# Goats are eating the horse's tails!



## JessB (Dec 9, 2010)

I have had goats for about 10 years. I had re-homed my goats and moved to to another state a couple years ago. 6 months ago I got back into the goat world. I bought 2 young LaMancha wethers. This is a first for me - they are eating off the tails of my horses! My horses have almost no tail left! My previous goats never did this! 
The goats are in their own pen with cattle/ranch panel fencing. The horses will butt up against the fence so the goats can chew on their tails. The horses are getting some kind of enjoyment out of this and the goat are liking the hair.

I am so mad I could cry! I am ready to stop having goats all together now! I never had this problem before! Aside from making the goat pen "Fort Knox" and taking the fun out of having them, what can I do?? 

Has anyone had this problem? Any ideas?? 
I may have 2 goats up for adoption soon!

Thank you!
Jess


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Jess, we had a problem with that for a just a bit. We decided to put the horse tails in the tail socks. 

We also changed their mineral and I really do believe that was it.

Now also be careful, we did a tour of a CSU Vet school, and they showed us a pile of hair (horse hair) that they got out of a goats. It was so nasty, and it basically killed the goat because it clogged the goat up.


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## Mully (Jun 23, 2009)

Bitter Apple is a spray that is very bitter... not all goats will avoid it. Cyanne pepper in powder or spray on the tails nay work also.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

If you braid the horses tails and pull them up and then tie them or use a hair band so the goats can't reach? Or are they tall enough to get at it? You could go for an electric wire along the fence where the horses hang out so the goats stay away from the fence alltogether.


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## Hidden Waters Farm (Oct 3, 2010)

We had this happen to one of our horses, His tail was just shot enough to not touch the ground and he was due for a trim. My buck gave him a haircut himself and made the poor horse look like he had a foal tail. He never touched his long mane though? We only have 1 mini mare now and we are careful with companions, but the difference with her is she will kick and my other horse wouldn't.


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Changing the mineral to a higher quality one might do it. My goats eat my hair when they're low on sulfur.


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

I too believe the goats are lacking in something. It's usually a deficiency when they do odd things like that.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

the little goat I had YEARS ago ate the tails off of both my ponies. Right up to the tailbone. :-( she also got a huge ball of hair in her gut. I almost lost her because of it. I knew NOTHING about goats back then, so I wouldn't be surprised to learn she had a vitamin/mineral deficiency. 

It has made me paranoid about putting the goats out with the horses because one of my horses is a Gypsy and they are made 90% out of hair! Plus me horse fence isn't goat-proof.

I'd run a strand of electric fence around the outside of the goat pen to keep the horses off of it, if it was me. If they get zapped every time they try to back up to the goats they should stop pretty quick.


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## Rogersfarm (Jan 24, 2010)

Our goats don't eat horse tails .LOL but every time we walk outside they nibble our clothes. Does this also too mean that they are lacking some vitamin/mineral or just being weird? They all do it and have always done this even the new babies will just come up and nibble our pants or hair if we sit down.


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