Little Miss... expecting?

[lkblazin]

Im in the same boat. Hopefully she is pregnant and will give you a beautiful baby next summer. good luck on the journey

 

The pictures are great, and we're all crossing our fingers that she's pregnant and we'll have another one to watch!!!

 

[Dragonfly Stables]

Since I know y'all are such fans of pictures of the little ones, I'll attach some of Little Miss "working", and of our new little colt Remi... would love to get some opinions on Remi's condition... he looks like he's about to drop a foal any time... wondering if he needs more protein in his diet.. or just less feed altogether... just going into winter I'd rather see them with more weight than not enough.. just want to do right by the little one...

 

That round belly is a sign of needing more protein in his diet, not less food.

Weanlings require extra protein and I would suggest putting him on Alfalfa hay, and/or adding Alfalfa pellets to his grain. That will give him a good protein boost, and it acts like a tummy soother too, which is great. I think once he gets more protein in his diet, you will see that round tummy start to subside and him start putting on good weight throughout his body. The extra protein is good for bone and muscle growth, and he'll do just fine.

What kind of grain ration are you giving him? He should be on a mare/foal feed during this first year, a full ration, and that with the alfalfa should have him in good stead as we head into winter.

~~Auntie Diane

And those "riding pictures" are just fabulous! Looks like your little one is really enjoying himself!

 

[Dragonfly Stables]

He is currently getting what is called "Atlantic Horse Ration" which is a complete feed, but just the run of the mill stuff... I will go pick up some mare and foal feed tomorrow and get him started right away... we do have "haystretch" pellets which are alfalfa pellets, Little Miss is getting some of those, so will put Remi on them as well. Could you give me some kind of idea on the amount of grain he should be getting? Right now he gets about 1 cup of the Atlantic Horse twice a day, and all the hay he can get, the hay he gets in the paddock is just 1st cut grass, so not great quality, he gets the better 2nd cut hay at night when he comes in for the night, about a flake, and he never finishes it.

Would it be alright to switch Missy over to the mare and foal this early in her pregnancy as well, or should I hold off a few more months? She could really stand to gain weight herself if I'm not mistaken. Hate to buy so many different feeds with just the two mini's here as it takes forever to get through a bag!

 

[chandab]

How big is Remi? How old? ANd, when you get the mare/foal feed, what do the directions say for how much to feed a horse his age? [They very well might just say feed a weanling 5#, if that is the case you'll have to feed less to accommodate the fact he's a miniature. I have B-size minis so usually feed 1/3 what directions say when they just give a total amount. If you have a smaller mini, then 1/4 the amount will likely be fine. Many have instructions per 100# bodyweight, so his weight will need to be figured.]

To make it easier for you, once your current bag of feed is gone; yes, Missy can have the mare/foal feed, just a reduced amount compared to what she'll get further along in pregnancy and into lactation.

 

I agree that they both could be on the mare/foal feed, so you only have one feed. Sometimes by looking at them it's hard to tell about weight, but use your hands and feel them through the fluff. You don't want them to be "ribby" or boney, and gaining some extra weight in winter will not hurt them. Easier to take off a few pounds in the spring, than have them too thin during the cold times.

With a weanling, I always did creep feeding, which means keeping food in front of them so they could nibble whenever they were hungry. I think you can safely double his one cup twice a day, and it would be closer to the ration he'll need for good growth. I generally fed the weanlings between 4-6 cups at a time, twice a day, so try doubling his ration, adding the alfalfa pellets and see how he looks in a couple of weeks. I think you'll see an improvement.

 

[Dragonfly Stables]

I would LOVE to be able to "creep feed" him but unfortunately he is turned out with Missy 90 percent of the time (they're only "in" to eat and then back out together unless it's super bad weather... I like to keep them out and moving as much as possible. Missy would find a way to get every last bit of feed if I tried that in her turnout (LOL) and while I think she could stand to gain SOME weight, she would balloon like nothing else if she had access to free choice grain.

