New and investigating

[Foxhaven]

Hi all, stumbled on this forum via Google in the course of doing research on miniature horses. We live in the Colorado mountains on horse property (2+ acres), and currently breed and show Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers for conformation, therapy and companion animals. We both have a soft spot for equines but a full size horse or two just seemed to be biting off more than we could chew.

However, minis as companions, maybe conformation, therapy, and possibly driving animals seem to be a great deal more manageable and an extension of what we already are learning with dogs (one NEVER stops learning). Given our experience in whelping purebred dogs, we are also looking into the challenges with possibly foaling quality minis from time to time but that is down the road and only a maybe. I (Bill) spent my childhood on a Kentucky Thoroughbred breeding farm as well, so I both have some idea of what is involved as well as have some prejudices of what I like in phenotype, as you might imagine. We are struck by some of the minis we have seen on the web - beautiful light boned, lean structure in a horse phenotype.

An area of curiosity is about any learning or mentoring that might be available in the miniature horse world in terms of handling, training, and showing - we have been blessed in both the receiving and giving of mentorship in the purebred dog world and would hope that something like this exists in the mini equine world as well. My focus is more, training a new trainer rather than sending the horse off to be trained. We love hands on working with animals. I (Bill) am thinking about the enjoyment of driving, while Lise is a teacher working with at-risk kids. She uses her dogs in the classroom and they truly make a difference - a horse in the classroom might be... um... 'amusing'... but not sure the principal would see the humor or not ;-). There are ways to make the connection though, and these kids need connection - as do elders in our community.

Is there actual certification as therapy horses similar to what is available for canines? I would think this would be important for liability reasons.

Thoughts about health insurance for horses? What have been your experiences and with which companies?

Another concern we would have, given where we live, is vulnerability to mountain lions. Our dogs are well protected in fully enclosed runs but obviously horses would require something more. Currently we are thinking 8' field fencing with outward-angled barbed wire on the top would be a good plan, and of course, NEVER leaving the horses out past dusk. Maybe that is overkill? But coming home to the aftermath of a lion would be a devastation we do NOT want to experience.

We are sure our questions are only the beginning of many more.

 

[Riverrose28]

Welcome from Southern Maryland, sorry I can't really answer your questions, but pleas be advised, minis are addicting!

 

[chandab]

Welcome, you've come to the right place for pretty much everything mini equine. There is a search feature in the upper right had corner area, and plenty of informaiton to be found via that search box.

I can't remember who off the top of my head, but someone on the forum lives in Mtn Lion country, and has built a safe enclosure for their minis with like 8' fences with electric and possibly barbed-wire on top like you mention.

 

[Riverrose28]

Come to think of it, on the subject of insurence, yes you can buy equine ins. and we have commercial farm ins., also when we do events, such as parades, or demos we make sure that the organization has ins as well. We also have an umbrella policy.

 

[Foxhaven]

Very interesting... had not seen this before:

http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?showtopic=127536&hl=%20mountain%20%20lion&st=0

I think I may have just saved a BUNCH of money and come up with a safer option for the horses as well. Polytape/polyrope. Who'd a thunk it. Thinking maybe tall T-posts and insulators might create as much lion resistance as the 8' tall field fence option with a good deal less danger to the horses.

What can I say, I grew up with four rail wood fencing. That won't work up here.

 

[Lewella]

Kim Seipp is a Judge, Steward and trainer in Colorado. She's very good at working with new exhibitors. Kim's website is http://www.highplainstrainingcenter.com/

 

[Riverrose28]

Bill, we have electric tape here, but then no mountain lions. We do have coyotes and running dogs so we use four strands with one being low to the ground. Beware though that some horses will go right through it. Most of mine respect it, but we once had a mare that would run right through it. I sold her. AS for foaling, we use close mesh farm fencing, as I don't want them getting under the electric tape. We have had it for years, when we first bought this farm it was a cattle farm and all that was here was barb wire, a big no no. We put up four board wood fencing with an electric wire at the top. The wood rotted, or the posts, whichever. We switched to the tape about 15 years ago and I love it, with the exception of with the foals. Horses will always find a way to hurt themselves so be carful with the babies.

 

[Foxhaven]

Horses will always find a way to hurt themselves so be carful with the babies.

Don't I know it. Nobody is as 'keerful'** about fencing and injuries as someone raising Thoroughbreds. My dad and stepmom were religious about such things. I 'got religion' from them.

