Classic K Miniatures thread. pics and updates on my mini's

[cassie]

Cassie, as Renee has said, with that awesome grass they're on, you can get just a "supplement" that contains vitamins and minerals and feed that to them. That should be enough with all the lush pasture, and help trim up some of that chubbiness on that cute "little" boy!!

He's just so cute! Give him a cuddle and a kiss from Auntie Diane!

they have a mineral block well I should say HAD lol Kingston decided that he needs more minerals LOL He LOVES it! funny dog I hear him grinding his teeth on it funny thing! I try to keep a mineral block in with them at all times.

so do you think I should have them out on the grass 24/7? nd no hard feed? its really a big paddock and heaps of grass.... I didn't want them to explode with that grass tummy...

Thanks Diane

will do. he is such a snuggle bug and always loves a cuddle!

 

[LittleRibbie]

Oh Cassie, Cassie, Cassie....I wish I had your beautiful pastures....cant you just loan me some of your pretty grass for a wee bit!!! What I wouldnt give!!

My poor guys get this yucky florida sand with bits of dried up weedy looking things....so I have to feed and hay.

PS Cassie, does Finn drop alot of his grain....had Cams teeth checked and all is well but he still seems to be dropping lots...just wondering if this is a youngster thing...its almost like he plays while eatting and is not focused on his food just everything and everyone else. He walks around his stall while chewing and eatting....wierdo!

 

[Eagle]

Heidi my Dipinto still makes a mess when eating and he is 2

He is also a bucket tipper which drives me nuts.

Diane and Anna we need to think this through together to help Cassie. We all have different set ups and needs but I am sure that together we can work it out.

I don't show my mares when they have a foal Cassie so I don't have to worry about what they look like but grass is the best thing for horses so if and when you have it I would give only that with a mineral supplement.

If you want to show Suzie and get her fit then you should wean Finn as he doesn't need any extra food right now.

Diane gelding should only take 2 weeks to get over so doing it whilst he is on mum will keep him relaxed and prevent any damage to the area whereas it could take him quite a while to be weaned as Cassie doesn't have other boys for him to move in with. He is prone to colic so so we need to keep him as stress free as possible.

Anna I agree that gelding isn't a good idea when he is fat so that throws a spanner into the works

One option would be to wean him and then geld him in the spring once he is in shape. Cassie could you borrow a friends foal (mini of course) to put in with Finn for the winter? That would be the easiest option, this way you can control Suzie and Penny's diet whilst Finn is out playing with his friend. Please don't tell me you intend to put Finn in with Smarty cos I will

What do you all think ?

 

[MeganH]

lol chubby little Finn.. I would wonder what he looks like clipped too, Cassie. What is the weather like there? Is it hot? He sure has a lot of fur. Ricky is not shedding like Laney has.. but it is chilly at night this week so I am glad. I wish we had your grass too... it is just the beginning of spring but I am hoping the grass comes in much better then it is looking at this point. We have weeds we didn't have last year.

 

[AnnaC]

Oh goodness what can I say!! I'll just light another cigarette to give me some brain power!!

Ok, right. Cassie, here we are running into our Spring and then Summer, so you must be coming into Autumn and then your winter? Do you have shows late Autumn and during the winter - taking into consideration that it will take around 2+ months to get Susie near towards show condition if you want to present her to the best of your (and her) ability? Plus that is the time you are thinking of sending her and Penny away to stud if you are going to breed for next year. So I think you must soon decide whether it will be showing or breeding before you go much further as it will make a difference with what we can recommend for Suzie over the next couple of months.

As far as Finn is concerned, I dont think you should be in a rush to geld him while he is this 'tubby'. He does need to be weaned from the girls, so how were you intending to do that anyway? As Renee said, the very best way to wean - and extremely good for Finn himself - would be to find another colt as a companion. Goodness if someone offered to take one of my colts for several months I would jump at the chance! The girls could then go back out with Smartie and make him very happy, and the colts could share the nice grassy paddock together. Having Finn gelded in the Spring would be fine. To wean him anyway you are going to have to get him away from Suzie, nothing to do with having him gelded, plus if you put him back with her he may well try to comfort feed even months after weaning. Also if you are breeding from Suzie and Penny, they will have to be kept apart from Finn - I know you had the girls with Smartie when they were pregnant, but I do think you were lucky as it is not usually a good idea to have geldings in with pregnant mares as it can cause the mares to absorb the fetus, but maybe Smartie being an older horse.......................

