Dogs and Horses Living Together

I’m reminded of a Bill Murray quote (and I think it’s from Ghostbusters, but I’m not sure) - “Dogs and Cats, living together, mass hysteria!” 

We have dogs and cats living together, and mass hysteria has yet to ensue, so we’re either really lucky, or Mr Murray was exaggerating a bit.

Horses and dogs definitely need companionship. If they can’t get it from their own kind, they’ll find it wherever it’s available. This is the ballad of Andy and Rusty.

What dogs need

Andy was an Arabian gelding (his actual name was very long, and he was my first “registered” horse); Rusty was a Golden Retriever/Lab cross (back when those kinds of dogs were called “mutts” as opposed to “designer”.)

These are both very sociable (dare I say needy?) breeds, and this was a number of years ago when I was married to someone else. Someone else had a couple of teenage daughters and he didn’t really want to live in the country, although the rest of us thought it was a-okay.

His older daughter lived with us full time. She was 14. She wanted a horse (and so did I), so we acquired Andy. Horses weren’t really her thing, so I happily took over being Andy’s primary person. Then she thought a dog would be nice. She swore she would take care of a dog. We got a lovely puppy, about 4 months old, and named her Rusty. Hubby didn’t like animals in the house - it was bad enough we had a cat who lived with us indoors and (gasp) slept on our bed, so guess where Rusty ended up? And older daughter, being 14, quickly lost interest in having to take care of a dog, so guess who did that, too? (Hint: it wasn’t hubby.)

Rusty looked a lot like this

Now, whether this was right or wrong, it’s who I was at the time. Hubby wanted Rusty outside, so Rusty stayed outside. Nobody played with her. I fed her, made sure she had a warm place to sleep, but in terms of emotional support, I was, sadly, a dead end.

I didn’t spend a lot of time with Andy, either. Hubby was jealous of anything that took me away from him (we ended up being married a little less than four years), and tolerated the cat because the cat had come with me and was part of the package. But he was also jealous of the cat. Let’s just say nobody was really happy in this relationship. 

We lived on five acres, and Andy and Rusty ended up being in the same pasture together. The pasture was made of fencing that kept a dog in, as well as a horse. They developed a bond. They played together. Andy and I would occasionally go for rides, and Rusty hung out, like dogs do, and waited. 

When an animal needs attention, it will turn to whatever is available. Rusty and Andy had a lovely friendship. I would sometimes watch them in their pasture. Andy would graze, and Rusty would nose around, never far from her buddy. 

We eventually moved from that property back into a more suburban environment (lots of happiness from the hubby), and of course Andy and Rusty were separated. Andy went to live down the road at a boarding stable, and Rusty - well, Rusty got relegated to the backyard, where of course she was destructive because she was sad and bored. 

I regret that I was so broken myself that I couldn’t see what was happening with Rusty. I was a bad dog mom. I know now that this all happened for a reason, and one of the reasons was so I would wake up and see what I was doing to myself, and to the animals in my life. It was a pretty low point for me, and all my animal friends.

I ended up giving Andy away because hubby hated that I went to the boarding stable to see him. (Andy ended up with a 10 year old girl who spoiled him rotten and he had a great life.) Hubby was also very upset with Rusty and wanted me to “get rid of her”, and I refused. I hadn’t wanted a dog to begin with, and there was no way I was going to be the one to take her away. How about some responsibility, bub? Hubby eventually did it. I came home from work one day, and Rusty was gone. I hope she ended up with a great family who gave her the love she deserved.

If I had been perhaps a little smarter, I would have grabbed Rusty, the cat, and my clothes, and gotten out of there. But I was emotionally shut down. It took another year or so and a lot of angst before the cat and I made our escape, with lots of wrong turns and ugliness. It was painful, but a huge learning process.

So horses and dogs can live together, and sometimes they do it so we can watch and learn. It took some time, but their sacrifice, I hope, was worth it. I can “what if” all day long, but what’s past is passed, and I hope Rusty has forgiven me for not paying closer attention. I’m not sure Andy forgave me, but I know he was happy. The last time I saw him, he was with his little girl, and he acted as if we had never known one another. Point taken.

Love your pets. They live their lives to learn and to teach. Pay attention to what they’re doing and “saying” - it’s important stuff.