**Keerful: noun, 'KEER-fuhl', exceptionally cautious, as in, "Keerful is a nekkid man climbin' a bob war fence"

 

[Lil Eowyn]

Welcome from MN. Merry Christmas =)

 

[wildoak]

Welcome from Texas to the most informative mini horse forum on the net.

A friend here in central Texas lost a little mare to a mountain lion attack some years ago... absolutely not something to trifle with. We have not had an issue in our area but imagine folks in your neck of the woods can advise. We also have a couple of Pyrenees cross LGDs that are a pretty effective deterrent to predators.

Jan

 

[targetsmom]

Welcome from CT! We may or may not have mountain lions here, as that is a huge topic of debate, yet I and many people I know are pretty sure we have seen them. We do have coyotes and bears and just "normal" 4' wire mesh fencing with no electrical. But we also have a nursery nearby that brings in hunters several times a week for target practice and to keep deer away from the plantings and that may help. We have seen more bears than deer in our densely populated neighborhood!!

In terms of therapy, check out the Delta Society, but most people I know just "do it". We always thought you needed certification or something but we started a 4-H Club last year and needed to do a community service project. We looked into visiting a local nursing home and they were thrilled to have us and our two carefully selected minis. It does take a special mini to walk carefully between cramped rows of wheelchairs and have lots of hands on them, walk into buildings and down carpeted hallways, but our two were just great. They were even rock solid when the train went by, which I sure wasn't expecting! There are public photos on FB at https://www.facebook...58077660&type=3

ETA: Our farm carries its own liability insurance for things such as this plus the 4-H offers some coverage.

 

[Hosscrazy]

Welcome from sunny Southern California!!!

Liz N.

 

[REO]

Welcome!!!

You've come to the right place to learn about minis! Great fencing and a Anatolian or Great Pyr would help keep the critters at bay.

There's so many wonderful things you can do with mini horses! The love they give back is beyond measure.

 

[little lady]

Hello and welcome from So. Illinois!

Sounds like you are doing your homework and that is great. I love your ideas for the miniatures. The epople I bought my first mini from used her for school visits. I have heard of people using them for reading programs for school children. I know they are used for nursing home visits also and if you surf the web you can find nuerous other things they are used for. Where we live coyotes(but peple have also been seeing Bobcats) are our biggest threat and we have 5 foot woven wire fencing and ahve never had a predator problem. The others that have posted that a LGD is helpful I think I would have to agree another option may be a donkey. The bigger problem (for us)is the miniatures rubbing on the fence and stretching it all out of shape. I would suggest running electric around the middle to deter that.(On my to do list)

As far as internship lilbeggingings sale board would be a good place to post and ad asking for anyone looking to provide such a service, also look for a Miniature horse club in your area and network from there.

Best of luck in your miniature horse endeavor! And as always this is a fantastic place to ask any questions...this is place has wonderful people with much knowledge.

LOL...keerful!

 

[wingnut]

I recently visited a farm where they have black bears who regularly visit the farm property. They keep their horses in stalls at night and they also have livestock protection dogs. That might be another consideration to think about.

You can't go wrong with joining the world of minis...best thing I've done besides having my kids

 

[epetrilli]

Hi Bill!

We live in Fort Collins and while I do not get on the forum much anymore(too busy at work) I still come here to get valuable information! We do have a miniature horse club in Colorado and I know that many of us would be happy to help you along the way as well as invite you to join us at some of our local shows and events! You will find that there are several mini people of all levels of owning, showing and breeding here! We even have a couple members who have certified therapy horses and might be able to assist you in getting started with your visit program. If you would like more information please feel free to email me! Also if you are interested we will be having our annual Miniature Equine Village at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo again this year it is March 8-10 at the National Western Stock Complex. Many of our club members as well as a few groups will be there to answer questions, give demonstations and offer horses for sale. It is a fun venue and if you and your wife are available we would love to meet you! We will also have all of our show and clinic schedules for 2013 available at that time (we are still working out all the confimed dates and locations).

As far as Mt Lions, we do have some here in the foothills and have used a variety of methods to deter them. The best we have come by thus far has been electric tape a couple feet outside the perimeter fence and one stallion who wont let them anywhere near the mare pasture;-) But we too bring all our little ones in at dusk-they seem to be happier inside at night and it allows us to keep close tabs on everyone also!!

