Bringing a gelding onto our property

[Kari]

Hello,

I have been thinking for a while now about offering to bring a nearby mini gelding over here to live with mine. Even though his owners love him and would NEVER purposely neglect him, they just don't have the time to care for him the way he deserves. He has been foundered, so I worry.. he's penned with goats and chickens, so who knows what he eats besides grass hay.

As I stated above, he's penned with goats and chickens. His tail is so short I'd think it was docked if I didn't know different. His owners swear the goats don't chew his tail, that neighbor kids come and cut it repeatedly as a joke.

they've never seen the kids....... giving them the benefit of the doubt, could his lack of tail be from lice and worms, or some other disease, and not goat-chewing? What disease would cause loss-of-tail??? His mane is fine...

If I bring him here, I HAVE to protect my horses first. He'll be given a bath with medicated shampoo, lice dusted, and wormed with Zimectrin Gold. Is there anything else I should make sure and do before he comes in contact with my show horses/broodmares??

Thanks for your help,

Kari

 

[chandab]

Sounds like you have a good start for what to do when you bring him home. Since he has a questionable background and to keep your other animals safe, keep him separate from them for a minimum of 3 weeks; no touching noses, work with him after all others (then change clothes and clean up).

 

[Calekio]

I think your doing all the right things and a quaritine period is also a good idea, watching for any signs of illness.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I agree with Chandra, 3 weeks, no contact of any kind and you enter his area last and then change before seeing any of the others. In fact to be truely safe you will want to spray the soles of your shoes/boots with a good disinfectant before wearing them into your animals area. 21 days will see any disease finished its incubation period to be sure he isn't carrying anything contagious before introducing him to the others.

 

[Miniv]

Kari,

Think others have already covered things.........Just be sure that he is the last horse you handle with the clothes and shoes you'd be wearing. Two weeks is usually the norm for quarantine but three sure doesn't hurt.

 

[fancyappy]

In June we brought a rescue mini horse onto our farm that had been starved and was full of worms and lice. We vet checked him right away, pulled coggins, gave shots and wormers, lice dusted etc then kept him quarantined for 3 weeks.He had a very rough dull coat and a very sparse tail.Our vet said the tail and coat problem was because of the lice, that it was the worst case of equine lice she had ever seen.

She told us lice can create extreme nutritional problems in a horse and the horse is caught in a poor nutrition-can't get rid of lice cycle. A healthy adult horse can usually shake off lice but a poorly nutritioned one can not . the stringy tail our horse had and the rough coat were all dead hair ...from lice.

We carefully reintroduced grain, kept him on good hay and limited pasture. We also wormed several times but in small doses to prevent colic.It is probably a good bet your gelding is pretty wormy also if he has lice.It is hard for a regularly dewormed horse to cultivate lice.

I do not believe goats will chew a tail. Believe me goats are much pickier eaters than you can imagine.

Goats and horses can live together quite happily but the nutritional requirements are not even remotely similar. So if your mini was eating goat feed, he is sure to have nutritional deficiencies.Make sure he has access to a mineral block.

You are so caring to take on the responsibilty of this horse. Thank goodness. His life will be so improved because of you. It is alot of work and expense to bring a less than healthy horse back to good health. how wonderful that you are willing to do this.

I hope you see the bloom back on the gelding in no time. I feel confident that with you he will now be in good hands.

 

[Azure]

You may want to require some updated shots/vaccinations (whichever are common for your area )and a coggins, as well. Just a thought!

 

[HGFarm]

I have seen a LOT of horses- full sized ones too, that were kept in with goats or next to goats, that had no tails!! Yes, goats eat hair, especially if they are not getting fed properly either! Chicken scratch, if they are getting any, is NOT for horses, so I would sure worry about this little guy too. Poor thing!

I had a mare I bought come with free lice- have never seen anything like it in my life. The horse trailer was made into a stall with bedding and that is where she spent the night. She was clipped the next day, which made me angry to have to do it as it was early winter, and shampooed with dog/cat flea and tick shampoo. I just followed the directions on the label. After rinsing and drying, she was dusted lightly all over with powder. Then I wormed her with Ivermectin- per my vet.

This poor horse had the nastiest coat I have ever seen with bald spots, but still had her tail. She itched so badly, she could not even stand still to eat. It was awful. After her treatment, I swear that horse was smiling ear to ear- no more itch. Never had another problem with the lice, though the mare passed bots for EIGHT DAYS and got impacted as well!!!!

When done, all the bedding and everything in the trailer was cleaned top to bottom and also dusted with the dust. Never had any further troubles.

I, on the other hand, swear that I felt things crawling on me for days! Have never been around anything with lice- dont have it here and dont know anyone that has... (not to say they dont, it just is not common) and it was disgusting, the shape this mare was allowed to get into.

The lice is easy to get rid of though, but dont take the horse into your stable area, or you will be cleaning them all from what I understand. YICK!!

 

[Kari]

Thanks so much, everyone!!!IF I can get him, I will be sure and quarantine him for 21 days.

Kari