choklitbean
Well-Known Member
Hello, I'm not new to horses however I am new to minis and since it's been quite a few years since I've done anything horsey at all I thought I better find some knowlegable folks so here I am.
I had a 3 year old mini stallion delivered to me for temporary boarding when his owners had to move. His feet were deplorable so I reached to pick up a hind to have a good look and found myself being sat upon. When I refused to let go HE did - with both hind feet, but I got that under control and when he stood calm I put his foot back down. That's when the front end came around rearing, striking and biting. I fell madly in love and bought the little tiger the next day (for a good deal less than they wanted
).
Now my questions: I'm scared to death of foundering the little guy but I've heard very different opinions on pasturing minis. He gets let out for one to two hours daily on a mix of grass and clover and has been on this for nearly three weeks. Right now he's kept in a small area and exercised daily until the paddock he's supposed to go into has been eaten down more. It's two to three inch tall clover mixed with plantain, wild geranium and grass. The paddock is dinky - only 40x15-20 feet. Do you think it would be safe to leave him out on that all the time now? He's not obese but he's bordering the fat line. I can't exactly feel his ribs. We have two acres for him to chomp on daily other than this area. Right now he gets a small handful of hay before he gets turned out, can I stop giving him the hay or should he always have a bit in his tummy before I let him out?
There is something else too. He and I have come to an understanding about what behaviour is expected of him, however at feeding time he can still become very aggressive when he's hungry. Once he's had a few bites of hay he's okay again but I've never seen anything like this before. He shakes violently when he's hungry, as if he were hypoglycemic, he'll also shake for a short time after I bring him back in off the grass. He'll eat anything green including cedar - goats don't even eat cedar! It's like he's in a perpetual state of starvation. I've had ponies that liked their food before but this is bizzarre. I've taken to giving him a noon feeding which helps during the day, however in the mornings he's a wreck. Any thoughts on this?
I had a 3 year old mini stallion delivered to me for temporary boarding when his owners had to move. His feet were deplorable so I reached to pick up a hind to have a good look and found myself being sat upon. When I refused to let go HE did - with both hind feet, but I got that under control and when he stood calm I put his foot back down. That's when the front end came around rearing, striking and biting. I fell madly in love and bought the little tiger the next day (for a good deal less than they wanted
Now my questions: I'm scared to death of foundering the little guy but I've heard very different opinions on pasturing minis. He gets let out for one to two hours daily on a mix of grass and clover and has been on this for nearly three weeks. Right now he's kept in a small area and exercised daily until the paddock he's supposed to go into has been eaten down more. It's two to three inch tall clover mixed with plantain, wild geranium and grass. The paddock is dinky - only 40x15-20 feet. Do you think it would be safe to leave him out on that all the time now? He's not obese but he's bordering the fat line. I can't exactly feel his ribs. We have two acres for him to chomp on daily other than this area. Right now he gets a small handful of hay before he gets turned out, can I stop giving him the hay or should he always have a bit in his tummy before I let him out?
There is something else too. He and I have come to an understanding about what behaviour is expected of him, however at feeding time he can still become very aggressive when he's hungry. Once he's had a few bites of hay he's okay again but I've never seen anything like this before. He shakes violently when he's hungry, as if he were hypoglycemic, he'll also shake for a short time after I bring him back in off the grass. He'll eat anything green including cedar - goats don't even eat cedar! It's like he's in a perpetual state of starvation. I've had ponies that liked their food before but this is bizzarre. I've taken to giving him a noon feeding which helps during the day, however in the mornings he's a wreck. Any thoughts on this?
