Laney (*filly* 4/10-Tinkerbelle) *New pics pg 187*

[AnnaC]

Oh my, that video is just so cute - he's just so cute, bless him LOL!!

I think the ball must smell 'strange'. Perhaps, not when he's around, you could roll it about in the grass a bit - get it smelling of the green stuff?? Or even rub one of your coats/jumpers over it so it smells of 'friendly' smells LOL!! Bet he will soon get the idea of what he's supposed to do with his new toy though.

I wouldn't push his food too much Megan, he's looking fine at the moment, but yes, I would keep offering a small amount of hay especially to Laney, so that you can slowly increase it as your grass 'fades' for the winter. But looking at the pictures of Ricky, the grass looks great for now and they both have plenty of it to eat.

Sorry I have forgotten where you live - are you likely to lose your grass under mud or snow? If not then I would say that, with the grass that you have plus their feed and a little added hay when necessary, they will be fine. They may need more hay if the weather turns cold or wet and of course they will need it when stabled at nights, but I dont think you need to add any amount of it during the day for now.

 

[Lindi-loo]

Aww bless him so cute the way he pushes it and is amazed it moved..Im sure he will be giving it a good old bash around before too long

 

[Eagle]

Adorable

Another way Megan is to make it smell of you

so sit on it in the field when you play with him and show him how it works. I sat on mine whilst feeding a chopped carrot to Dipinto and after a few minutes he was climbing all over me and the ball

Of course it does depend on character and not all are as obnoxious as my boys (luckily)

If all else fails you will have to buy him a friend

just tell hubby he is lonely and maybe you could shed a tear (that usually works)

 

[a mini dream come true]

Won't be long He'll figure out what to do with it. One of ours has a basket ball she loves to play with. Half flat so she can pick it up and toss it.

 

[MeganH]

Anna- I live in central NC. We do get snow a few times in the winter. The weather has been so mild.. almost in the 70s some days and now it is finally turning cold. Our grass has gotten greener with the mild temps and rain showers. It was dead by this time last year. The horses are enjoying it. They are both eating the recommended amount of feed with a little hay each day and graze about 6 hours in the nice grass.

Laney's paddock is quite dry. Not much at all for her to munch on at night. I feed a small amount of hay with their meals.. should I do anything for Laney in the middle of the night so she has something to munch on?

The ball really does smell strong like rubber. I sat on it yesterday and gave them a few treats.. Ricky still is not playing with it but I think he'll get it with time.

I CAN'T WAIT for Laney's foal! Ricky needs a little friend to get him active and stay happy. He is so calm for a young colt.. you'd think he was already gelded.

My husband is getting super excited. I show him pictures of all the foals on here and he can't wait for Laney to be due. He told me he has done so much work for the horses in the yard and getting them here that he asks ONE thing of me and he thinks he has earned it. He wants to be able to name Laney's foal. LOL I am kind of scared. But I do think he has earned it.

We are plotting how to get out of this house and onto a lot of nice land to get our babies even more friends. That may take some time but we have decided our family is has outgrown this house and our animals deserve more then just an acre. Can't wait for that move!

My daughter has had some chocolate treats the past week so she is up talking quietly in her crib at night as she goes down and several times I have heard her naming our horses one by one and some horses from the farm. It's so sweet

 

[AnnaC]

Megan, if Laney's grass area is drying up then yes I would add some hay for her overnight (presuming she still has access to her grass paddock) If every scrap of hay has gone in the morning, then try adding a little more and see if she finishes that too. I'm not suggesting you put loads of hay out - it is very difficult to judge just how much when we cant actually see what grass is available! Also if the nights are turning cold, then hay is the best thing to keep our little minis warm as digesting hay generates warmth, whereas digesting feed doesn't!!

I'm not suggesting that you let Laney get fat like my girls (

), but you do need to keep a good amount of weight on her. Foaling can take a lot out of a mare and can cause a large amount of weight loss and lack of strength too. Mares, bless them, will usually 'struggle on' in those early days, only interested in providing food for their new baby, regardless of how they are feeling themselves. This is why we have a duty to 'present' our mares at their optimum health and fitness at the point of foaling.

But dont worry Megan, Laney is in good health and you have plenty of time next year to bring her to that 'optimum health' point before she foals.

So you are thinking of moving?? How exciting!! And with the possibility of having more potato chips join your happy family!

(I think we warned you when you first got Ricky that "one would never be enough"!! LOL!!)

 

[MeganH]

I'll explain a little more of how we are set up here. Ricky and Laney both have a small paddock they stay in at night, separate from each other, but sharing a fence line. Ricky's has some grass left in his paddock- Laney's is dry and dead. I also have a large paddock that they are closed off from at night. I feed Ricky and Laney feed and a small amount of hay in the morning and a few hours later open their small paddocks up to the large paddock with lots of grass and they are out grazing for 6-7 hours. In the evening, I put them back in their small paddocks and feed them more feed and hay.

Here is Laney's Paddock



Here is Ricky's Paddock (I am standing in Laney's Paddock taking the picture).



