Giving up on our dream to raise minis

[targetsmom]

We thought this would be such a great idea - raising minis on our small farm - given my background in horses and college degrees in Animal Science and Animal Diseases. I thought I had the stomach for it and could take the heartbreaks, but I was so WRONG. Tonight was the final straw and we are giving up.

We started buying young pinto minis in 2004 and bred our first mares to top quality outside stallions in 2006. Only one of those mares settled and she had a false pregnancy. In retrospect - that was a walk in the park. In 2007 we bred one mare to our stallion and bought a mare bred to a National Champion (for insurance). First mare aborted with horrible dystoica, ended up in hospital, had retained placenta and we were lucky not to lose her. Had huge vet bill. Other mare (Sox) foaled while my back was turned and foal didn't get out of sac. This year we were hoping and praying our luck would change, with last year's mares both bred to our stallion Buckshot. It only got worse. Tonight Sox went into labor and the foal was stuck. We were right there. Called 2 vets, one responded and got here and was able to save the mare (for which we are very greatful). This experience was so totally devastating that we have decided to throw in the towel.

Today started with the news that our good friend Linda Best had died and then ended this way. I am sorry to vent like this and know it could be a lot worse, but this is bad enough. Our dreams are shattered....

 

[Bozley]

Dear Mary,

I don't know what to say except that I am so sorry for all your losses and heartbreak. My heart truly goes out to you and I wish I could ease your pain.

You have been a wonderful friend to Linda. You have also been very generous in what you have sent to Ribbons for Linda. Please try to feel good about how much you have helped her and her family. I know they truly appreciate it.

As for breeding, maybe you just need a break. I don't know. I agree that breeding isn't for everyone though. This is our first time breeding and probably our last. I know personally I will not handle it well if something goes wrong. We are having our first foal due any day. Cami is 329 days today. She was bred to Fred. All I keep thinking is if something goes wrong I really don't think I can handle it right now. I am also saddened that Linda will not be able to see her next Fred baby.

Please just take some time to yourself. This too will pass. There will be brighter tomorrow.

Take care,

Sue

 

[Birchcrestminis]

Oh Mary ! I am so sorry !

I have envyied the herd of top horses you have painstakingly put

together, and was very much looking forward to your birth announcements.

I can not believe bad luck struck you again. So heartbreaking, so unfair!

I thought while you were feeling down would be a good time for me to

tell you how much I have admired the success your hard work and skill

have brought you and your amazing horses on the pinto scene. What a

great embassador for miniature horses you and your beautiful horses have

been. And an inspiration to many of us ! Please keep up the good work.

My sincere condolences.

Cathy

 

[ChrystalPaths]

I know this pain, many of us have felt that total desperation, but give it time and see...I kept mine for another 3 yrs of joy and love before finally giving in and Sue, Linda will see that Fred baby, bank on it! and imagine her grin!

 

[kaykay]

I am so sorry for you pain. Please dont make decisions though in time of stress. Just let it all settle and then reevaluate. I know we had 2 years of bad things happening with the horses but then it seems like you get a couple of easy years. I will agree though it is a ton of stress and not for everyone. Wish I could give you a big hug

Kay

 

[christina_ski]

Please don't give up! I too wanted to give up last year. Our first foal was born in an ice storm and I just missed the birth by a few min, but baby was ok. Second one, the mare was in what seemed like labour for 3 days and she had white milk but wouldn't foal, and had the vet out to check her and said the baby was fine but it would be a few more days before she had it. And she foaled 10 min after he left! Luckily we were there to get the sack off her! The next one the baby was born and went limp and I though for sure she was dead, but we were able to revive her. And the last one was a horrible dystocia with a full blown bad as I had ever seen dwarf, who presented top of the head first, and then I got his head our but could not for the life of me find any legs, he was tucked under neath himself. We had to have a vet rushed over and cut the foal out but we were able to save the mare after a long fight with infections and colics.

I thought for sure my breeding was done for good with the minis, we gelded and gave away the stud, sold all the breeding age mares, and planned just on showing. For now thats still the plan, but I am carefully looking for the right mare to add back. I NEVER want to foal out that many again! I think just one a year from now on.

Right now has just been a bad week for everyone, one friend of mine (JMS) her grandfather just died, another friend (Kuelqhs) one of her friends was just killed instantly in a car accident with her other friend not much better, and her grandfather is very sick and may pass. 2 days ago my stud and a friends got together and tore each other apart, her's is worse off then mine. Linda just passed away, And I just found out that my 2yr old is somehow 2 months in foal even after multiple shots to get rid of the pregnancy when the stallion got loose with her in the first place and I am panicing!! I am glad this past week is over and hope there is better news to come! We have to take the bad with the good, it makes the good that much better when it comes!

