# New member, new to minis & surprise mini foal!



## Andaloosa (Jun 4, 2012)

Hello, my name is Robin and I live near Austin, TX. I've had horses for almost 30 years and in February (2012) found a mini mare I couldn't say no to. I mainly got her as something small for my 2 & 4 year old daughters to learn on, but she also drove and came with her cart & harness, so we'd never grow out of her - or at least if they did, I could still use her. Her name is Foxy and she's an 11 year old registered (AMHR) Type B. She's my first mini ever and she's an awesome little lady.

When I got her, she was slightly overweight (not just her barrel, but her thighs and tail head too), so I made sure to feed her no more hay than what she was getting and no grain. She was looking good and then started to get too thin a long her topline - and then her butt was sinking in and I was feeling really bad and embarrased to say I had caused this. Thing is, her udder was getting bigger. Hmm...

The people I bought her from told me she hadn't been exposed to a stallion the entire time they owned her (since May 2011), so I started thinking false pregnancy? I called my vet and he was conserned it was a metabolic issue or mastitis. He came out to my house Friday, March 11th and as he got out of his truck, he said, "That mare's pregnant!" I made him feel what I was pretty sure was movement, along her side and he confirmed that what I thought I felt 2 days prior, was indeed a foal.

Walla, the foal was born next morning! In between my checks through the night, no less. He was much bigger than I expected. The vet came out later to check on him and said, "That's the biggest mini baby I've ever seen!"

I've been getting most of my questions answered by searching this forum, but I thought I'd introduce myself and share my story (and baby pictures).

Please, when looking at the photos, look past the lack of weight on Foxy. It kills me that she got so skinny, but I know now why and am working on getting her body in better condition.

After 2 weeks of my husband and I not agreeing on a name, we ended up naming him Curio. Unfortunately, since Foxy's papers were never transfered to her new owners after the 1st two, finding the colt's sire has been a dead end. I did contact the last guy listed on the papers so I could get her transferred to my name and he said he sold her to a horse dealer that kept mares and stallions together, so there would be no way to know which one might have bred her - even if that was where she had been bred.

Thanks for reading. Kind comments & constructive criticism welcome!

Robin


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## wildoak (Jun 4, 2012)

Robin, congratulations on your new foal!




Unfortunate that papers were lost on the mare, but still lots you can do with them even unpapered. Which side of Austin are you? We are between Georgetown & Hutto, would love to have you out to visit. PM me or you can email at [email protected] , don't hesitate to call if I can help you with anything.

Jan


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## Carolyn R (Jun 4, 2012)

Welcome to the forum, and I guess congratulations are in order! He is huge, guessing sire was big, as in taller taller mini or a Shetland. Sounds like you have a great base knowledge of horses, nice to see she ended up in your hands, ESP. Given that she was in foal.


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## Al B (Jun 4, 2012)

Congratulations. Remember he doesn't have to be registered to be an ADS driving horse. And, big (up to 39") is good. Ditto what Wildoak said. We are just at the other end of 290 (Cypress, TX)


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## ohmt (Jun 4, 2012)

So glad you have given your mare such a wonderful home. CONGRATS on the new little one!


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## HGFarm (Jun 4, 2012)

Glad you were at least get hold of the mares last legal owners to get her papers transfered and what a shame about the baby and not knowing who the father is- and what an IDIOT for the guy to keep all the stallions and mares together. What if he ended up with a mare that should not be bred due to health reasons?!

Enjoy your new baby- perhaps he will make a cute driving gelding in his future?


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## Kaitlyn (Jun 4, 2012)

What a cutie! It sounds like the horses are in good hands with you. Try not to beat yourself up too much about the mare's weight- we had the same thing happen over here with a dog (adopted her, thought she was looking a bit too chubby, started cutting back her food, then realized: puppies). It wasn't on purpose and I'm sure you'll be getting her back into shape in no time.


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## Andaloosa (Jun 4, 2012)

Thanks to everyone for the welcoming responses. I will get some current pictures up as soon as possible. The colt hasn't changed much in looks (though I did introduce him to clippers and give him a little 'bridle' path), but Foxy sure has. She's still ribby, but is filling out. I'm backing off her food a little because I don't want to get into a see-saw with her weight.

To the locals - I'm in Lago Vista and would also welcome some mini-knowledgable people to visit. You can reach me best via [email protected]

I am hoping to make him into a nice driving gelding. I think he's going to be pretty flashy with his flaxen/silver? mane & tail. I'm curious to see what color he sheds out to be. What age do they loose the baby fuzz?

