Companions for pony - sheep?

Dales_Lover

Dales_Lover

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May 3, 2004
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Devon, UK
Are sheep good as company for ponies? Ebby's out on her own at night now, and I'm a bit worried about her - she's getting very stressed out. She cannot stay in for one reason for another. So, I'm thinking about getting her a companion.

I'd rather not get another equine - it would have to be a shetland (which we already have 2 of at the yard) but unless it was v.cheap or free I'd rather not. I haven't got the time to do it justice.

So - what about a sheep? My sister suggested this and I was thinking along these lines too. We have some sheep at the yard anyway, but this one would be in Ebby's field. Do hseep know about electric fencing? YO could show me about worming/trimming feet etc. In the summer, the sheep could go out with the other sheep in the day when Ebby is in, and go back out with her at night.

What other farmy animals make good companions?
 
I'd rather have goats than sheep any day.
We kept sheep back home in Germany and they were stinky, greasy and very pushy. Not sure how they would be with horses.

We now have two pygmy goats that are turned out with our horses and they are great fun. They eat with the horses and sleep with the horses. They are wethers (neutered males) and still have their horns but they have never butted with anybody (horse, human or animal) other than each other.
Not sure if they would be sufficient company for a horse to feel comfy but they certainly don't seem to mind.

I'll attach a piccie to get you in the mood... ;):
see Gordy Goat here!
 
Any farm animal like goats, sheep or cows are better than having no company at all, but at the end of the day nothing is as good as another equine. Horses need to mutual groom and protect each other. Can the shetlands at the yard not go in with your horse?

Small ponies such as shetlands don't need masses of time if they're not worked..in fact I just feed my 2 shetlands, pick feet out, check over and cuddle every day, and groom in the summer, no trouble at all! How about rehoming a pony from a local charity or the ILPH/Blue Cross?
 
I agree with Lauz45, horses ideally need other horses for company. That's how they learn their boundaries and manners. Cows, sheep, goats etc are ok as substitutes if there's nothing else but it's still not ideal.
 
I agree that horses need horses too, however I would like to share something with you.
By the time I got my arab cav, I had sold all my other horses and could not afford to buy or keep another as a companion for him. He was paddocked next door to the neighbours minature ponies, and he shared his paddock with my two cows. Someone above mentioned the need for grooming, well I can assure you that Cav was constantly being groomed by my cows, and reciprocating when he felt up to it. It was a nightmare sometimes, coz I would catch him and have cow slober all over him from where they were grooming him. They happily shared food together and companionship for many years. What I did find great about it was that though they were good friends I had no problems about him wanting to leave them to go riding etc, unlike today where he lives with an equine girlfriend and refuses to be caught let alone ridden without her.

I think it always helped keep him sane coz he had his pony neighbours over the fence, but he certainly seemed happy in his cow relations. I know of others who paired their horse up with goats, sheep, alpaca's, cats, just to name a few. Whilst the best option is to go for another horse, if it is beyond your means, then almost any animal will be a welcome companion.

Cheers!
 
Got not sheep. I'm with Karin. Awful creatures. They stink and they try to shove you over.

Llamas make excellent herd guards (not sure if you have access to a llama), donkeys are ok for companions and so are goats...but goats chew freakin' everything, so make sure your fence isn't wood
 
Donkeys are great, just have to watch that they dont transfer lungworm.
Some horses freak initially over donkeys, my horse can't handle them. Funny how he loves alpaca's and hates donkeys but.
 
The only thing with sheep, goats, cows is that you will have to register with DEFRA for holding numbers etc, which isn't a hassle really I suppose. I've heard that alpacas are good as a guard and i'm sure there friendly as well not sure how much they cost. Was looking at some a while back that were 10 grand but they were breeding, top of the line ones. Sure they'll be some that don't cost the earth!
 
