Miniature Horse Socialization?

[Bekkidotes]

Hi everyone!

My boyfriend and I have 2 pygmy fainter goats and 3 Nigerian Dwarfs as pets, but I've recently been doing research into getting a miniature pony to keep with them and help them eat our grass.

My biggest question is, would a mini horse be happy with having only goats to socialize with, or would he/she really need another horse in there to be friends with?

Also, would our mini goat bucks (normally very sweet) be likely to harass a mini mare while she was in heat?

Lastly, I've heard horses can sometimes learn to "play" with fainter goats by scaring them and making them faint on purpose to the detriment of the goat. I wouldn't like this to happen as I'd like to keep our 5 mini goats and 1-2 mini horses in the same pasture. Have you guys experienced this with miniature horses? We are looking for a very calm-tempered mini horse but I'm not sure if calm horse = won't antagonize goats.

Thanks guys!

 

[Poka_Doodle]

Interesting idea. I'm trying to get a goat to keep my horse company. Horses need more food then goats do, but minis might be different. I've spoken with a goat breeder and he said that they do well together.

 

[chickens really]

All randy Males will try to breed other species....They are not too picky........Always have a plan B in mind as far as pens go...

Best wishes...

 

[norseofcourse]

I got one of my mini horses for free because he was being too aggressive to their goats. He was especially aggressive around food. They also had a mini mare that was fine with the goats.

After some training, he stopped being aggressive about hay (he doesn't get feed anymore, he doesn't need it).

Here with the sheep (who came a year or so after he did), he will sometimes chase them when I let the sheep into the main pasture for the first few times of the year (both minis think that's fun, because the sheep run...), but then he pretty much ignores them.

My ram will sometimes pester the ponies and the minis (the gelding as well as the mare), until he finally realizes that they are not just really tall sheep. Each year he has to relearn this. I keep telling him a well-placed kick would be painful and end his breeding career. Sigh. Luckily the ponies and minis are pretty tolerant.

It's likely to be an individual thing, as to whether a mini would get along with your goats. I would suggest feeding any grain or pellets separately if you can, to head off food aggression issues.

 

[Bekkidotes]

My ram will sometimes pester the ponies and the minis (the gelding as well as the mare), until he finally realizes that they are not just really tall sheep. Each year he has to relearn this. I keep telling him a well-placed kick would be painful and end his breeding career. Sigh. Luckily the ponies and minis are pretty tolerant.

oh my gosh, I'm dying reading that! That sounds just like some bucks I know! We have a crew of 4 month old pygmies and we'll be wethering them to prevent them from getting bucky. As a stroke of random luck today, I just spoke in person with a lady who kept some sweet and VERY cuddly mini horses with fainter goats, and she said she's never had problems with her horses antagonizing the fainter goats or with her rutting bucks antagonizing the mares (but then again, her bucks do have plenty of female goats to bother during breeding season!). But you're right, it would all have to do with the specific horses temperament!

In other news, my boyfriend just impulse bought 3 goats along with our planned 2 to buy today, bringing our total up to 8, so we both have put a ban on the other one buying ANY more animals this season or this is going to get out of hand fast!

This is our first season we've ever been able to have farm animals, and I think we let ourselves get a little carried away