bonding dog with a horse

Question
hello ma'am, i would like to bond a dog with a horse? can you help me out. which breed dog would you suggest me? shall i socialize a dog from its puppy stage with horses? is it really possible for me to bond a dog and a horse? can you please suggest me a good book or a dvd? please!!!

Answer
Hi Rohit,

Thank you for your question, it's a great one.  I think the ability to bond a dog and a horse really depends on the personalities of the two individuals involved.  I've had horses that absolutely despise dogs (and would go out of their way to attack one), some that are indifferent and some that would stand there and allow the dog to lick them all over the face.  A few hints would be to stay away from dogs that were bred to herd or hunt animals as their natural instincts would not work well with horses.  Also, you may want to avoid trying this with horses bred to work cattle, as they have a tendency to be intolerant to dogs.  The Great Pyrenes dogs are great flock and herd animals, often living full time with the animals and not humans.  I had a Golden Doodle who just loved horses and preferred to live in the barn and fields with them.  Labs in general have very accepting personalities and might work well.  It would probably work best to start the dog young around horses so he is used to the idea of the horse...but be careful that at a young age the puppy doesn't get run over or kicked by a horse.  If your goal is to have a companion to take on the road with a show horse, I've used goats for this purpose.  They seem to get along well with the horses...not that they get overly attached, they just seem to accept each other as pasture mates and don't generally fight.  I personally have never seen a book or DVD on the subject so sadly I can't provide you with a reference for that.

I hope that helps.

Thanks, Corlena