mini horses as pets in cities

[Josh Kennedy]

Is it just me, or do the local news outlets, newspapers, local broadcast TV channels such as your local nbc or fox channel, whenever they show animals needing rescued, it is always dogs or cats. Cities have parks and bike trails, so why don't these news outlets promote people having small, 80 to 150 or so pound, housebroken miniature horses as pets, as long as you have a fenced in yard in a city? If we could have horses in cities in the 1700s, 1800s and even early 1900s, why not today? It bothers me that dogs and cats are so heavily promoted as your only choice when it comes to pets, while others such as small mini horses are left out.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I agree. A resident can have 5-6 dogs in a back yard but not a miniature horse. Horse are "livestock". Hens are becoming allowed again in my town. I think families would get into 4H more if they were allowed to keep a goat or lamb in the city limits, too. I'd rather live next door to a lamb than 5 dogs.

 

[HersheyMint]

Is it just me, or do the local news outlets, newspapers, local broadcast TV channels such as your local nbc or fox channel, whenever they show animals needing rescued, it is always dogs or cats. Cities have parks and bike trails, so why don't these news outlets promote people having small, 80 to 150 or so pound, housebroken miniature horses as pets, as long as you have a fenced in yard in a city? If we could have horses in cities in the 1700s, 1800s and even early 1900s, why not today? It bothers me that dogs and cats are so heavily promoted as your only choice when it comes to pets, while others such as small mini horses are left out.

Oh, Josh, I don't think that would be good. I see how people discard their cats and dogs as it is. Our shelters are full, which leads to euthanasia. Pets are abandon on the streets and in the deserts. People are not educated to have horses. Horses take more room, care and money than cats or dogs. Dwarfs minis need so much more veterinarian care. People think they are so cute and have to have one. I hate to think how many would try and ride them. When they realize how much is involved the infatuation wears off and then they are neglected. With the price of feed, horse rescues are stretched. Making sure it is a reputable rescue with proper care is another issue that doesn't cut corners. There are a lot of good people out there trying to keep up with all the neglected horses as it and it's not enough.
I wish everyone had your passion about minis but they don't. I mean no disrespect towards you. I'm all about the best for the horses.

 

[Josh Kennedy]

ok then, so how can we organize and make this happen? Horses should not be outcasts living only on farms in rural areas. We have to organize, educate, and bring them back into cities--and yes they can be housebroken.

 

[LostandFound]

I agree with HersheyMint. Besides that, the trouble of getting and storing hay in a city, manure disposal, having access to livestock vets, and mini horses getting loose in heavy traffic. Most (not all) minis that small are dwarves and come with their own set of health problems. Horses can be difficult to handle and need competent and skilled people to work with them. They are bigger and can get dangerous much more easily than a cat or dog. Horses are herd animals and do better with another horse. Now you have 2 in your apartment and they have the zoomies. House broken is not the only issue.
That being said, the zoning laws vary from place to place, and I had a mini horse living in a small town. The neighbors loved him, he went trick or treating, and he would go into stores and amaze people by eating everything from pizza to sour patch kids.

 

[Josh Kennedy]

If the mini horses are trained to the level that a guide animal is trained, that will solve a lot of those issues. And it is more expensive, but feeding a mini horse in a city, using either compressed hay bails or hay cubes could be a solution for hay storage. Also, horse manure is more environmentally friendly and breaks down faster than dog waste and cat waste too I would guess.

 

[Cayuse]

Horses, even minis, need room to run and exercise. I can't see that happening in the city. Plus the feed storage and manure removal would be difficult. My mini produces a LOT of manure in 24 hours.
Knowing human nature, I can see someone getting a "city mini" and tossing it aside once the novelty wears off and the work sets it.

 

[Josh Kennedy]

yes, lots of people do that with dogs and cats unfortunately. There's lots of stray cats around here, even in my small town, especially at night.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Gosh, I was thinking more along the lines of my small rural town. Some smaller towns around allow "livestock" and I have not seen an issue with it. Our town of 3,000 tries to be more upscale than it really is. I saw a potbelly pig in one yard, which seemed to be having no trouble, but the law made that owner get rid of it. Some people had a duck in their yard along with a lovely pond. However, the duck was stolen. If the law can enforce multiple dog restrictions it seems they could easily do the same for a small "livestock" animal. We don't have any high traffic areas. Residents have gone to the city council to try and change the law but the most result they got was permission to have hens.

 

[Josh Kennedy]

Maybe if the residents of your town complain on facebook and social media you can get the law changed easier?

 

[JuliaM]

Is it just me, or do the local news outlets, newspapers, local broadcast TV channels such as your local nbc or fox channel, whenever they show animals needing rescued, it is always dogs or cats. Cities have parks and bike trails, so why don't these news outlets promote people having small, 80 to 150 or so pound, housebroken miniature horses as pets, as long as you have a fenced in yard in a city? If we could have horses in cities in the 1700s, 1800s and even early 1900s, why not today? It bothers me that dogs and cats are so heavily promoted as your only choice when it comes to pets, while others such as small mini horses are left out.

This guy keeps his two minis at home & takes them all over https://horse-canada.com/horse-news/barrie-mans-mini-inheritance/

 

[MaryFlora]

In previous centuries, everyone was exposed to horses, of all sizes, because they were transportation. There was a broader understanding of how to behave around horses, what they needed and how to responsibly move through streets and cities.

Today is so different though some areas come close. Kelly in Texas has some great photos of life in her area with horses.

I’m also in agreement with above posts as to what is best for the equine, and ‘best’ is very subjective!

 

[LostandFound]

And they had a healthy respect and maybe a little fear of horses. Now people don't have that horse sense. I tell them stop playing with the colt's nose a hundred times and they think I'm a mean jerk. Then they get bit and I have to kick them out. People that want them find ways. Just like the pot belly pig people. Come to think of it you can get free pot belly pigs all day long because people thought it was a great idea then realized they need some skilled training. But most people don't have $5000 -$10000 to spend on a fully trained service horse, which helps stop people breeding dwarves non stop so people can have house horses.

 

[Josh Kennedy]

And the k-12 public schools don't help matters. They seem to only focus or be hyper-focused on academics and academic achievement, and many people don't even train their dogs and cats, treating them like a living stuffed animal that you can just discard when and where you want. I think if more people were educated about horses, knew how to behave around them, care for them, etcetera, and if people had more of them, the price would come down. Well then, maybe I just have to keep using social media to spread the word about mini horses as much as I can.