New member, new to minis & surprise mini foal!

[Andaloosa]

Hello, my name is Robin and I live near Austin, TX. I've had horses for almost 30 years and in February (2012) found a mini mare I couldn't say no to. I mainly got her as something small for my 2 & 4 year old daughters to learn on, but she also drove and came with her cart & harness, so we'd never grow out of her - or at least if they did, I could still use her. Her name is Foxy and she's an 11 year old registered (AMHR) Type B. She's my first mini ever and she's an awesome little lady.

When I got her, she was slightly overweight (not just her barrel, but her thighs and tail head too), so I made sure to feed her no more hay than what she was getting and no grain. She was looking good and then started to get too thin a long her topline - and then her butt was sinking in and I was feeling really bad and embarrased to say I had caused this. Thing is, her udder was getting bigger. Hmm...

The people I bought her from told me she hadn't been exposed to a stallion the entire time they owned her (since May 2011), so I started thinking false pregnancy? I called my vet and he was conserned it was a metabolic issue or mastitis. He came out to my house Friday, March 11th and as he got out of his truck, he said, "That mare's pregnant!" I made him feel what I was pretty sure was movement, along her side and he confirmed that what I thought I felt 2 days prior, was indeed a foal.

Walla, the foal was born next morning! In between my checks through the night, no less. He was much bigger than I expected. The vet came out later to check on him and said, "That's the biggest mini baby I've ever seen!"

I've been getting most of my questions answered by searching this forum, but I thought I'd introduce myself and share my story (and baby pictures).

Please, when looking at the photos, look past the lack of weight on Foxy. It kills me that she got so skinny, but I know now why and am working on getting her body in better condition.

After 2 weeks of my husband and I not agreeing on a name, we ended up naming him Curio. Unfortunately, since Foxy's papers were never transfered to her new owners after the 1st two, finding the colt's sire has been a dead end. I did contact the last guy listed on the papers so I could get her transferred to my name and he said he sold her to a horse dealer that kept mares and stallions together, so there would be no way to know which one might have bred her - even if that was where she had been bred.

Thanks for reading. Kind comments & constructive criticism welcome!

Robin

 

[wildoak]

Robin, congratulations on your new foal!

Unfortunate that papers were lost on the mare, but still lots you can do with them even unpapered. Which side of Austin are you? We are between Georgetown & Hutto, would love to have you out to visit. PM me or you can email at [email protected] , don't hesitate to call if I can help you with anything.

Jan

 

[Carolyn R]

Welcome to the forum, and I guess congratulations are in order! He is huge, guessing sire was big, as in taller taller mini or a Shetland. Sounds like you have a great base knowledge of horses, nice to see she ended up in your hands, ESP. Given that she was in foal.

 

[Al B]

Congratulations. Remember he doesn't have to be registered to be an ADS driving horse. And, big (up to 39") is good. Ditto what Wildoak said. We are just at the other end of 290 (Cypress, TX)

 

[ohmt]

So glad you have given your mare such a wonderful home. CONGRATS on the new little one!

 

[HGFarm]

Glad you were at least get hold of the mares last legal owners to get her papers transfered and what a shame about the baby and not knowing who the father is- and what an IDIOT for the guy to keep all the stallions and mares together. What if he ended up with a mare that should not be bred due to health reasons?!

Enjoy your new baby- perhaps he will make a cute driving gelding in his future?

 

[Kaitlyn]

What a cutie! It sounds like the horses are in good hands with you. Try not to beat yourself up too much about the mare's weight- we had the same thing happen over here with a dog (adopted her, thought she was looking a bit too chubby, started cutting back her food, then realized: puppies). It wasn't on purpose and I'm sure you'll be getting her back into shape in no time.

 

[Andaloosa]

Thanks to everyone for the welcoming responses. I will get some current pictures up as soon as possible. The colt hasn't changed much in looks (though I did introduce him to clippers and give him a little 'bridle' path), but Foxy sure has. She's still ribby, but is filling out. I'm backing off her food a little because I don't want to get into a see-saw with her weight.

To the locals - I'm in Lago Vista and would also welcome some mini-knowledgable people to visit. You can reach me best via [email protected]

I am hoping to make him into a nice driving gelding. I think he's going to be pretty flashy with his flaxen/silver? mane & tail. I'm curious to see what color he sheds out to be. What age do they loose the baby fuzz?

