7 Reasons to Graze Goats with Horses

Goats and horses can be a winning combination. There are benefits for the animals and the land when multi-species grazing is practiced. Here are some advantages and considerations for keeping goats and horses in the same pasture.

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If you look out in our pasture right now, you will see two horses and a herd of goats. They move around peacefully together with their heads down, grazing the day away.

We have been grazing horses and goats together (and sometimes cattle too) for decades and continue to reap the benefits of multi-species grazing.

Let me tell you why you might want to keep horses and goats in the same pasture, and some considerations if you choose to do so.

1. Grazing Goats with Horses Results in Improved Pasture Utilization

Goats and horses have different favorite foods. Goats are considered browsers and prefer eating leaves, woody stems, and shrubbery from up off the ground. Horses, on the other hand, are strictly grazers and target grass, avoiding many other types of forage.

Grazing goats and horses together can help ensure that most of the plants in the enclosure get eaten and that the pasture is utilized to its maximum potential.

2. Grazing Goats with Horses Results in Weed and Brush Control

Weeds can become quite a problem in horse pastures. Since horses don’t eat weeds, they can grow out of control, requiring mowing or chemical intervention. Keeping goats with your horses is a way to manage unwanted vegetation in a natural way.

Our goats eat many of the weeds and help improve the overall quality of our pastures over time. We especially appreciate how the goats eat the hoary alyssum, a flowering weed that is toxic to horses. They also eat ragweed, vetch, thistle, and garlic mustard that the horses ignore.

Goats are great because they help keep brush under control. They happily battle the autumn olive, multiflora rose, black raspberry, mulberry, poison ivy, and sassafras that tries to crop up in the pastures that border the woods. For more on using goats for brush management, click here to read my other article!

3. Grazing Goats with Horses Creates a More Robust Pasture Ecosystem

The more diverse a pasture is, the more ecologically stable and resilient it is as well. A pasture with warm and cool season grasses, legumes, and forbs, that supports horses as well as goats will be healthier than a field just seeded in grass.

Diversity of plants, with different root lengths and growing seasons can help ensure that the ground stays covered year-round, preventing erosion by wind or rain. Further, legumes will help supply necessary nitrogen for sustained plant growth.

The interaction of diverse plants and animals above the ground leads to a thriving, complex community of microscopic organisms underground. The manure from both goats and horses can enrich the pasture in different ways but ultimately contributes organic matter and nutrients for our soil’s essential microbes.

4. Grazing Goats with Horses Allows for Increased Stocking Rates

The stocking rate refers to the number of animals that a piece of land can support for a specific period of time. Stocking rates vary based on the quality of the pasture, the time of year, and the needs of the types of animals present. A horse’s daily forage intake is about equal to that of six adult goats. As a general rule, each horse requires one to three acres of pasture.

If you have a healthy, balanced pasture, it can support more animals. Since goats don’t eat as much as horses, and prefer to graze on different plants, adding them can be a way to increase your pasture’s stocking rate without running the risk of overgrazing.

5. Grazing Goats with Horses Can Help with Parasite Control

Goats and horses are afflicted with different internal parasites. While goats are much more susceptible to health issues from worm infestation than horses, grazing goats with horses, or on a pasture after horses, will not make their parasite problems worse.

To help reduce the negative impact of parasites on both horses and goats, rotating pastures, preventing overgrazing, routine health monitoring, and strategic deworming are recommended.

6. Grazing Goats with Horses Can Provide Revenue

On our farm, horses are a constant source of expenditure. They get feed, supplements, manicures every six weeks, grooming supplies, and expensive tack. We spend a lot of money on them and in turn, we get to have some fun.

Goats, on the other hand, have the potential for providing more than just satisfaction from keeping them. They can be a source of revenue for your farm. We raise Nubian goats for milk, Boers for meat, and Angoras for fiber. We breed our goats and sell kids. We also rent some of our goats out for local brush management jobs with ourportable, solar-powered electric fence. Our goats earn their keep and even help financially support other animals and projects on the homestead. For more on ways that you can make money with goats, click here to read my other article!

7. Grazing Goats with Horses Can Provide Companionship

Goats and horses are both social animals. While they seem to prefer their own kind, in the absence of another horse, horses will bond with goats and regard them as a member of the herd. The same is true the other way around, if you have a solo goat.

Our horses and goats seem to enjoy each other’s company. When one of our horses goes to the fair for the week, the one that stays home finds solace within the herd of goats. This phenomenon is like how a goat can be used to help keep a nervous racehorse calm. Even more than companionship, the presence of a goat may have a soothing effect on a horse.

Considerations for Grazing Goats with Horses

Grazing goats with horses works for us, but it may not be feasible for all operations. One consideration for this type of multi-species grazing situation is infrastructure. Goats are much harder to contain than horses. Our perimeter fence consists of five strands of high tensile wire, and for temporary paddocks for rotational grazing we use either three lines of poly-tape or electric netting.

Another consideration is animal temperament. Since horses are much bigger and faster than goats, they have the potential to harm them. To safely house horses and goats together, your horses need to be laid back, friendly, and calm.

Even if your horses don’t have a mean bone in their body, if you are going to be giving grain to anyone, I would recommend separating the goats and horses during feeding time. This will ensure that the animals eat the correct food and that the goats get their food. Due to their size, horses will have the upper hand at mealtime, even if they aren’t food aggressive.

Lastly, goats have been known to chew on the tails of horses, but I have never had this happen. I’ve found that when provided adequate nutrition in the form of pasture, salt, and loose minerals, as well as plenty of room and things to keep them busy, my goats don’t get into much trouble.