Animal Friends.
By Jabo
@jaboUK (64361)
United Kingdom
October 6, 2015 2:03pm CST
Gabriel was a very highly strung racehorse who had a very bad habit of continually pacing around his stable. This deprived him of rest, and he wouldn't eat much either. Because of these two things it was impossible to get him fit enough to race.
We wondered if having a companion would help him, so we decided to get a goat. Enter Billy (what else would we call him?) 
We introduced him to Gabriel, then put them in the stable together. They were very wary of each other at first, but within a few days they were firm friends.
The result was that Gabriel stopped fidgeting, and rested instead of continually walking round the stable. Also, when he saw Billy eating he wanted some too, and they would eat together.
Consequently we were able to get him fit enough to race, though we used to get a few funny looks when we turned up at the racecourse with a goat in tow. Billy would stay in the stables while Gabriel raced, bleating anxiously till Gabriel returned. Anyway, it did the trick as Gabriel won several races.
Have you heard of any unusual friendships between animals?
We introduced him to Gabriel, then put them in the stable together. They were very wary of each other at first, but within a few days they were firm friends.
The result was that Gabriel stopped fidgeting, and rested instead of continually walking round the stable. Also, when he saw Billy eating he wanted some too, and they would eat together.
Consequently we were able to get him fit enough to race, though we used to get a few funny looks when we turned up at the racecourse with a goat in tow. Billy would stay in the stables while Gabriel raced, bleating anxiously till Gabriel returned. Anyway, it did the trick as Gabriel won several races.
Have you heard of any unusual friendships between animals?58 people like this
56 responses
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
6 Oct 15
i giggled with delight 's most folks'd jest done 'way with that fine steed. i'd a geldin' who was most attached to'n orphaned calf 'f a ranchers some miles off. they broke his leg pullin' 'im from 'is momma 'n ne'er had it tended to proper. he came to live his days out here with us 'n they became fast friends. kinda odd, since the geldin' 'twas a cuttin' horse - he'd protect that steer from bein' bullied by both the other horses 'n the herd.
8 people like this
@jaboUK (64361)
• United Kingdom
6 Oct 15
@crazyhorseladycx That's another instance of this sort of friendship, glad that the calf came to live with you and your gelding.
5 people like this
@jaboUK (64361)
• United Kingdom
10 Oct 15
@DaddyEvil Thanks for answering that Robb - I know nothing about guinea pigs (can you tell?) 
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
10 Oct 15
@jaboUK Guinea pigs chatter their teeth when upset/angry. If they are doing that towards another guinea pig, it means keep away...
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (460579)
• Switzerland
7 Oct 15
This is a beautiful story Janet, I can imagine them helping each other. As for unusual friendships between animals, I remember the small Pomeranian dog of my grandmother and a Mallard duck. They were all the time together, they slept on a big basket near the fireplace and if someone dared to touch the duck, the tiny dog showed his teeth.
5 people like this
@LadyDuck (460579)
• Switzerland
7 Oct 15
@jaboUK They were cute, the Pomeranian was all white, I considered the Mallard "my pet", my grandparents had hens and geese, a day an egg disclosed and instead of a goose there was the little duck inside. They bought the eggs, so it was surely a mistake.
4 people like this
@aana75 (26)
• Surabaya, Indonesia
7 Oct 15
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@celticeagle (160064)
• Boise, Idaho
6 Oct 15
Horses get stressed too. And they don't like to be cooped up. I have had dog and cats that became pals. One of my favorite childhood tales is of a dog who saved his pal a cat's life and in doing so he lost his own.
4 people like this
@jaboUK (64361)
• United Kingdom
6 Oct 15
@celticeagle Yes, I've heard of dogs and cats being friends, in fact @rebelann has two such I believe. That's an amazing story about the dog saving the cat's life.
1 person likes this
@bluesa (15023)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
6 Oct 15
@jaboUK , yes, it is odd to see her so calm with the cat, but, better than her feuding with said cat. And yes, thank goodness, I do not even know what all that was about, I can only shake my head in wonder. And hope it never happens again, eek.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
10 Oct 15
@jaboUK What about Sylvester and Tweety? That was cat and parakeet (I think).
2 people like this
@Fleura (29287)
• United Kingdom
6 Oct 15
I come across stories about cross-species friendships relatively often, but I don't have experience of any particularly unexpected ones. Our dog and cats were firm friends but I think that's reasonably common. Rabbits and guinea pigs are often kept as companions. What made you decide on a goat in the first place?
4 people like this
@jaboUK (64361)
• United Kingdom
6 Oct 15
@Fleura We decided on a goat because we knew of someone that had one, and was looking for a new home for it. We'd previously heard of a sheep being used as a calming influence, and thought we'd see if a goat could fulfil the same function.
3 people like this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
7 Oct 15
wonderful. i love that. well i have heard a few. can't recall right now but we had a cat once that was fast friends and slept with the dog and even was friends with sons pet rat. which was quite unusual.
3 people like this
@jaboUK (64361)
• United Kingdom
7 Oct 15
@bunnybon7 You're right about it being unusual for a dog to be friends with a rat. I've not heard of that before.
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
6 Oct 15
great story of an unlikely friendship that obviously worked
3 people like this
@jaboUK (64361)
• United Kingdom
6 Oct 15
@arthurchappell Yes, it really did work, they were really happy together.
3 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11120)
• Malaysia
7 Oct 15
The most common one I've heard is dogs being friends with cats. But Nat Geo once featured a story about a dog being friends with a cheetah. I thought that was pretty unusual. 
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11120)
• Malaysia
8 Oct 15
@jaboUK Yeah they grew up together, maybe that's why the bond is very strong.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64361)
• United Kingdom
6 Oct 15
@wetnosedogs It is an unusual story, isn't it?
1 person likes this
@Freelanzer (10744)
• Canada
7 Oct 15
I have heard of a few. This one is special - the fact that Billy had such a big influence on the behavior of Gabriel
3 people like this
@jaboUK (64361)
• United Kingdom
7 Oct 15
@Freelanzer Yes Billy made such a difference - Gabriel never would have won a race oif it wasn't for Billy. He was an altogether happier horse.
3 people like this