I don't want Laney to be fat. I just want to make sure I am feeding her right and she is healthy. Especially since she is in foal

Sorry for all the questions

We are probably staying around here in NC. My husband is from PA and would love to move back but we think its best to have the kids closer to the family here when they are young. He says he wants LOTS of land to add a few more animals so it's not just me wanting more

 

[Wings]

Never underestimate the power of good hay!

The temperature has dropped a bit where I am (coming into summer

silly Australian weather!) and now my four broodies with the three foals are devouring a whole grass hay bale per day!

In your situation I would be putting them both to bed with a bit of hay for them to munch on, you can increase or decrease the amount as needed.

 

[lucky lodge]

loved the video he is so cute..

minis are very hard to feed it took me a while to work out how

much to feed but it looks like your doing fine..but i would be feeding i vitimin to laney,s feed ..refresh me

on what you are feeding laney...

 

[MeganH]

Laney is on Omolene 300 (16% protein- same feed as Ricky) and she's getting 1lb a day.

 

[lucky lodge]

sounds perfect

 

[MeganH]

Yay!

 

[jessj]

I love the video of Ricky...he is such a doll! Will you guys be going to any shows in tn next year, or is that far away from you? I would love to meet up with you guys at a show! I have Dawn (who is about 7months old) and Bella (the mare that was a little thin) on omolene 300 as well. The get a little over 1lb a day. I also give alfalfa pellets and boss in the morning and I give them hay in the afternoon so that they can munch on it during the night.

 

[MeganH]

Jess- let me know the dates of any shows you were planning on going to. I would love to meet up! TN is close by so it could definitely happen. That would be fun.

We are looking for a good small trailer for our minis so we don't have to keep borrowing a ride for them.

Ricky still hasn't played with his ball. I go out and sit on it and roll it around a bit with him.. he hasn't caught on just yet. He's such a funny little boy. He is very quick to follow me up INTO the hay shed and goes straight for the treat bucket. He follows if he sees me going in that direction and is right behind me in the shed before I know it.

 

[AnnaC]

Megan, it sounds as though what you are feeding suits them for now, but just feeding 1lb of feed will not give them the full amount of vitamins/minerals they need. Can you get them one of those supplement licks (either get them one each to put in their nighttime shelters or just get one that they can share out in the day paddock they share) A stud one would be find as it wil suit Ricky as well as Laney, because he is still a growing weanling.

 

[MeganH]

Megan, it sounds as though what you are feeding suits them for now, but just feeding 1lb of feed will not give them the full amount of vitamins/minerals they need. Can you get them one of those supplement licks (either get them one each to put in their nighttime shelters or just get one that they can share out in the day paddock they share) A stud one would be find as it wil suit Ricky as well as Laney, because he is still a growing weanling.

1 lb is the amount recommended daily on my print out from Purina for Laney and a little over 1lb is recommended for Ricky. I have them 3 separate salt/mineral licks as well which I see them licking daily. Are the salt/mineral blocks the type of supplement you are talking about?

 

[lucky lodge]

i was feed my girls

2 cups of horse and weanlings pellets

1 cup of studmaster pellets

ice cream container 2ltr of chaff

dolimite which is calicuim- t spoon

vitiams- t spoon and filled there normal size bucket up with hay

oh and lots of carrots

and thay did fine

just remember you dont wont your broody to fat

 

[AnnaC]

Sorry Megan - I have no idea about the feed you are using and over here in the UK most of our well known brands require much larger amounts to be fed before you can guarentee that the horse is getting the full amount of vits/minerals required! So it sounds as though you two are getting all they need from what you are giving them.

Yes your salt/mineral licks are fine, but maybe you could keep an eye out for one that is specially for pregnant mares as Laney gets closer to foaling?

 

[MeganH]

There is a huge difference in the different feeds and the amounts they recommend! I couldn't believe but the feed I was feeding Ricky before he needed a little over 2 lbs.. and the feed I looked at for Laney was saying 5 lbs a day! It is much less on the Omolene 300! No need to apologize!

I haven't seen any salt/mineral licks for pregnant mares.. I need to look for them. Laney licks hers through out the day. Its time for a new one soon.

Thanks everyone!

 

[jessj]

The shows in tn that we are going to are both in Shelbyville,Tn. The first one is April 27-29th. The second one is June 1-3...I am hoping to make it to this one, but my baby is due July 17th! We will have to see how swollen my feet are by then! I have someone who wants to help me at shows...so maybe it will be manageable!

On the horsetrailer issue.....I HATE pulling a horse trailer for long distances...i cant see what they are up to in there. When we are going several hours away we use my dad's work van! He has it fixed so that we can either use two pieces of plywood and two clamps to make a stall for one horse, or we can slide dividers in and make it up to a three horse slant! I LOVE it! They are right there where I can see them the whole time. It is his old work van and it has a rubber matt on the floor...we put shavings down so it doesnt hurt if they poop...we can just pick it up along the way and then we wash the matts when we get home(he wont let me use his new work van tho!) AND it is much cheaper on gas than pulling a trailer! The down side...all white work vans look exactly alike. The last time we went to pick up a horse we stopped to eat on the way. I walked right out of the restaraunt, got into a van, put on my seat belt, looked over at the driver's seat to see what my dad was doing and realized that he was in the next van over!!! I had gotten into the wrong van...LOL!!!