# Other Pets > Horses >  How to stop a miniature horse from chasing/biting goats?

## JeanTownsend

We have three miniature horses that are kept with the nine goats and a sheep. Hiccup occasionally chases them off, and Bubbles never bothers anyone. They're also the oldest, with Hiccup at seven and Bubbles at twenty.
Shiloh is three, and was gelded only last year. He is great with humans and the other horses. And generally, he's fine with the goats. But once food is out (hay, grass, or grain), he chases them, kicks at them, and bites them. At first it wasn't bad, and we tried to curb it. Now he yanks on their skin, and while he's never brought blood, they have patches of missing hair. It's only been the last few weeks he's done this, and we're worried it will escalate more.
We can't separate him for feeding. Tomorrow I'm going to keep him on a lead, I think, while he eats hay with them. Other than that, I'm at a loss as to what we should do.
I doubt he's ever starved, unlike Hiccup and Bubbles, who have both been abused to the point of severe injuries or death. I could understand it if they were really possessive of food, but Shiloh? He was raised specifically for the meat market before he was rescued and came to us, and was perfectly healthy, only he hadn't been trained. 
And the goats don't do anything to him. They do tend to crowd others, but they're goats. Beside that, they don't show any aggressive behavior to anyone.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

----------


## Craiga 01453

I cant offer any advice, but I figured I would wish you luck and request pics of your cuties if you have some to share.

Anyway, good luck!!

----------

_tttaylorrr_ (10-27-2018)

----------


## Bogertophis

If Shiloh was only gelded last year, it sounds like he still thinks he's protecting the survival of his herd by preventing the goats from sharing food?  
If that was me, I'd find a way to separate the horses from the goats at feeding time...it's not fair to the goats, & no idea if he'll ever change.

----------


## distaff

I have goats, have had sheep, but no horses.
Can you tie him while he feeds?

----------


## bcr229

When we fed hay in a field we would usually spread out the flakes in a long line of piles, with 1-2 more piles than there were critters.  That way even if one critter decided to push the others away, that critter couldn't defend the whole line of hay piles and everybody got a share.

Critters got brought in or tied to the fence for graining though, otherwise the pushy one would get the lion's share - and that was usually the one that didn't need the grain.

----------

*Bogertophis* (10-13-2018)

----------


## JeanTownsend

Thanks for replying!
We have been putting several flakes of hay in multiple areas, not just in the feeder. But what usually happens is, Hiccup will chase Shiloh, who then gets ticked and chases the goats. I can't remember if I already wrote this, so sorry if I'm just repeating myself.
He still does act like a stallion. Earlier this spring, he kept mounting Bubbles, who couldn't take it due to a permanent injury in his leg. So we separated them until Bubbles gained more weight, which he thankfully has. He's nearly at the normal weight he should be at, though not quite. 
He doesn't like being tied. I hitch him for grooming, and he gets annoyed. But he enjoys being groomed (he's our only horse that does). We could try it until he gets the idea. 
We'd like to separate them, but we couldn't until spring, since it would require building a new fence for the goats (there's about an acre that is too uneven for horses, but great for goats), and we can't put posts in the ground this late in the year.

----------


## tttaylorrr

i love our community and specifically those here in this thread: despite such a specific website, we can help people with horse and goat troubles with personal anecdotes and advice.

i love BP.net 

i hope you figure this out, OP!

----------

Craiga 01453 (10-28-2018)

----------


## bcr229

What kind of fence is your perimeter fence?  Is it something fairly sturdy like post and rail or split rail, where you could use a couple of jump standards and four rails to create a removable corral in one corner?  I mean, this is a mini horse, he's not jumping much higher than three feet so containing him at dinner time shouldn't be difficult.

----------


## zina10

First of all, have blood drawn on the bossy gelding. He could be proud cut. Some tissue left behind is all it takes and they still produce hormones. Could he have had only one descended testicle?

Aside from that, you can easily train him not to be such a butt to humans, since you can get after him for it. You can even train him to leave the goats alone while you are there. But as soon as you are out of the picture, its a free for all. He will continue to harass the goats. 

As its been said, definitely not fair to the goats and it will most likely escalate and one day you will find a badly injured goat. 

Just section of a corner of your turn out that the goats can get in, but the minis cannot. Even if you have posts that are far enough apart for the goats to fit through, but not a Mini. That shouldn't be to hard. Put some food into that area and put the goats in it. Once they are done eating they will get out, or not. Up to them. Unless you separate them, you risk injury to the goats. 

Meanwhile put the little trouble maker to work. Give him a job. They don't need to be ridden, to be worked out. If he gets a little tired out, physically and mentally, he will be less likely to be such a ...donkey butt.

----------