And yes I do think that you could leave Suzie and Finn on the grass 24/7 for the moment (if weaning Suzie will obviously have to come off the lush grass, but it will do nothing but good for Finn's system) and just give them a balancer or as you call it a mineral and vitamin supplement, and make sure that Finn has his own bowl and eats his own amount.

So lots to think about before you decide which way you want to handle things! Make a list of your 'aims' for each horse (Penny included of course) and then see if you can work out the best way to do them.

Not sure I have said anything here that actually helps - it's nearly midnight here and I'm flagging somewhat, need my bed LOL!! But I do know that you will do the best you can Cassie, you always do and are such a good Momma to your chips and Smartie, they are all very lucky to have you.

Sorry, gotta go my friends - the old brain is clogging up and I've just made 8 typing mistakes in the last sentance!!

Nite nite xx

 

[cassie]

HI Girls, sorry if I make a mess with this my hands are still REALLY sore and swollen, I can't do anything at the moment which I am HATING!!!!

ok I will try to answer all your questions, please know that I have all my horses interests at heart and want to do what is best for ALL of them!

Heidi Finn is a little munching machine lol hence the extra weight! he gobbles up everythng and never makes a mess LOL funny little man!

ok going to try and get you guys all up to speed with everything that is happening.

putting my stuff in bold so we don't get them all confused lol

Heidi my Dipinto still makes a mess when eating and he is 2

He is also a bucket tipper which drives me nuts.

Diane and Anna we need to think this through together to help Cassie. We all have different set ups and needs but I am sure that together we can work it out.

Thanks for all your help with this everyone... always need your wisdom with each new stage

I don't show my mares when they have a foal Cassie so I don't have to worry about what they look like but grass is the best thing for horses so if and when you have it I would give only that with a mineral supplement.

If you want to show Suzie and get her fit then you should wean Finn as he doesn't need any extra food right now.

exactly my thoughts Renee, but up till now I couldn't work out which one I should do first...

Diane gelding should only take 2 weeks to get over so doing it whilst he is on mum will keep him relaxed and prevent any damage to the area whereas it could take him quite a while to be weaned as Cassie doesn't have other boys for him to move in with. He is prone to colic so so we need to keep him as stress free as possible.

Anna I agree that gelding isn't a good idea when he is fat so that throws a spanner into the works

One option would be to wean him and then geld him in the spring once he is in shape. Cassie could you borrow a friends foal (mini of course) to put in with Finn for the winter? That would be the easiest option, this way you can control Suzie and Penny's diet whilst Finn is out playing with his friend. Please don't tell me you intend to put Finn in with Smarty cos I will

What do you all think ?

there is no way that I would put Finn in with Smartie by himself! he is much to small and doesn't know how to stand up for himself. Suzie will stand up to Smartie and won't let him be naughty with her, so Finn would only go in with Smartie if Suzie or Penny were there. I wouldn't risk my baby alone with Smartie.

I have just sent a message to Sandy across the road who has a colt (storm) from the year before last and her stallion (Pig) asking her if I could borrow Storm of if Finn could spend some time over at her property. she has heaps of grass at the moment to so it would be perfect. will let you all know what she says when I hear back.

please believe me when I say I am trying everything to keep all my horses happy and healthy and I never once would try and hurt them or cause them harm! Finn has always been a chubba wubba and I guess when I am out there all the time it is hard for me to see if he is overweight of not. Sorry I didn't post up those pics last night. I was exhausted and fell asleep at 8pm. lol doesn't help when I can't do anything. grrr

I think you've got it, Renee. I don't know much about gelding, as I said, and CERTAINLY not enough to even make any kind of "educated" guess about such things. But, I am concerned about his weight and his being prone to colic. I wasn't even thinking about the showing of Suzie and Penny, but they will need to be gotten into shape for showing, as you say, and weaning Finn from Suzie will help her get into condition that much faster.

Weaning Finn and getting his weight down (now that I am aware of him being TOO fat) is my main priority at the moment.

I odn't know if I WILL show Suzie and Penny in the spring but I thought I would try get them into shape to see how they would look and just to have a bit of fun with them.

I think it would be perfect to get him weaned first and getting him a buddy for weaning is a great idea! For all the reasons with the girls, and more so, that he doesn't need all that extra calories he's getting. With his steady diet of grass, he should wean very easily and the grass should keep his system going strong. Weaning with a buddy is certainly easier, and would keep his mind active and the romping with a friend would be good for his weight loss, as babies tend to play HARD with each other! It doesn't really take that long, and I would hope it will make a difference in his weight quickly. Then it's just the matter of getting the extra weight off him so he's ready for his surgery.