There's sheep in the pony(but not the horses) field at my yard and the ponies don't seem to be bothered by them. Although there is one pony who waits until they're all in a little herd and then charges at them to watch them all scatter :rolleyes:

Edited to add: The sheep are fine with the electric fencing and don't bother you at all when you go into the field to bring in/poo pick
 
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My Retired Dartmoor cross loves living with sheep she thinks there great, there not that pushy if you don't corn them they will keep well away! Also my two year old welsh cob sec D gelding loves sheep too. He was kept with sheep when he was weaned from his mum and now he jumps out of the field(where hes with the other horses) to another field with just sheep! (hes abit of a nutter) :)
As for people mentioning alpacas NOWAY they are so expensive and the only cheepish ones you can find are the evil ones, they are very protective but its not so good when they won't even let you in the field!
Hope that helps a little! Jodie x
 
One thing you may find with sheep (and this is from personal experience :) ) and electric fences is that when they are freshly sheared, they respect the electric fence without any problem. HOWEVER (and this is a BIG however!) when they have a nice wooly winter coat on, they are effectively insulated from the shocks and will go right through. So, if you choose sheep, be sure you shear them at least twice a year. I prefer goats myself, as they are as smart as a dog about the electric fence, and are very personable to boot. If you get a goat, try to get a bottle-fed one that loves people, and avoid an uncut male (they stink). Our goats were as attached to us as the dogs, never needed leashes to go for walks, made great pack animals,etc.

We have a miniature donkey that was my horses only companion for a year- great buddies, and with the bonus of having a packing animal when we went backpacking.
 
Just to complicate the decision, I understood goats / sheep were good to share grazing with equines because they eat the grass that our fussy ponies won't! Hence may improve your pasture.
 
sheep are good as pasture maintenance as they tend to eat the rougher grass that the horses leave and they crop it right down.

it all depends on whether you like sheep to handle - we had one at our sanctuary, Woolly, who was an evil so and so, took a dislike to one of our helpers and kept knocking her over, tore the tendons in her leg so she was off for ages....they are very strong....

ponies and horses tend to like their own kind and every sanctuary i know is full of shetlands, new forests, non rideables, that if you just want a grass cutter to keep company for yours, you can get one for free easily enough, it all comes down to whether or not you want/can afford the worming, farrier, vets for the second one, as apart from not being ridden, it is going to cost you the same as the one you have.
 
Sheep are not ponies, sheep need sheep, (unless they are ophaned lambs, in which case anyone will do) horses need horses.

Sheep are good as Big Ears says to maintain your pasture, tey will even eat ragwort and keep it undercontrol when it is at its small stage.

Sheep have a habit of getting some really nasty conditions if you don't manage them well, and they think up new and novel ways to drop down dead with no warning.

WE have sheep, I hate sheep, ...no, I tell a lie, I like them roast! ;)
 
every animal prefers the company of its kind

wally I know deep down you really really love sheep, you just can;'t quite admit it.
 
WE got all our fences made sheep proof, for the moment anyway, no fence is Shetland sheep proof. (did I mention I hate sheep?)

Well for the past 5 years we have patched and made good to keep the flippin' hill sheep off the parks. There were 8 sheep in the parks, and it took us 2 hours, 8 of us and 4 dogs 2 hours to get rid of them (i have nervous twitch starting)

SO, when the fences were done we phoned the guy who owned them told him he had a week to get them out otherwise they were CHOPS!

Day one- he came with his dog.....failed
Day two- three of them came with 2 dogs...they failed
Day three, 5 of them came with 4 dogs.......they failed! :D :D :D in the end , I think it took 8 men and 6 dogs to get a dozen Shetland hill sheep out of the parks!

Now do you see why I hate sheep, work with Shetlands, they don't flock, you cannot drive them, they take the mickey out of the best dog in the world. They scatter at the drop of a hat.

We had a great dog, he'd take them down one at a time, you'd tie their legs and pile them up one by one until you had the whole flock!

I really, really do hate sheep. really.....
 
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