Both he and his mom seem to have the 'Appy eye', which is cool because my mom used to raise Appaloosa sport horses. In fact the last baby I raised & trained from birth was my appy/Andalusian. That was more than 20 years ago *gulp* I'm definitely having to remember what I'm supposed to do with a baby. Right now, I'm mainly handling, brushing, touching all over & picking up feet. Yesterday I had my husband lead Foxy while I 'lead' Curio for the first time. He did pretty well. I can tell he's stubborn, but smart too.

To Wildoak: I have Foxy's papers. The lady I bought her from never transferred them to her name, nor did apparently the person before her. I contacted the AMHR and gave them the last name that is listed on her papers and they provided me with a street address. Google being everyone's friend, I found a number.



I'm hoping to get her papers and transfer paperwork sent off this week. Looking forward to having at least one loop closed.

Thanks again everyone!

Robin


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## Mona (Jun 4, 2012)

Welcome to the forum, to minis, and congrats on the new foal! Sounds like you've got great plans for them! I do not see appy in either of them...look totally non-appy to me. As to their color, silver bay for both. I think Mom will remain much darker than the colt. He should shed out fairly decent at about 4 months of age.


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## tagalong (Jun 4, 2012)

Congratulations on your new colt! As Mona said, he is going to be a silver bay like his mom!


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## Tremor (Jun 4, 2012)

Congrats on your foal!

If you dont' mind may I lend a suggestion on feed for your mare? I had a mare who looked a lot like your mare. I started feeding her Omelene 300 (has 16% protein for the foal and what she needs) before she was due and by the time she foals she was up to weight again.

July 2010:






September 2010:






October 2011:






This is just my experience with an underweight broodmare. I would highly suggest to any mare owner to feed a Mare/Foal feed. This mare is now on Purina's Mini horse feed, which is a 12% feed and she is doing awesome. You can get both feeds (Omelene 300 & Mini Horse & Pony Feed) at most any Purina dealer. You may have to special order though.

In my opinion there is no reason for a broodmare to be ribby and have the spine exposed. A healthy broodmare should have a healthy topline. The OP, you are not at fault. I am saying this only because I have heard a lot of uneducated horse owners argue that its okay for a broodmare to be skinny. In my opinion it means that she is providing her all for the care of that foal and she should not have to.

Good luck with your foal! ALL LEGS! *gasps*


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## targetsmom (Jun 4, 2012)

Congrats on you new minis and welcome to the forum. I once bought a mare that I didn't know was pregnant and when she foaled she looked a lot "ribbier" than yours but gained the weight back just fine. Looks like you may end up with 2 equines you can use for ADS driving, since they don't need to be registered and they take all sizes.


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## wingnut (Jun 4, 2012)

They're both lovely! Congrats and a big welcome from northern Maryland!


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## Andaloosa (Jun 4, 2012)

Silver Bay! So THAT'S what that color is! When my vet asked me, I felt like such a dolt when I said, "umm... Brown?" now I can sound much more edjamacated.





Thanks for the recommendation on feed. I agree, brood mares shouldn't have to loose body condition just to provide for their foal.

I forgot to mention that I also own a 20 yo 16.2HH thoroughbred and a 6 yo 16HH Standardbred/Draft. That is who the big horse is in the picture with the colt. She used to be an Amish buggy horse and i bought her right before she turned 5. When I bought her, that's how I got into driving. I wanted a way to share my love of horses with my daughters and my non-horsey husband. He enjoys going for buggy rides, but he has told me more than once that it would be fine with him if we only bought minis from now on. I think it helps that Foxy is so well behaved and Curio is so darn cute!

Robin


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## vickie gee (Jun 4, 2012)

Congratulations and your surprise foal and welcome to the forum!


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## AnnaC (Jun 4, 2012)

Hi and welcome to LB! I'm so glad Foxy found you, she's a lucky girl and I'm sure you will soon have her back in condition again.





I love your new little colt - he's going to make a great driving interest for the family!


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## Equuisize (Jun 4, 2012)

Welcome to the Forum and you just might find, like your husband that minis are just fine ...

Many of us start out in big horses and keep graduating down in size - one big guy at a time.

There is something about these little ones that grabs your heart.

That's a darling little guy that she surprised you with. You'll all have lots of fun watching him grow.

