IS HE A DWARF??? WHATS YOUR OPINION

[shane]

i am trying to put up as many pictuers i have of him over time, so you can all have a good look, here is his head just after clipping

see the dome! that wasnt that long ago, his coat hasnt grew back since....

 

[Teresa]

So glad you posted it here too........so that you can get more answers to your questions. Like I have told you before just because he is little doesn't make him a dwarf but there are some things that would make me question. I am concerned about his spine starting to bow.

 

[shane]

this gives an idea of what height he is from a different angle

my daughter is 8, and Napoleon is 23 iches at the withers, he is a year old next week excatly

you see what baffles me is he stand in different positions, like the one above because ive posed him out to look nicer, he doesnt stand like that normaly he stands bowed under naturally

here is his belly which doesnt show up above either but has became more ditended, and hes more pot bellied now and ribby on top

sorry for all the photos

he has NO MUSCLE what so ever, no bum, no neck its very thin, and his breast bone is very prominent,

i feed him on,

24/7 haylage, grass nuts soaked 1 cupx2 day, sugar beet 1 cup,feed balancer,1 cupx2 day

hes eats like a horse excuse the pun,

but if anyone could clue me up on a better feeding programe im here to soak up anything to help him,

i talk him regular walks to graze and wear a coat on him as i get funny looks as though hes starved

 

[New2Minis]

He is adorable!!! I agree the big belly usually means he is not getting enough protein. IMO, he should have no less than a 14% protein. Good luck with him and you definately came to the right place for advice!!

 

[shane]

yes please ,....anything any one can offer , a feeding plan would be fantastic!

i cant thank you all enough

thought you might like to see the parents

Twinkletoes, now gelded

dam

 

[disneyhorse]

Please remember, the pot bellies on dwarves to not always reflect poor nutrition. I have seen plenty of well-cared-for dwarf minis that had the pot bellies.

I think the pot bellies reflect the dwarfism, because their organs are not proportional overall (like the legs/head/neck often are not) and normal-size organs are stuffed into a tinier-than-normal body. We see this in general with the miniature horse, as their teeth are not scaled down for their heads in many cases (which is why good bites are so critical for their health).

I am glad you are so interested in what is best for your little man. You are a true horseperson.

Andrea

 

[blueprintminis]

First let me say, your little guy is a doll baby! I'll take him. LOL! But, there may be something else going on that needs to be checked out. Has he had a thorough exam by a veterinarian familiar with horses? I've seen horses "stand under" themselves in the back (and their back "roached" up) if they have belly pain. The April photo of him, when he is standing "square" does not show a roached back at all. Does his manure look normal? Does he appear to be overly gassy? Something he is eating (sorry, some of the things you mentioned are not common on the equine menu over here) may not be agreeing well with him. Maybe he is slowly developing an enterolith which is slowly blocking his intestines and causing him distress. (I'm certainly not trying to frighten you, just make you aware that something other than him "turning into a dwarf" may be going on here.) I had a dog whose back started going out with slipping discs. He developed a roach back and started standing and walking funny before the discs got so bad that he could no longer stand. Even after his surgery, he walked roached back for quite some time until the pain subsided. He may have something going on with his spine. Again, I don't know anything about some of the food he is getting, but if it appears to be an "adequate diet", that is, other small yearlings are thriving on the same food and amount, then maybe he has some sort of "absorption" of the nutrients problem. I have a poor 2 year old goat that had coccydiosis before I got her and now as a 2 yr old, she is only about the size of a 6 month old goat, her ribs and spine stick out, her skin and hair coat are pitifully thin, and no matter how much or what I feed her, she just does not gain weight. Unfortunately, the only other goat I have, who is her stall mate, has a normal digestive tract and she is getting to be a tub of goo by getting her half of the meals. Does your little guy have healthy, pink colored gums? Compare his gum color to your other minis. If they look paler, he may be anemic and it may be due to an absorbtion problem. I don't know if horses can get coccydiosis, I've never heard of one getting it, but your little guy could have something similar. Sorry that this is so long. I'm just brain-storming and basically saying, while your guy is certainly little even for a miniature, and may have some dwarf characteristics, I wouldn't just chalk up everything you are seeing (skin condition, standing underhimself and roaching up his back) to being a dwarf. Good luck with your little guy. He sure is cute.

 

[SammyL]

[SIZE=10pt]I will say that he is a cute little guy! And it looks like he has a great home.

[/SIZE]

Good luck with him.

I have learned a lot from this thread, thank you for posting...

 

[Mona]

In these latest photos, I really do not see what I saw in the earlier pics. Now he does not look like a dwarf. Still pet quality, but not dwarf. I think if he had a proper fitting halter on, that alone would make a huge difference in the overall appearance. Also, the skinnyness can be a sign of other things. He is in poor condition that maybe is due to some other reason, such as diet or parasites?? Have you wormed for tape worms??

 

[shane]

hi mona, yes ive wormed him for everything i asked rabbitzfizz for a worming routine which im following

i would dearly love to have a feeding plan if anyone would be so kind to reccomend to me?

lynda

 

[jaychupp]

He looked ok in the first top 2 pictures and then after that he took on some dwarf characteristics that I can see.

Exactly what I was thinking. He is cute!

jay chupp