Adopted two rescued mini's

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Jens

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Hello, I'm new two mini's but have had horses in the past, but not for 10 years. My new mini's arrived a week and a half ago and and have been settleing in nicely for the most part. The vet thinks they are both around 4 years old. The gelding is a HUGE love and doesn't mind being brushed for long periods of time ect, but I'm having some trouble with the mare. She has reared up on me a couple of times walking her to the turn out. She also tried to lead me a little. I think she just needs some more time to come around and get use to being led. She puts her ears back at me and the gelding a lot (not while were walking) and doesn't love being brushed. Also I brought them some carrots the other day and gave them to them while they were turned out. The mare wouldn't let the gelding near me and kicked him 6 times and chased him to the other end of the field then bit him. He finally stayed over there, poor guy! I know that most of this is normal horse behavior, but I've never seen horses act this way over a couple of carrots. Do you think this has to do with the fact that they were not fed at there previos home? Needless to say, I think I'll lay off the carrots for now. I have not seperated them yet other than walking them out to there turnout seperate as they are use to being in a large herd. I'd like to take one out and work with her/brush her. Should I tie her lead rope around a post on the out side of the turnout so they can still see each other? I'm sure I'll have more questions soon! I appreciate any help! Thanks, Jen
 
Bless you for taking in these two little guys in need.

Minis are still horses, so in general, treat them as you would any horse and expect them to behave.

I would guess if they were starved before you got them, they will both likely be very protective of their food, any food (even baby carrots), and it'll take time for them to relax and realize food will always be available. [While not starved, I bought a mare from a large herd environment, and it took her awhile to realize that she could relax and eat her meal and no one would get her share. They share hay, but I separate for hard feed. She's finally relaxing some during mealtime.]

You've only had them a week and half, so they are probably still settling in, some take longer than others; give it time the mare will probably come around, even if she doesn't become a love like the gelding, she'll most likely settle in.

If the post outside the turnout is safe for tying, it would be perfectly fine to start with tying there to groom; eventually you can always move to where ever your normal grooming area is, after they've settled in and realize all is good.
 
Good advice from Chandab.

It soulds to me like the mare has had very little, if any, training in ground manners...leading tying, etc. I would suggest starting her off like a horse with no training at all. There is an article on my web site Links page about starting a foal in training and a lot of that applies to a mature horse too. Maybe there are some ideas there to help you.

The laying back of ears at you indicates to me that she doesn't trust or respect you so basic ground manners is the place to start.

Good luck and bless you for taking them.
 
Thank you both for the great advise! I read your article Charlotte (which is also my mothers name and daughters middle name). It was a very helpful article and I will be buying some bungie cords today! I'm so excited to be back in the horse world and it's been a life long dream to have them at home and not have to board! I might hire someone to come help me on a weekly basis at first just for some support as I start them.
 
I always feed mine separately. I think it is important for them not to be stressed with all the herd dynamics then.

I also like to separate mine when they are new. A fence between for companionship is plenty. You need to be able to work with each individually without the other being in the way. I think this also emphasizes your dominant control in the herd. Be very careful getting in the middle of those two. The gentle gelding could hurt you trying to get away from her (this has happened to me).
 
It sounds like these two have found a wonderful home. The only advice I have is to be extra careful if you are the only person in the area when working with them. If you should get hurt, there will be no one to notice otherwise. If you are alone and have one, you might carry a cell phone--just in case.

Good luck and have fun with them.
 
You sound so happy and of course, the horses couldn't be luckier. Good luck to you all as you build a relationship
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Be firm with them as well as show them love.
 
Hi, My guys are sweet and mannerly, however in the presence of food my one gelding gets very similar to your mare, he attacks, kicks, squeels and turns into a little demon. No food and I can brush both, pick feet and have a happy relationship in the field with both. How we do it with the food demon is that I set up two feed buckets on the fence gate. (my gate cannot be lifted off and is secured on both ends.. safety note)....They each have their "place"... To train them, I haltered and tied each boy each time they were fed and then put the buckets in place. I then got their food and put it in the bucket. When they finished, took halters and lead ropes off and turned them loose. Hay is fed in a feeder that is located so they can circle and not pin eachother in a corner. All treats were initially given to haltered and tied boys in their feeding bucket. Baby steps... Now they know their bucket and are trained to their "spot" and all treats or food is given from the other side of the fence, into the bucket. Takes time, but well worth it. Out of it I got mannerly boys with their treats, horses easy to catch and halter and horses that will stand tied patiently without pawing. No food by hand ever. I broke the rule one day and gave my food nut boy a treat while I was harnessing him to the cart. Ironically that was the day he threw in a buck and kicked the crud out of my cart and broke a strap on my harness. My trainer said... hmmmmm, gave him a treat did you? For some of them, treats can make them crazy. My one boy gets nuts on alfalfa. Learn your horses and what makes them tick just like a riding horse. Teach manners. Work with them every day. Both my vet and my farrier say my minis are the best behaved in their practice and that most are ignored pasture ornaments that have gotten wild and have no manners and they bite and kick. I treat these guys as if they are a full sized horse, they are expected to have the same manners. Just like little dogs, people say little dogs are hyper and bite more frequently. I say they are not expected to have the same manners as say a doberman or larger breed. My little dogs are obedience trained just like big dogs. Same manners are expected and they are expected to walk on a leash and are not carried. It really gets down to training,and if you have problems, try to find someone to work with you. I enlisted the aid of a trainer friend of mine for one of my boys that was getting the best of me on leading. We taught leading with one of us on either side, two lead ropes two people. Didn't take long at all with the extra strength and help of someone that was quicker and stronger than me for the correction. I did use a rope halter for a short period of time for the rearing, then went to a regular halter when trained. Best wishes, congratulations on your new babies. Keep us posted..
 
Thanks for all your nice comments and suggestions. They have been sharing a 10"x10" stall at night and eating dinner and breakfast in the stall out of buckets just set on the floor. We are working on getting a second stall asap so they can have there own space at night and during feeding time. I think this will help a lot. The mare seems to like my husband more than me. Maybe she respects him more because he's 6' 4". She doesn't pin her ears at him like she does at me whenever I pet her. I can't say enough wonderful things about the gelding though, he's such a wonderful little guy. I'm going to try to find someone to help me work with the mare because I am the only person at the barn during the day which does make me bit nervous to take the mare out to work with. It's a private barn and the owners have 5 large horses. But in about 2-3 weeks our barn at home should be finished and we will bring the mini's to our place. My husband is building a small barn with a 11 x 10 stall and a 8x11 stall and a storage room and a small hay loft. Wish it was a little larger, but we can always add on.
 

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