Congratulations.


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## Andaloosa (Jun 5, 2012)

Thanks again for all the kind posts.

Here's a question for the drivers - when is a good time to start driving momma again? Do you wait until you start weaning and leave baby home or do you bring baby with?

Thanks,

Robin


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## Tony (Jun 6, 2012)

Congratulations on your foal and welcome to the wonderful world of minis. I am your neighbor just south of Austin in Buda. We would love to have you come out sometime, too. We have almost 200 head.


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## Jill (Jun 6, 2012)

Welcome to LB and congrats on your baby.

The only reason to want papers is if you want to go to registry shows, or if you want to breed registered horses. Sooooooooo many fun and rewarding things to do with minis and ponies that require no papers at all.


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## Cupcake (Jun 7, 2012)

Hi there and congrats! I'm about an hour north of Austin and new to minis also. Thanks to Tony who let us visit his huge selection of gorgeous minis twice already in the 4 years since moving to Texas I have been infected with the mini virus with no chance of cure







This is our little girl who I was told looked like a mix between a Great Pyrenees dog and a mountain goat when we got her in February.






Thanks Tony for all the advice you've given us and Carol for showing us all your babies last year! I'm happy to see Lil horse is doing well - we visited when he was 4 days young


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## Andaloosa (Oct 29, 2012)

Hello all,

Sorry for the lack of updates, but I thought I'd finally give you one. Hopefully you will all get notifications of the post.

I'll let the picture do the talking, but I will say that in the photo, Curio is 4 1/2 months old and his butt is now taller than his momma's, his legs are also thicker. He will be 6 months old November 12th. I'm thinking he has Haflinger blood in him.

He's very sane for such a young colt and leads, loads, clips, picks his feet up for me - all with and without his momma around. I was really hoping that she would wean him herself, but as she enjoys being a momma so much, I will be buying the paneling I need to make a new stall (I have 2 stalls and 4 horses) this week and weaning will begin. I don't see him being too stressed about it at all since he mainly hangs out with the boss mare (Standardbred/Draft) anyway.

Thanks for reading.


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## happy appy (Oct 29, 2012)

Wow I can't get over his size! They both seem to be doing well!


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## Rhondaalaska (Oct 29, 2012)

He is so pretty, and big, how big is he now? And how big do you think he will get.


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## HGFarm (Oct 29, 2012)

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!



That is crazy! Thank god the mare didnt have any trouble having him but I cannot believe how big he is now!


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## Andaloosa (Oct 29, 2012)

I'm not quite sure how big he is now, but his withers are still shorter than momma's, even though his butt is now higher.

What does everyone think? Half mini, half Haflinger? Poor Foxy if it was so!


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## Rhondaalaska (Oct 29, 2012)

Wow if he is haflinger he could be up to 15 hands . Poor mare that is a big baby to have. Well you would have a driving horse for sure with him, maybe even riding.


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## Debby - LB (Oct 30, 2012)

The colt is a pretty boy! pretty mare too... you know you may have saved her life by allowing her to lose some weight and not over feeding the foal inside. If you had gotten her fat as a butterball with those legs and his size she may not have been able to have him. Good luck with them! a lot of first time mini owners who got "surprised" like you did do not have such wonderful outcomes.


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## rabbitsfizz (Oct 30, 2012)

No, he is not Haflinger, do not fear! Probably a Pony stallion, maybe Rocky Mountain or even a heavier Shetland.....but not haffy, it's just his colouring (and remember he isn't Chestnut with a flaxen mane and tail he just looks it!) that is making you think that.

What height is the mare?


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## chandab (Oct 30, 2012)

rabbitsfizz said:


> No, he is not Haflinger, do not fear! Probably a Pony stallion, maybe Rocky Mountain or even a heavier Shetland.....but not haffy, it's just his colouring (and remember he isn't Chestnut with a flaxen mane and tail he just looks it!) that is making you think that.
> 
> What height is the mare?


I'll go with Jane on this, not likely a Haflinger, but with silver in the mix with minis, the colors can sure look close.	I think my Tana looks a bit like a mini Haflinger, but she's all mini. Here's Tana:


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## rabbitsfizz (Oct 31, 2012)

Chanda, apropos of nothing, was there not Silver found in Haflingers??


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## chandab (Oct 31, 2012)

rabbitsfizz said:


> Chanda, apropos of nothing, was there not Silver found in Haflingers??