 

[~Lisa~]

I am so sorry. Anyone who breeds long enough will go thru years like you and it is devestating. I have not intentionally bred anything for a while now (short of our supposed to be sterile stallion incident in 2007)

There is nothing wrong with taking a break and just enjoying your horses the great thing about breeding is you can always go back to it should you change your mind

The loss of friends, and now your foal that is just a lot for anyone to deal with at one time

 

[Mona]

Oh no, I am so sorry to hear of your losses and problems you have been facing. I am so thankful your mare is OK. I too have often felt like throwing the towel in...just this year actually, yet I keep at with with "hope", as that's all I have left. I keep telling myself just one more year. So far, I have been getting by on that. Maybe try taking a year off, and then coming back to it, or try again for next year...you know what they say...3rd time's a charm!

((((((HUGS))))) and

 

[lilstars]

oh mary!

i am so sorry to hear about your foal, please do not give up you have beautiful horses and have accomplished so much, we have never had good luck with breeding but we work hard at our showing and still love it... we have a deep respect for you and what you have contributed to the pinto world here, please take a step back, breathe and think about what you have done in the past just on the showing itself.. glad your mare is ok you know we love sox here!!!

angel

 

[~Dan]

I agree, don't give up on breeding. Just step away for a year or two, focus on showing or doing something different with the minis, and then retry breeding, when that foal is born, you'll be happy you didn't give up.

 

[Jill]

We've only been breeding for 2 years, but in minis and planning towards breeding since 1999. One event last year and one this year made me want to wave a magic wand and just have geldings. It took a little time each time for me to decide not to get out, at least not yet. I wish you could have a mare carry to term and give you just the perfect foal you've dreamed of and worked towards. That hope, and the happiness I feel about the foals we have had is what keeps me in it -- for now. But I know I can relate so much to how you feel now and many others can, too.

 

[Just Us N Texas]

Many years ago, when we were breeding and racing thoroughbreds, we lost two foals in the same afternoon. One was a maiden mare whose foal was stuck tight. The other was an older mare with a dystocia. The foal was half out for quite a while. We did all we could do, but the vet was on an emergency and couldn't be there for at least 1/2 hour. My husband, oldest daughter, myself, and a niece were all there trying as hard as we could. Sitting on the ground with feet against her, we finally got the maiden mare's foal out, but was too late to revive him. He had gotten stuck at the ribs, and had suffocated. The older maare was up and running everywhere with that foal hanging half out. His tongue was hanging out his mouth, and was blue. We just knew he was dead. When the vet got there, he thought so too, and proceeded to cut the foal out of the mare. He was not dead, and the screaming of the foal as the vet was cutting him out, was horrendous. He later apologized for not checking closer whether the foal was dead. He was just in a hurry to help the mare. It was years before I could go near a foaling again. I understand just how you feel, so give yourself some time off. You will be able to get over it in time.

 

[Genie]

We are sorry to hear of your troubles.

I don 't think your are alone with your frustrations and with the loss of your friend, Linda, on top of the horse issues, everyone can sympathize with you.

Give yourself some time.

It sounds like you have a wonderful group of horses and you will find that eventually, the good will outweigh the bad.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

 

[barnbum]

How frustrating and sad for you. You're having a rough time in many areas.

I've only had 6 foals in 6 years... and the stress of "what if" and what I do "just in case" is draining. Even with all going smoothly here--I knew it was just too stressful to invite the situation again for a long while, so we're done breeding for now and going more into a community service direction. My minis bring me great joy, they don't have to be producing foals to do that.

I can't imagine dealing with what you've been through, but if the breeding is set aside for awhile.. the joy of the small eqine will help to heal your heart.

 

[Riverdance]

I am so sorry to read about all of your breeding and foaling problems. You sure have had your fair share of problems. I have a friend who had a few years of bad luck too, and last year she was ready to quite and sell all of her horses. Well, she didn't and this year she had a successful foaling season.

I do not know how tall your mares are, but I would recomend them being at least 31" tall. The smaller ones tend to have more problems as do the shortback mares. My friend got rid of her real tiny ones and she still has a few shortback ones, but she realizes that these are the ones that can cause the most problems. She did not breed any shortback ones for this year and hd no problems with foaling.

Take your time and just wait. Give your heart a chance to heal, then try again.

We are all pulling for you. We all know how hard it is to loose one and I would surely like a year when I did not. But so far, that Has not happened either.