If you can't get a buddy, then it will be harder on him, since in another few months you can't keep him with the girls.

Is there a reason to wait until spring to geld him, other than his weight? I would think a "non-fly" season would be ideal for healing, rather than when the bugs start to arrive? But he certainly will take some time to drop some of this weight and be in shape for gelding.

no reason to wait for Spring at all. I wanted to get him done as soon as possible. but his being overweight as you girls have said is a concern and is the only reason why I would wait.

Like I said, the gelding part I don't know anything about. But weaning I do and I guess my main concern is getting him weaned and getting his weight down safely as it concerns me to see all the extra weight he's carrying on his little frame.

So, I think you're on to something, Renee. I can't wait to hear what Anna says.

ok I am probably just going to stir up trouble here but I really hope you don't think I am a bad owner by the amount of weight Finn has. I honestly would NEVER try to make him fat and I just thought it was the winter fluff he has at the moment.

Thank you for your help. Sorry If I sound rude I guess we all just hate to hear we are doing something wrong when it comes to the care of our horses.

lol chubby little Finn.. I would wonder what he looks like clipped too, Cassie. What is the weather like there? Is it hot? He sure has a lot of fur. Ricky is not shedding like Laney has.. but it is chilly at night this week so I am glad. I wish we had your grass too... it is just the beginning of spring but I am hoping the grass comes in much better then it is looking at this point. We have weeds we didn't have last year.

Thank you Megan

yeah I really want to clip him now hehe. the weather has been really nice but then we got a really cold change and it has been freezing. coldest it has been in over 80 yearsfor this time of year apparently. lol but the weather has warmed up a little for now but it will get cold again soon.

lol we have had an excellent grass season this summer

all that rain that we had was really good

our cows are looking brilliant! I wish you guys could have some more grass too... I can't imagine not having nice grass

Sorry Anna, I tried to multi quote your post aswell but it didn't take silly thing LOL

um to answer your questions... if I haven't answered them already...

we do have late shows... not sure If I will take Suzie to any of those probably early spring ones I might take her to, as if I plan to put them both into foal I will do so late october early november I think.

as I said earlier I am not sure if I will take them to too many shows (don't have a float so I have to go with friends hehe) but I would just like to get them into show condition to see how they would look

I'm hoping that I will be able to use Storm as a weaning companion for Finn, haven't heard back from Sandy regarding that yet but as they are just across the road that would be the best option in my opinion.

I have learnt that Smartie is fine being in seperate paddocks from the girls as long as he can see them AT ALL TIMES lol funny man!! so if I breed them in the spring they won't go in with Smartie but will be next to him. I hope that is ok.

I hope you can all understand this...

doing as Anna suggested here is a list of my aims for my horses in no apparant order, just as I think of them lol.

- Wean Finn (big priority)

- Geld Finn (also big priorty)

-get weight off Finn and suzie

- continue halter training Finn

- continue lunging and getting Suzie and Penny ready for showing (not a definite that they will be shown)

- ride Smartie lots

can't leave my big man out

- October early November put Suzie and Penny into foal... maybe

- hopefully take the girls to one or two shows... maybe.

thats all I can think of at the moment I'm sure there are others lol

Thank you for your kind words Anna, I love my fur kids I know I don't know that much regarding them and I am wanting to learn more and I will make mistakes but I hope to learn from them to and become the best owner I possibly can for ALL of my horses.

Have a good night sleep Anna, and Renee and Diane when you head to your chair

thank you all so much for taking the time out to help me with this.

I hope I have said nothing to offend and I only want to do what is best.

Thank you again.

much love to you all!!

 

[LittleBittyBritches]

Big HUGE hug to you Cassie! We all know you love your guys, and you are doing a wonderful job! You are such a great momma, and you are trying to do the right thing with them.

 

[cassie]

Big HUGE hug to you Cassie! We all know you love your guys, and you are doing a wonderful job! You are such a great momma, and you are trying to do the right thing with them.

Thank you kara

you guys are all so awesome!!!

I heard back from Sandy

lol she is in Thailand at the moment lol WOOPS didn't know that

she said she gets back next Friday and we will talk then

so wait one more week and we will know whether Finn will have a buddy or not. until then, I will work something out so Suzie still gets her dinner but Finn doesn't... hmmm fun and games

 

[AnnaC]

WOW!! Cassie, what a wonderful post - hope it wasn't too difficult for you!