There may not be silver in Haflingers, but their sorrel with flaxen coloring can look similar to those with silver (especially considering the hundreds of different shades of silver, look at how many silver bays are mistaken for sorrels).


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## rabbitsfizz (Oct 31, 2012)

In the back of my mind there is an article and a discussion form a couple of years back about a Haffy testing positive for Silver- nothing to do with how they look as I know Silver has no effect on Red- maybe it just happened in my mind!!!


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## chandab (Oct 31, 2012)

rabbitsfizz said:


> In the back of my mind there is an article and a discussion form a couple of years back about a Haffy testing positive for Silver- nothing to do with how they look as I know Silver has no effect on Red- maybe it just happened in my mind!!!


A little dyslexic today, I misread your previous post.


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## Ashley (Oct 31, 2012)

If those pics are current I wouldnt be backing that mare off any of her food anytime soon. I also wouldnt be driving her at all until she gains much more weight. If you havent already I recommend weaning that monster! Wow he is big. Not sure what he is but I sure like him.


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## SampleMM (Nov 1, 2012)

Hello and welcome to the forum from Pennsylvania. I love your state and am missing your wonderful food already. Congrats on your cute colt.


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## wildoak (Nov 1, 2012)

Good to meet you all the other day, hope you will come back out and drive one of these days.... after your big boy is weaned and his mom is back in shape.





Jan


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## Andaloosa (Nov 8, 2012)

rabbitsfizz said:


> What height is the mare?


Her papers say 35.5”

I haven't measured her (or him) because I don't have an accurate way of doing so. I looked into getting a mini measuring stick, but all the ones I found are $50 and I'm not up for spending that for just curiosity.


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## Andaloosa (Nov 8, 2012)

wildoak said:


> Good to meet you all the other day, hope you will come back out and drive one of these days.... after your big boy is weaned and his mom is back in shape.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Great meeting you too. I just made another post about my mare. It'll be a while before I will be driving her and I'll wean monster boy as soon as I can, though she's not making much milk with what is currently going on.

http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?showtopic=131485


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## paintponylvr (Jan 20, 2013)

Andaloosa said:


> Here's a question for the drivers - when is a good time to start driving momma again? Do you wait until you start weaning and leave baby home or do you bring baby with?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Robin


Hi Robin - like the others - welcome to the World of Very Small Equine!! It's great fun to drive them and even better when you share it with your children. I'm now starting on the 2nd generation - our granddaughters.

As to the ? - depends on the situation! I've taken a foal as young as 10 days old with us to a local horse show and held him (shoot - when moved the truck/trailer he rode in the front seat in front of the air conditioner and wasn't real happy when I removed him when done. The onlookers were so surprised to see the tiny foal hop OUT OF THE CAB) while his dam was shown in shomanship, walk/trot - for the pony and w/t for the youth. He nursed between classes, we didn't mingle with a lot of other horses - had our own water and buckets, mare & 2 other ponies were utd on vax.

I've hauled others when getting my driving lessons in 2010 and in 2012. Currently have a 4 month old colt that goes driving with us down the road - he's been tied to his dam and she's working on the right as a pair.




GG is actually 2 months old in this pic.














Ze, a surprise like yours, who also may not end up registered, is 2 months old in this pic ground driving with his dam. Next pic, if it loads, he is a bit older.




Pic taken with my phone while I'm driving. This is Cassie (bay spot mare w/ colt) 6th hitch.

So it's a matter of how you are able to work your mare. We also have our foals where we can pen them up w/o the mares. On Cassie's 4th hitch, Ze stayed in the pasture with two other pony mares and two fillies that were already weaned (the dam of one is the light silver dapple on the left in this pic). I spent about 1/2 hour preparing the mare and hitching and 1/2 hour actually driving - but on our property and then another 10 minutes out to the same road in above pic and down that road for a bit & returned home. Ze ran around a bit, calling, but was OK. She did awesome - she's started calling more since he's going with us than she was before.... But she behaves and minds - this is her 4th foal and she wasn't handled a lot with the others but "knows the drill".

I love silvers & silver bays. Would love to see more pics of yours as you go along. Hope you meet up with all the people near you!! I currently travel to TX a couple of times a year - but not that far ...south(?). I've taken ponies both of the two times I went last year - once took equipment and not only drove at my Dad's VA home but ended up showing my pair as well... Had a ball and planning on going back in April 2013.

