Does anyone have a 4-H Club using their minis?

[targetsmom]

We are looking into the possibility of starting a 4-H club for youth interested in minis. We have one parent willing to help but are looking for ideas and suggestions from 4-H Club leaders/members. We have used our minis for OTHER 4-H Club visits so we think our minis will be up for this! How do you share a few minis among many kids, because I am sure most won't own a mini? How often do you meet? Any advice and suggestions appreciated!!!

I was in 4-H as a teen, but in my day, every member owned their own horse and kept them in their backyards - no one even boarded! I know times have changed.

I tried doing a forum search but you can't search on 4-H so I suggest using the term FourH to make it possible to search in the future.

 

[Joanne]

We had a 4-H class for many years. We had two actually as they have a young group and an older group.

We are located in the Pacific Northwest and due to heavy rains from fall through spring we chose to have 6 weeks of classes (two hours on one saturday for 6 weeks) so that they could get their required hours in to complete their work. We did 10 am to 12 noon.

We had to come up with classes fitting of the age group to keep them interested. We required one parent to be there for each child in the very young group and several parents also in the older group. We averaged about 8-12 students for each class.

Classes covered how to halter, groom, lead, washing a horse, body clipping, cleaning stalls, feed requirements etc.

The young group adored braiding manes and would have been happy doing that to all the horses

We would have one horse to two students, unless I was instructing on something and then I would just have one horse in to keep them focused. I held classes in the barn.

Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.

 

[Genie]

We had one for a couple of years here in Ontqario Canada. I can provide some feedback in a p.m. if you wish

 

[Jill]

A 4-H near Richmond (Varina Rising Stars...), VA is big big into minis and has a monthly mini show at Dorey Park for anyone who wants to show their minis.

 

[targetsmom]

Thanks everyone! I will be following up with some of you. I hope this works out.....

 

[RhineStone]

I pm'ed you with the contact info for a friend of mine.

Myrna

 

[minimoesmom]

We don't have separate 4H clubs for mini's, but there are some kids that show mini's in our county. We have a mini show at the Co Fair, the classes are halter, pleasure driving, showmanship and jumping. Some of the kids have their own mini's and others borrow from club mates. Its great for the younger kids, it gives them a chance to show, although every year there are a few "melt downs" when their mini won't jump over the jumps. There are usually around 10 to 15 mini's, with the driving class around 6-8 kids. We usually have a good turn out for the classes, and the mini's are a big hit with the fair-goers, especially the daycare and preschoolers. We always try to have one or two of ours out for the kids to pet. Great way to promote them.

And this year we had an awesome judge, Jackie Loomis, who donated her time to judge the mini show, among other classes. It was the first time we had an actual mini judge, which shows how much we are growing!

My daughter has also shown her mini's in large horse classes such as showmanship and usually does very well against the biggies.

Hope this helps,

Becky

 

[mdegner]

The Minnesota 4H program just added a miniature horse program this year. There have a been a couple of clinics--involving some of our local people like Renee Bush and the Sanseveres--and I believe there was one show this year. Its starting slow but expect it to build over the years.

 

[Lori W]

We have a Miniature Horse 4-H club - the Mini Whinnies - with about 35 members. Many of the kids have their own horse, but a fair number of them use ours. We have "work outs" at the farm beginning in April through our county fair in August, where the kids practice their skills in a group setting. Our farm hosts an open Miniature Horse show in late May. Most of the kids participate in the show but it's open to everyone - we have a great turnout! Some of the kids show in local shows alongside the big horses and some go to AMHR breed shows in the area. Our county fair has a full slate of Miniature Horse 4-H classes which our club sponsors, as well as a number of open classes.

Personally, we love it when our 4-H kids use our horses! The kids are focused and end up spending a lot of quality time with the animal, putting in many training hours. While we only allow our older kids to drive our horses, everyone gets into showmanship, halter, jumping and trail.

Fee free to pm me, too, if you want to know more!