We all know what a good Momma you are to your horses, not many folks could do better than you do. It is just that time has moved on and now you are facing new decisions which will mean organising a new routine to keep everything running smoothly once again. I love it when life is all peace and calm, and absolutely hate it when I'm forced by circumstances (weaning, moving or separating animals etc) to change things - it gets me very stressed until it all settles down again, so I do know that things may be a bit difficult for you and the chips over the next few weeks.

But you will get it all organised and it WILL all settle down into an easy routine once again. You are doing everything RIGHT with your horses Cassie, you are certainly doing nothing wrong - it is just that you have reached a stage where things unfortunately have to follow a new 'path'.

Sorry you are not feel so good - take care of yourself my friend. ((((HUGS))))

 

[Eagle]

Cassie first things first, I am so sorry you are not well and of course I am praying for you.

Thank you for answering and I hope it wasn't causing you any pain.

We all know how much you love your fur kids and what a wonderful mummy you are so don't ever doubt that.

As Anna said it is just time to move on to the next stage. Finn looks great and a few extra pounds is not the end of the world (Lord I should know cos I am seriously over weight at the moment)

Please don't get upset and just tell us if we have over stepped the mark and hurt your feelings.

As for you being rude to us

I don't think that is possible and we are beyond upsetting at this point in our lives

Right girls?

 

[cassie]

Thanks girls na I wasn't upset I guess I needed to hear it to get myself into action hehe

As of tomorrow smartie is going into the BIG paddock will be good for him as he took the last winter very hard and suzie abnd Finn will have run of the whole paddock 24/7

proud of me? Lol

My hands are very frustrating but we have gotten onto some new stuff which will hopefully fix the issue... Not

 

[cassie]

Woops dnt know what happened there that not isn't meant to be there lol anyway hope you all have a lovely day night

 

[cassie]

Thanks Diane

I am on coconut oil for my hands LOL can you believe it? seems to be working the best finally! going out to do some halter training with Finn now

Smartie is in the big big paddock so Suzie and Finn are in the nice grass 24/7 I would still like to feed Suzie a little of the show conditioner so I was thinking of putting the feed bin on the fence out of reach of Finn? what do you think?

I had a play with mum's new camera all the way from Europe the other day Finn liked showing off for the camera

 

[cassie]

ok well I tried uploading the pics but they didn't work so here we go again LOL

first is the pic of the two drawings I did for my friend who lost two of her mini's a week ago in a tragic car accident.

she loved the pics.

now some Suzie and Finn pics

oh and Smartie said don't forget me LOL

brat lol

mumm n baby <3

more to come

 

[izmepeggy]

Hi Cassie, I just read your post and all I can say is " YOUR ONE REMARKABLE YOUNG LADY."..And I love coconut oil for hands,feet. and your hair.I put it in my horses mane and tail.Tames the wild look..LOL..Best wishes to you Cassie.You will always do the right thing by your Babies.

 

[cassie]

Finn loves playing with Kingston LOL poor King











he is such a brat... lol his face looks really funny with him being so fluffy can't wait to see him in the spring all shedded out

Miss Suzie mumma, lol she has livamole all over her lol its a coat conditioner and she loves it LOL





little poser <3 I love mums new camera

a few more to come

 

[cassie]

Early autumn morning looking over our paddocks

love his fat little head hehe, can't wait to see it without all that fluff!

another one of his eye!

hope you like all the pics

 

[cassie]

Hi Cassie, I just read your post and all I can say is " YOUR ONE REMARKABLE YOUNG LADY."..And I love coconut oil for hands,feet. and your hair.I put it in my horses mane and tail.Tames the wild look..LOL..Best wishes to you Cassie.You will always do the right thing by your Babies.

Peggy

I have missed you!! been delivering any babies lately? lol

oooh I'll try it for the horses manes =) thanks. yeah I love it, it smells so nice too

the only thing is that I can't do anything until it soaks in which takes FOREVER!! lol

thank you!

don't be a stranger

 

[Eagle]

Cassie those pics are just wonderful, thanks for sharing. They both have such wonderfully shiny coats.

If you are going to put them in the long grass field I wouldn't give anything else to them, Suzie's girth should be nearly half of what it is so don't worry, she won't starve.

 

[cassie]

lol your welcome Renee

thanks for the advice... I just get worried with Suzie when she is on grass only she gets a big tummy but has no top line and you can feel her ribs. I would like to give her a little handful of the show conditioner maybe just at night? to keep that top line nice... but if you think I shouldn't then I guess I could lol.