I did go and pick up some Mare and Foal feed, and it's a 16% (protein). So you figure he should be on about 2 cups AM and PM? It says on the label "Weanling: 1kg per 100 kg of weight"... I have no idea what Remi weighs, may have to pick up a weight tape... thought I had one somewhere in the barn, but of course, I cannot locate it now when I need it.

So right now I have Little Miss on Beet Pulp, Haystretch (alfalfa pellets) and Atlantic Horse Ration AM and PM, and Remi was just on the Atlantic Horse Ration AM and PM... so I'll start switching Rem over to the Mare and Foal tonight, add some Haystretch (is 1 cup ok on top of his 2 cups Mare and Foal?) and then when the Atlantic Horse Ration is gone, Miss will go on to the Mare and Foal as well. Does that sound alright to you guys?

I knew by looking at Rem that something wasn't quite right.. he came to me looking like this at about 4 months old (I know, quite young to be weaned... this is what that farm does with ALL it's babies every year), and he is now about 6 months I believe, I'll have to look at my notes to figure out his actual DOB. I'm not sure how tall he is, but Missy is 34" if that gives you any idea in the pics he is standing by her.

Any other concerns or questions PLEASE don't hesitate to ask... I haven't raised a weanling before, so it's new ground to me. Hopefully see a big difference in a few weeks/month's time! Thank you so much for the help!

 

[AnnaC]

I think 3 cups of any feed in one meal is a bit much for a baby to manage. Can you fill your cup with the mare and foal feed and then weigh the amount the cup is holding (not including the cup of course!) as this would give you an idea of the actual amount he would be/is getting. I would aim to give him 1/2 kg of the mare and foal for now (thinking of him at possibly around the 50kg mark in weight) and although your Haystretch (sorry never heard of them) pellets contain the Alfalfa, I would reduce them if the whole feed looks a bit 'large'. Glad he is getting soft hay at nights as harder hay does tend to 'extend' bellies as minis struggle to digest it.

Good luck and do let us know how things progress.

 

[Dragonfly Stables]

Just updating with Miss's November pics... I think there's been some progress in the pics from the back.. still can't really tell from the side shots but.. here they are! And of course some of little Mr. Remi showing just how terrible he looks so in a month or so I can update with some hopefully far nicer pics of him!

 

[Dragonfly Stables]

I went ahead and ordered one of the WeeFoal tests, so hoping that gets here in the next week so I will know for sure... looking back on dates, Miss went to the stud on May 29th, and the stud covered her the 30th for the first time and then they were together until June 15th or so and he covered her multiple times until she started refusing to stand for him. I will update when the test comes in, and hoping I can figure out how to get a sample from her.. hmmm...

 

[chandab]

There are suggestions on how to get that sample here in the archives somewhere, but not sure where or how easy it would be to use the search feature to find that out.

 

[Dragonfly Stables]

Still waiting on the WeeFoal test to get here (darned mail is SLOW!)... but here are a few pics of Miss and Remi I took today. I really see a difference in the way Missy looks.. I'm quite sure she is bred, here's hoping!

Please excuse their pasture condition... they were just pulled in out of the weather and stalled so they're both a little scruffy, but that's how they like it! Hah

 

Could you look back at the pictures you provided us on the previous page, and give us a couple of her down at her level, so we can do some comparisons and tell you what we think, please? This angle is so hard to see changes from, that the good pictures you posted before would help us see changes, if we had "like" pictures to compare them to.

Thanks, and keeping our fingers crossed for you!!

 

[Dragonfly Stables]

Well I did the WeeFoal test on her and it came back negative/inconclusive. I emailed the woman I bought it from with a picture and she said it looked to her like a positive right on the verge of the 120 days, however, that isn't possible as she would be 6 months along, so I'm not sure what to think. I think I wasted my money is what I think! LOL.

I will get updated pics today at the proper height and see what y'all think about this. THanks!