green horn questions

[Sanhestar]

I second that you need two goats. They are herd animals and not happy when kept alone. But, make no mistake, goats are high maintenance, too, just in other ways than horses.

Horses are high maintenance in regard to training and de-sensitizing - something that most goats take in stride when they trust their humans - but rather dumb in regard to figuring out complex problems like opening gates, jumping fences, destroying fences, getting into mischief - areas in which goats excel daily. If you're a person with an innate sense of humor, goats are your animals but if you are annoyed by their antics, stay with horses (pack ponies could maybe be your solution) because goats pick up on your moods and then refuse to cooperate.

Also, while goats are easy to maintain in regard to food on the trail they can become violently sick when mismanaged at home - over-feeding with grain and/or high energy/protein food - and are as prone to getting rumen problems as horses to colics. But you're more likely to find a vet that can treat horses than goats so you'll have to pick up much more do-it-yourself husbandry for goats.

I've had horses for almost 25 years now and goats for over 15 - in comparison we had more goats die suddenly and unexpected than horses. Suddenly mostly because goats don't show illness until it's 2 minutes to twelve (horses average at 5 minutes to twelve) and goats very often just give up (and again, you need a very savvy vet when it comes to goats).

Also, they live much shorter than horses (12-14 years vs. 25-30 years).

It may sound that am overly negative. I love my goats dearly but they've drivven me to the edge over the years, too. And it's heartbreaking to loose them so often. Just make your decision with open eyes.

Sabine