new mini/horse owner

[justjinx]

Welcome from south central Wisconsin! jennifer

 

[sedeh]

Welcome to the forum and to mini ownership!!

Mini's are still horses. They're herd animals so like companionship. Mine are out in groups in dry lot/pastures most of the time. The only ones that get stuck in the barn are the show minis and when mares are in to foal. Even then they get lots of turnout time. You do have to watch how much grass they get, they can have problems with laminitis and founder. Dry lot areas are wonderful which is what I do mostly. Talk to the people you bought him from and find out what he was used to. Just remember he is a horse and not a lap dog!

Good luck with him.

 

[supaspot]

Hi Mike and a warm welcome from the midlands of Ireland , I just know youre going to love it here !

pics asap please

 

[chandab]

As you've said you've had cows (do you still have them?)... Another big difference; horses can NOT tolerate moldy, musty, dusty hay it'll bring on respiratory problems and colic, so be sure the horse hay is the cleanest you have (no dust, must or mold). [For minis, usually nice clean, not-too-coarse stemmed grass hay with maybe a little alfalfa mixed in (dairy-quality alfalfa would be too rich for a minis, well most horses for that matter). I don't have many choices around here, just crested wheatgrass and brome for grass hay, but if you can get it Timothy and Orchardgrass are good grass hays for minis.]

Edited to add: it really is hard to stop at one... I've had saddle horses for over 20 years, still have two; got into minis in 2005. I bought my first in Jan 2005, my second came a couple months later, numbers three and four that fall, and I think I've bought (or raised) one just about every year since and now I have 10 and want more.

 

[Tab]

Congratulations! If you geld him his temperament should stay very gentle

Minis do well on grass (not dusty or moldy) hay and a few cups of 12% protein equine grain a day. Fresh water and mineral salt. A mini needs to be dewormed every 6-8 weeks. He needs his hooves trimmed every 4-8 weeks. This is going to probably sound stupid and redundant, but the equine digestive system is very different than cattle. You can kill a horse by feeding him anything fermented or too high in protein (haylage/silage and corn are out!). Their digestive system is much more delicate than cattle. I suggest getting a book on vet care and minis and just be careful about their feed.

Minis are wonderful. I've cared for just about every type of animal out there (except for pigs and llamas) and horses are easily my favorite

Most are just so curious, loving, and willing to please!

PS I don't have time to read replies, sorry if any of this has already been said!

 

[wingnut]

I'm married to a former farmer myself (no dairy, just crops). He was just like you when it came to his thoughts on horses. So you can imagine my complete shock when HE was the one who first brought up the idea of bringing a miniature horse home!

That was February 2009. We brought our first girl home (10 months) in April 2009. Our 11 yr old mare came home in May 2009. Our first weanling filly (you have weanling colt) came home in August 2009 and our second weanling filly in October 2009.

We're out of stall space so we're done for the time being.

I learned everything of use and importance on these boards!! If your intention is to do take the best possible care of your new guy, then you'll receive insanely amazing support here!

It could (should?) be 3-5 years before your guy is ready to be ridden reliably by a young child. By then your daughter will be 6 or 7? The timeline may not work out so well there. Keep that in mind as you move forward. Do you have any ideas on how large he will be? What were his dam's or sire's measurements? I'm not an expert but I know I wouldn't put a child whose feet dangle below the horses belly on its back.

Be warned, feeding is probably the hardest part for us utterly green newbies at horse ownership. There are dozens and dozens of different opinions on the subject! And you have the added issue of these guys being small so it's easy to find yourself on one extreme or the other (too much food, not enough food).

Find a good vet. Find a good farrier. Read, read, research, research, and read some more.

My husband loves our girls and gets tickled by them as much as anyone in our house. They are amazing little creatures. Far surpassing anything I ever imagined.

P.S. I only stall the youngest 3 of our 4 when the weather is just awful. While snowing is a no brainer. Rain is another matter. During the summer, I didn't push to do it as often but as the weather cools, we keep our oldest girl stalled. She'll stay out in the weather and get chilled. Its simply easier to keep her inside and dry. We're having a really cool wet day today here in Maryland, so she's stalled. The other three have access to the other stall (right next to the other one) and will likely spend their day huddled together napping and eating hay. During our multiple blizzards last year, they spent days stalled together, until the storms were over and we could clear out the paddock.

 

[m-mini]

Here is a couple more questions, since horses are so different then my cattle.

1. Do I need a hay net?

2. Do I put feed in container and put it on ground or should I raise it up, so he does not have to bend over so far??

3. how about snacks? apples, carrots, ?????

 

[wingnut]

Here is a couple more questions, since horses are so different then my cattle.

1. Do I need a hay net?

2. Do I put feed in container and put it on ground or should I raise it up, so he does not have to bend over so far??

3. how about snacks? apples, carrots, ?????

Me again!

We tried hay nets but quickly learned that its too easy for them to potentially get "caught up" in them, posing a risk for injury. We bought two metal/iron traditional hay corner racks and hung them lower than you would for a normal horse. Some here use "hay snackers" which is a special feed bag with small opening that the horses (even large ones) have to work at to get the hay out. I can't remember the actual name though or what link to use to find them.

We also use buckets on bucket hooks. 3 of our four are aggressive eaters and will dump their buckets every time if given a chance. Hanging them helps minimize this.

Snacks are fun but you need to keep in mind the idea of an overall daily caloric intake. Kept in check, snacking is not a bad thing. Constant over-snacking can become a problem.