 

[~Lisa~]

I have been thinking about this while I was outside with the horses and I just wanted to tell you while I know you are sad it is perfectly ok not to breed your minis as well. I know you had a dream and I totally understand your feelings when it all seemed to crumble and if not breeding feels right to you for now that is perfectly acceptable to

 

[5StarRanch]

I just wanted to say first off that I am very sorry to hear of all of your bad luck. When my family and I first started in the minis, we had a very similar experience. We had raised big horses for years with hardly any issues, ever. Our first mini mare to foal had a horrible distocia and we had to cut the baby apart. We almost lost the mare as well. We had abortions, baby colics, etc. There were of course healthy, happy perfectly normal ones mixed in, but the stress of each mare foaling was just too much.

That was 20 years ago. I was 11 years old when we got into minis. We showed for 11 years, very heavily, and as I grew up, got married and moved on, though we still had the minis, we didn't show. I was riding big horses again and having fun with that. However, I had a knarly horseback riding experience that left me unable to do anything for months. I am lucky that I am still here and can walk. I am now 32 (eek) and my Mom and I are both convinced that the mini horse world, the people, the horses, the shows, is where we belong. However, though we both want to show on a Regional and National level, neither of us plan to breed. There are so many foals out there every year, and picking one out to train and show is a lot of fun too, without all of the heartache.

I totally support either decision that you make, but if you give up on breeding, do not give up on the minis all together. These little horses are pretty special, and we are proof that even if you try to stay away from them, you will come back

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Mary, I'm in full agreement with BarnBum and Lisa's second post. I know you will continue to find fulfillment with your performance horses and if it is meant to be, a little one will come your way and fill your heart to overflowing. I'm so sorry for all the troubles you've had! (((Hugs)))

Leia

 

[backwoodsnanny]

Mary,

I dont know you but can surely identify with your pain. Our very first minis were rescues and when they arrived my Sassy was just coming 3 imagine my surprise to find out that she also was 7 months pregnant this is when I found LB and found out that we could already be in trouble with a bred 2 yr old. We knew so little back then. She had her foal fine unassisted because we didnt know then that she needed to be but then at 40 days we lost the baby due to a cow vet who didnt know about ulcers. We then bought a bred mare and when that baby came he was a dwarf again something we knew nothing about and we lost him at 4mos to pneumonia but lessons were learned . Then our first little mare let herself in with our stallion and this time she had a late term abortion for no apparent reason. 3 foals 3 lost babies and thousands spent in vet bills to try to save them. We also felt as you do now that we should just quit but that same year we had bought a lovely proven mare and 5 weeks later our first viable foal was born and believe me we almost sat with her day and night for the First few weeks and baby was wonderful. In retrospect I think that God gives us these trials to give us lessons. As a result of all this sadness and heartache we found a wonderful vet who has been with us ever since. Then we had Helen who was born with no eyes and everyone told us to just put her down but she wanted to live and now she has gone on to teach another family lessons. We also found LB which has been a God send on more than one occasion and so many wonderful mini people who we wouldnt know if it hadnt been for these terrible experiences. WE have been blessed that we have not lost a mare through the years but have lost babies and everytime it is a test to see if we are going to continue on. I dont thiink breeding is for everyone and I cant tell you how many times I have asked is God trying to tell me not to breed anymore. We took this year off at least we thought we did. Then ended up buying a mare in foal after all. I think you have to make the decision for yourself and if breeding isnt for you and I can understand how it might not be with all your troubles then dont feel bad about that. My sincere sorrow at your losses but I will say wait and see how you feel when you are not as stressed. Losing Linda has touched all of us who have met her and to lose a baby on top of that is devastating to say the least but you have a wonderful program started and so much heart invested give it time and if a year or two off from breeding doesnt change your mind then move in your new direction. Condolences and prayers for better days.

Nita

 

[Marty]

I couldn't believe my vet decided to take a week off and go on vacation right when my new foal was born. Good thing we had a easy delivery but my mare had no milk at first. Thankfully my brother in law, (TB Breeder of the Year) was there for me so we had no incidents, but it could have gone all wrong so easily and I would have felt like you are feeling right now.

I have had burn out a few times with horses, showing, breeding, the whole thing and just the worry in general and that is when I stop and BREATHE and take a break. There is nothing wrong with that. Mary, you have a very nice herd there, very very very nice horses; a good foundation to build on. There is not a thing wrong with you stepping back and taking a big breath and giving this whole thing a rest. Don't make any permanent decisions right now when you are running on high emotions. Rest your mind and rest your heart for a while. Here is a hug for you((((((((((((( )))))))))))))))