fifth grader...

while Spice is...unique but very "cute"

. They both know how to work me to get a "horse treat."

 

[sdust]

II Love I love my goat!!! I had one Nigerian Dwarf goat named Dobby from the time he was 4 months old until I lost him to cancer two years ago. He was 6 1/2 years old and was my mini's very best friend. Dobby did not have horns and was always fed in his own stall at night. Mini and goat only shared hay. It was a very sad day when Dobby was put to sleep. He was cremated and is at home on the mantle... My second goat is also a Nigerian Dwarf and Maxwell is as good a friend as Dobby was. My mini loves his goat and their time together has been issue free. I did get Maxwell (the piggy goat) as a 10 week old kid and after a couple of weeks of getting to know one another they do very well together. No head butting, hair chewing or any other bad things. Trey and Maxwell love to play and I love watching them interact with each other. Since Trey does not have a horse friend this has worked out perfectly for me as well as the critters. I believe the age of the goat as well as the adult size does make a difference. I am not saying it is for everyone but I do know it works great for me. Also after Dobby passed away Trey was ALWAYS looking for him and calling for him. He was without a friend for 6 months while I looked for the right fit. When I bought the goat home Trey just went goofy over that goat...

 

[HGFarm]

Oh boy.... yep I decided early in my adult life that horses and goats didnt mix- one reason is for that exactly. Your horsie looks embarrassed.

 

[little lady]

Our first goat-pygmy-wether(Max) we got when he was a couple years old, we had him over 12 years when he passed. He was a great goat with all the farm critters. The new goat was a nubian/boer cross-wether that was 4 months old. Some day we will hopefully have a goat or two again since I really enjoy watching them and their antics but for now our farm will be goat less.

 

[sparklingjewelacres]

Oh that is somethin. We have very large boers. I am very reluctant to allow the minis in with the goats for the whole day. We let them roam together durning the day. At night the horses are penned separately. We also feed the goats separately. All of our boers have horns but the goats have been put in their place quite well by the horses. If they ever get too close they will either get bit or kicked at so they have an understanding. All but one that is and our paint Boer thinks she should be with the horses. She loves them and got her feelings so hurt when one of the minis bit her to warn her to get back. She was so shocked. I have not had to worry about the horses grazing with the goats. They rule on our property. However.. I do know that I would most certainly never feel comfortable with a large buck in with our minis. Our past Boer Buck was heavier than our small mini. At night time, the horses will sleep close to where the Boers all bed down by the fence. We have decided to not use the medicated feed at all for our goats as it is quite dangerous to dogs and horses and there are other safer ways to treat the cocci in goats than with the medicated feed. It is too big of a risk to have a chance of dogs or horses accidentally getting into some of it. All goats are different and come with a variety of personalities to help maintain a good herd government so not every goat will be horse friendly. Our minis were picking on our herd queen and chasing her. They must have known she was the big boss. That has finally settled down and there is good respect going on but the horses definitely rule the pasture as if they were big horses.

 

[sparklingjewelacres]

The goats are also intimidated by how fast the horses can run. None of our Boers run like a horse and they just stand in stare in awe watching the horses make a big show performance kicking up their heels and running with long tails and mane flowing. A video would show that the goats on our property idolize the horses and definitely feel inferior to such beautiful fast and powerful creatures. all of the goats' heads will follow intently staring at the horses running and showing off. Then the horses will run at the herd and make them all scatter for the fun of it.