Both he and his mom seem to have the 'Appy eye', which is cool because my mom used to raise Appaloosa sport horses. In fact the last baby I raised & trained from birth was my appy/Andalusian. That was more than 20 years ago *gulp* I'm definitely having to remember what I'm supposed to do with a baby. Right now, I'm mainly handling, brushing, touching all over & picking up feet. Yesterday I had my husband lead Foxy while I 'lead' Curio for the first time. He did pretty well. I can tell he's stubborn, but smart too.

To Wildoak: I have Foxy's papers. The lady I bought her from never transferred them to her name, nor did apparently the person before her. I contacted the AMHR and gave them the last name that is listed on her papers and they provided me with a street address. Google being everyone's friend, I found a number.

I'm hoping to get her papers and transfer paperwork sent off this week. Looking forward to having at least one loop closed.

Thanks again everyone!

Robin

 

[Mona]

Welcome to the forum, to minis, and congrats on the new foal! Sounds like you've got great plans for them! I do not see appy in either of them...look totally non-appy to me. As to their color, silver bay for both. I think Mom will remain much darker than the colt. He should shed out fairly decent at about 4 months of age.

 

[tagalong]

Congratulations on your new colt! As Mona said, he is going to be a silver bay like his mom!

 

[Tremor]

Congrats on your foal!

If you dont' mind may I lend a suggestion on feed for your mare? I had a mare who looked a lot like your mare. I started feeding her Omelene 300 (has 16% protein for the foal and what she needs) before she was due and by the time she foals she was up to weight again.

July 2010:

September 2010:

October 2011:

This is just my experience with an underweight broodmare. I would highly suggest to any mare owner to feed a Mare/Foal feed. This mare is now on Purina's Mini horse feed, which is a 12% feed and she is doing awesome. You can get both feeds (Omelene 300 & Mini Horse & Pony Feed) at most any Purina dealer. You may have to special order though.

In my opinion there is no reason for a broodmare to be ribby and have the spine exposed. A healthy broodmare should have a healthy topline. The OP, you are not at fault. I am saying this only because I have heard a lot of uneducated horse owners argue that its okay for a broodmare to be skinny. In my opinion it means that she is providing her all for the care of that foal and she should not have to.

Good luck with your foal! ALL LEGS! *gasps*

 

[targetsmom]

Congrats on you new minis and welcome to the forum. I once bought a mare that I didn't know was pregnant and when she foaled she looked a lot "ribbier" than yours but gained the weight back just fine. Looks like you may end up with 2 equines you can use for ADS driving, since they don't need to be registered and they take all sizes.

 

[wingnut]

They're both lovely! Congrats and a big welcome from northern Maryland!

 

[Andaloosa]

Silver Bay! So THAT'S what that color is! When my vet asked me, I felt like such a dolt when I said, "umm... Brown?" now I can sound much more edjamacated.

Thanks for the recommendation on feed. I agree, brood mares shouldn't have to loose body condition just to provide for their foal.

I forgot to mention that I also own a 20 yo 16.2HH thoroughbred and a 6 yo 16HH Standardbred/Draft. That is who the big horse is in the picture with the colt. She used to be an Amish buggy horse and i bought her right before she turned 5. When I bought her, that's how I got into driving. I wanted a way to share my love of horses with my daughters and my non-horsey husband. He enjoys going for buggy rides, but he has told me more than once that it would be fine with him if we only bought minis from now on. I think it helps that Foxy is so well behaved and Curio is so darn cute!

Robin

 

[vickie gee]

Congratulations and your surprise foal and welcome to the forum!

 

[AnnaC]

Hi and welcome to LB! I'm so glad Foxy found you, she's a lucky girl and I'm sure you will soon have her back in condition again.

I love your new little colt - he's going to make a great driving interest for the family!

 

[Equuisize]

Welcome to the Forum and you just might find, like your husband that minis are just fine ...

Many of us start out in big horses and keep graduating down in size - one big guy at a time.

There is something about these little ones that grabs your heart.

That's a darling little guy that she surprised you with. You'll all have lots of fun watching him grow.

Congratulations.

 

[Andaloosa]

Thanks again for all the kind posts.

Here's a question for the drivers - when is a good time to start driving momma again? Do you wait until you start weaning and leave baby home or do you bring baby with?

Thanks,

Robin

 

[Tony]

Congratulations on your foal and welcome to the wonderful world of minis. I am your neighbor just south of Austin in Buda. We would love to have you come out sometime, too. We have almost 200 head.

 

[Jill]

Welcome to LB and congrats on your baby.

The only reason to want papers is if you want to go to registry shows, or if you want to breed registered horses. Sooooooooo many fun and rewarding things to do with minis and ponies that require no papers at all.