OK, more research on posts I'd missed!


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## paintponylvr (Jan 20, 2013)

Oof, just finished reading the whole thread and my post above isn't very appropriate at the moment. How are your pair doing??

Foxy healed OK? Now I need to go find the other thread again... Take care!


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## Andaloosa (May 7, 2013)

Not sure if anyone will get any notifications of this post, but I thought this is where I should put the update on my surprise colt.

He's growing up to be a very flashy boy. He has a good brain, though I am looking forward to gelding him. Having a stallion is not something I care to deal with long term. He will be one year old May 12th. I measured him when he was 11 months old and he was 9.1HH (37.5in - 2in taller than his momma was)




Taken April 2013




Taken May 5th, 2013

He's trying out a Summer Whinnies sock on his left front, to help keep the biting flies off his legs. He left it alone and now wears them on all 4.

Thanks for looking!

Robin


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## paintponylvr (May 8, 2013)

He is looking awesome!


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## Rhondaalaska (May 8, 2013)

Wow he looks great, what a beautiful boy you have


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## Andaloosa (May 8, 2013)

Thanks. How common is it for mini x mini to equal monster size baby? And when do minis stop growing? It doesn't matter to me what size he ends up being, but I'm still thinking he looks like a mini Haflinger.


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## wingnut (May 8, 2013)

Ooops...didn't see the date of the original post, nor remember responding to it last year! LOL!

He's lovely


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## wildoak (May 9, 2013)

He is looking good.



If he's 37.5" at a year he may not grow more than another inch or so.. sire may have just been a mini with some taller shetland in his background. So much variation in size with minis and especially further back in pedigrees, probably a good many who were not accurately measured or recorded.. At any rate, he will be a good size for driving and should make a nice kids pony.

Jan


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## Andaloosa (Jun 15, 2013)

Just thought I'd post another update.

I had my mom bring her big body clippers since Curio still had a ton of baby fuzz/winter hair on his barrel & legs. I've included the before and after photos of him. All I can say is, "Wow! What a difference!"

I can definitely say that I no longer think he looks like a Haflinger. 

Would love to hear what everyone else thinks of his confirmation. He's now 13 months old and as of this post, he's a gelding! *happy dance*

The other picture is one I took today. His first day of learning to lunge. He did really, really well.


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## Rhondaalaska (Jun 16, 2013)

He looks great


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## AnnaC (Jun 16, 2013)

WOW!! He looks fabulous - what a handsome chap!!





Just a small word of warning - we dont usually lunge youngsters until they are over 2 years old. Travelling in circles can cause stress and do unseen damage to young bones, muscles and tendons. Lots of free turnout time, general education and 'straight line' walks/work will keep him well occupied for this year.

Good luck - he's going to make a brilliant driving prospect for you.


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## Barnmother (Jun 16, 2013)

I would add that if you do need to lunge use the biggest circle that you possibly can to relieve that joint stress. I know there are times when I have had to lunge youngsters and that is what I have done. The bigger the circle the better.


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## Andaloosa (Jun 17, 2013)

I am having him go in the biggest circle possible as I do not want to add undue stress to his joints. I'm only lunging him at a trot at all because the vet said I needed to for a week to help keep the swelling down from him being gelded. (Lunge at a trot twice a day for 15 minutes)

I only lunged him once today and turned him out the rest of the day and I could definitely tell that he was moving slower than he has been since it was done on Thursday.

I bought him some mini splint boots, but they are way too small for him. His cannon bones are about 9" long. The lunge caveson I have is also just barely big enough. I was wondering about trying to find some Welsh Section A tack.


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## Andaloosa (Sep 18, 2014)

It's about time I post yet another update. Curio (surprise mini colt) is now 28 months old and I've been able to get him driving. Yes, I did a lot of ground work and ground driving first. The first time I put him to the cart, I couldn't believe how calm he was about the whole thing. He is now 40" tall (looking back through this thread, he was 37.5in at 11 months). I suppose he's officially no longer a mini.

I've included a few recent photos of him for your enjoyment & review.

And a video taken during the first time he was put to.

http://youtu.be/rGQWnN0mZgo?list=UU4Hpq4mOcKs6zy7izAI6iwg


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## Watcheye (Sep 18, 2014)

What a cute guy! I remember when you first started posting on him. How the time flies!


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## Danielleee (Oct 5, 2014)

Hes a bit young to be riding and driving already.... but hes a cutie.


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