 

[chandab]

Here is a couple more questions, since horses are so different then my cattle.

1. Do I need a hay net?

2. Do I put feed in container and put it on ground or should I raise it up, so he does not have to bend over so far??

3. how about snacks? apples, carrots, ?????

One thing to mention, horses seem to live by "Murphy's Law", if something can go wrong, often it will, so...

1. No, you don't need a hay net, and as the holes are rather large on most hay nets, a mini could potentially get a hoof hung up and hurt itself, so I'd probably pass on the hay net. [i've made a couple feed bunks for my minis out of 1x6s and 2x4s, just a ground level box essentially, it works decently, although, they do tend to toss the hay out to eat the leaves and small stuff that fall to the bottom. And, I also used a small cracked water tub for hay, Misty likes to stand in it while she eats.]

2. Just feed grain at ground level out of one of those nice feed pans (either the rubber or plastic work, the no-tip variety are nice, the kind I get are called "low pan", they are supposed to be no tip, but I have a couple that can tip them). Like this one at Horse.com http://www.horse.com/item/fortiflex-low-pan-3-gallon-black/SLT901472/

3. As most minis are easy keepers, keep snacks to a minimum, but apples and carrots are both acceptable treats (sometimes they are an acquired taste), you'll have to cut up the apple and the carrot (unless you get the mini carrots, but even then you might want to cut in half length-wise).

 

[m-mini]

Heres a question.. How the heck did horse's live in the wild???? It seems if the wind blows the wrong way, they get sick. Just asking??

 

[chandab]

Heres a question.. How the heck did horse's live in the wild???? It seems if the wind blows the wrong way, they get sick. Just asking??

Many domestic horses probably wounldn't do well out in the wild, especially minis, however most do just fine.

Horses evolved as trickle feeders to be constantly on the move eating small amounts (of plain prairie grasses and browse) throughout the whole day, then along comes man and domesticates them, throws them in a small paddock/pen or pasture and feeds them 2-3 larger meals a day (grain, high quality hay, high quality grass, etc); domesticated horses haven't evolved from their wild cousins much and most would do better (digestive health wise) with a constant supply of good forage.

 

[m-mini]

That makes sense. Like alot of other animals. I do know some people that do have horses out with there cattle and they only eat grass and hay and have been doing that for many years.

 

[chandab]

That makes sense. Like alot of other animals. I do know some people that do have horses out with there cattle and they only eat grass and hay and have been doing that for many years.

I know people who put their saddle horses out with the cows, and they do fine, we don't for two reasons... We don't want the horses harassing the cows with calves (sometimes the hroses get bored, just don't want to risk it) and we tried putting a couple horses out with the bulls on winter pasture, but the one gelding kept the bulls away from the water tank, so it didn't work. And, come winter, the cows get mostly alfalfa hay, the horses get mostly grass hay (or they get too fat, especially our geldings). I wouldn't put minis out with cows due to the size difference, get a grumpy old cow on the fight, a mini wouldn't have a chance.

 

[m-mini]

Yeah, we are not putting our mini with the cattle. They have over 75 acreas to rome in, sometimes we dont see them for days. We are keeping the mini close to the house. We built him his own barn and pasture area.

I was just asking, I know NOTHING about horses. My aunt raises race horses that sell for over $50,000 each. But we dont really talk to her. So I cant ask her any questions. She is her own world. lol

 

[Mominis]

I think most of us have relatives like that, Mike. lol

There are some great horse management books out there that are written for children, like "My First Pony" and several others. They may help you too. Another good book resource is the USPC Manual of Horsemanship. Start with the D level and work your way up through C, B, HA and A (HA and A are one book, or they were a million years ago when I worked with them). USPC is a group for young riders that stresses the importance of horsemanship and not just riding. They are greatly informative, though they can be a pretty dry read, so they will be more for you than for your daughter, depending on her age. But you will learn A LOT from them. I'm sure others here will have good book titles to share that may be really kid-friendly. I don't have children in the conventional sense, I have what many on here call "fur-babies." lol 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 2 FANTASTIC miniature horses.

 

[chandab]

Having cows, you may have come across livestock books from Storey Publishing, I've found two of their horse books quite good: Storey's Guide to Feeding Horses (I believe there is now a new edition, my copy is several years old) and Storey's Guide to Raising Horses. [i didn't care for their training book.]

 

[m-mini]

Having cows, you may have come across livestock books from Storey Publishing, I've found two of their horse books quite good: Storey's Guide to Feeding Horses (I believe there is now a new edition, my copy is several years old) and Storey's Guide to Raising Horses. [i didn't care for their training book.]

Thanks, I just looked it up and ordered the feeding one. I would not worry so much about every little detail , but if anything would happen to this horse, my daughter and wife would be crushed.

 

[chandab]

Thanks, I just looked it up and ordered the feeding one. I would not worry so much about every little detail , but if anything would happen to this horse, my daughter and wife would be crushed.

It might not be a mini specific book, but I think its a good basic equine nutrition book.

 

[LindaL]

Welcome Mike! I hope this forum will help you get to know Minis...and Mini People!

Here is a book suggestion for you (written by our very own forum's "Marty"): book

 

[RhineStone]

The book Miniature Horses: A Veterinary Guide for Owners and Breeders by Rebecca L. Frankeny, VMD is an excellent resource. It covers care, feeding, diseases, poisonous plants, and other miniature-specific ailments.