Good luck with your investigation, I am sure you will come to love the world of miniatures and we look forward to meeting you!

Erin

 

[Tammie-C_Spots]

Welcome!

Others have given you some good information. This is the best online mini horse site to be on

Over the years we have done a bit of everything including many nursing home visits. It is so rewarding to see the joy we brought to the clients!

Driving is a lot of fun! We've done some shows and parades in harness as well as trail driving and enjoyed it very much.

You can get a therapy horse certified although I don't know what group(s) do it. We were not certified.

I've used health insurance for the horses before. All the horses I've leased out have to have insurance to protect both parties. The latest insurer I used is Equisure. I know they have a website. Prices were reasonable. I don't generally insure horses though.

We don't have mountain lion problems around here. Just the occational coyote or fox which are more a danger to my chickens than the horses.

Tammie

 

[Charlotte]

Welcome! to the world of miniatures and to LilBeginnings!

You will find a lot of information here on all of the subjects you mention.

There is a pet therapy organization here in Oklahoma City that has a certification for miniature horses. I can't remember the name right now but will post it here when I find it. I think you can get their horse traing program or testing program from them.

 

[Foxhaven]

I will be sure to visit the RM Horse Expo... Thanks all for the great info!

Well dangit... sure wish this horse buyin' thing was more like buying a refrigerator. A refrigerator is not a matter of the heart (for most folks anyway). ;-)

We visited a couple local ranches over the past weeks, some very very nice horses. At the one we visited this last weekend, I was looking at a mare (who was keen to get back to the herd and really had NO interest in people) and just relishing the quality of people running the ranch. They obviously spend a lot of time working with their horses, and the horses are very well socialized. So I look up and, quite the opposite of the mare I had been walking around, a pinto (not my first choice in color) is leaning over the fence, curious. I went over and introduced myself. Before long, I am leading him around talking with the breeders, messing with his chin, and he is just about falling asleep resting his head in my arm.

This is the same stallion whose video shows him hot, with a high stepping trot, just a beautiful horse by any definition with a neck to the moon and gorgeous footwork. He is around 5 and well experienced, he knows his chops - a good choice for a novice I think. OK, I am suddenly intrigued by pintos. But it just kills me to think of buying a champion (at a fair price for a champion but more than I had budgeted) and turning around and gelding him.

I really think having a stallion at our place would be pretty complicated. It could work with a gelding, but then that goes against my wife's dream to eventually breed and foal... SO complicated. My (dog breeding) instincts scream that he really needs to continue his bloodline! His temperament seems remarkable to me, but I am pretty new to miniatures. Is he unusual in his pliability and affection or is that pretty standard with an experienced horse who has been worked with regularly? It didn't seem standard with the other stallions I've seen at another ranch, but I don't think they experienced the same level of human contact either.

If he were a mare with that high step in the video it would be all over. I really think there is that 'connection' that happens when it isn't exactly clear whether you chose the animal or he/she chose you, that makes it easy to work with an animal, and it seems like that is what happened with that stallion. I may not be giving the mare a fair shake though, because she was REALLY interested in rejoining the herd so she was pretty uninterested in people. She is a very nice mare. Just more aloof.

Maybe I need to spend some more time around the mare. One thing for sure, these breeders would make great mentors (they already did, spending four hours of their Saturday with us).

Thoughts, random or otherwise??

 

[dannigirl]

Hi and welcome to the wonderful world of miniature horses.

I have been taking miniature horses to nursing homes and daycares for over 14 years. Started with my little boy that I carried around in the backseat of my extended cab pickup. I did not get him certified, but did make sure I had liability insurance. He is a gelding and is soon to be 15. He was 3 mos old on his first trip. We have taken many others over the years since him and one thing we do to get them used to different things is take them to the petsmart store. You can bring any animal into the store as long as you have complete control over it and that you attempt to clean up after it. That is a great place for him/her to learn how to behave quietly, get around strange things and walk on the slick tile. I never did put anything on the hooves of my horses when we went to homes. I would take them into petsmart and teach them that when I said "walk careful now" they would walk easy. I also kept their hooves trimmed so they were as solid in their steps as possible. If you choose not to cover their hooves, one thing you need to be sure to watch is for water on the floor. DO NOT LET THEM STEP IN IT!! Another thing they can learn at petsmart is to cross color lines on the floor and trust you not to let them fall into the deep hole that color changes can appear to them.