New to Mini Horses, have a few questions!!

[needanswers]

Hi everyone,

I've had horses and ponies all my life and recently acquired a mini horse to keep my big sooky TB company out on the farm. This is my first mini and so far 'Matilda' seems to be a little different to other bigger horses.

From what I can tell she is between 12 and 18 months old and is almost completely unhandled. I had to corner her herd to get near her so I could catch and bring her home in the float. She now has a halter on and is kept in a small yard where we are starting to handle her. She is pretty good to handle and I can pick up and play with her feet, brush her and play with her face and ears. HOWEVER - she BITES!!!!!! She bites whenever you do anything with her from leading, brushing, moving her about etc... Apparently she has also been striking out and double barreling when other people enter her yard although I have not seen this behaviour while I am handling her. She is difficult to catch even in her small yard and needs a lot more handling to get her used to many things. She shows the whites of her eyes at least 90% of the time while being handled. She is practically 'wild' but quiet enough that I think she will be fine with more time, patience and correct handling.

I need to worm her and get her feet done as well as get a better understanding of how old she is (I have not gone near her mouth yet to look).

Anyway here she is below. Any advice or info is appreciated. I plan to break her to harness and use her as a companion for my TB when I travel to competitions and at home on the farm. I have a niece who likes horses so I thought she could start learning about horses with something closer to her size.

This is Matilda out in her herd before I took her home.





This is Matilda after she had been caught and driven home.

 

[dannigirl]

Welcome to the wonderful world of miniature horses.

It sounds to me that a lot of her behavior is just going to take time to get through. The biting is something I am not sure of. You don't want to be totally mean and make her afraid of you, but you can't tolerate it either. I think I would try holding her very close when leading her. Watch her very closely and when/if she turns to snap at you, push her away forcefully and clearly and firmly say the word 'NO' You don't need to scream it--just make it forceful so she knows you mean business. That has worked for a few of mine and is my first line of action.

Hopefully someone will have more help for the biting problem. Minis can be a challenge.

Angie

 

[targetsmom]

Congrats on your first mini! I agree that patience is probably the most important thing to make progress with your new mini. I wonder if the biting might be a reaction to pain??? There is a video on here somewhere that I posted within the past year that shows how to check a horse for ulcer using acupuncture points.Try a forum search. A horse with ulcers may react strongly when being touched in any of these places. With all the stress your mini has been under with being moved to a new place, I would try to treat for ulcers. Alfalfa hay or cubes might be the easiest way to do that, although it won't heal ulcers, it might help if they are an issue. Good luck.

Completely unhandled might be an advantage over one that has been abused, but you probably can't rule that out.

 

[needanswers]

Absolutely!!! I don't want to create a situation where she becomes scared of me for disciplining her, but I do wish to establish myself as the Alpha in the pack and gain her trust and respect!!!

The first time she bit me I was a little shocked and she got a sharp bop on the nose and a growl from me. Since then I keep her face away from me and always hold her halter in a way so she can't reach anything with her teeth. She will stand there opening and closing her mouth biting the air and rolling her eyes around while I'm handling her.

Also I have seen her be quite mouthy with items she isn't sure of such as the leadrope and feed bins. I assume the biting is also part of this natural curiosity and her young age as well.

I have some founderguard I can start her on in case she has ulcers. I wouldn't be surprised, however she looks in much better condition since she came home from the herd.

 

[AnnaC]

Welcome to the forum - that's a pretty little mini you have there.

As the others have said, time and patience is going to be the answer for her. To take any youngster, let alone an unhandled one, away from its familiar surroundings and its friends is a very traumatic experience for it and can make it behave in a defensive manner. How had her previous owners managed to worm her or attend to her feet - did they 'round her up, grab her etc'? What exactly has her contant with human beings been? Any human contact in a rough/rushed/inconsiderate manner (not talking about abusive) will have put her on the defensive and could easily have lead to the behaviour that you are now seeing as she tries to protect herself.

But time and understanding will work their miracle for you, of that I'm sure.

Oh, not too sure about what you are calling founderguard - it sounds as though it is something to help with the possibility of laminitis, which is not the same as helping with/preventing ulcers. You need a product specifically for Ulcers to help her with this possible problem.

Good luck!

 

[needanswers]

Oops sorry I meant Ulcergard not Foundergard!!!!! I was staring at a tub of it sitting here while posting to the forum.

To my knowledge she has not had any handling prior to me coming to get her. I think the previous owners would go near the herd who would come up for a look but not get too close, hence the reason for us having to round up and corner the herd so I could get near her.

I think this is a blessing for me as she has not had and experience with worming, teeth or feet so no bad experiences!

 

[ohmt]

She's definitely a scared little thing. I would spend as much time near her, but not touching her as I could. Make sure you keep grain in your pocket. I like to just sit on the ground in a pen with them-just read a book or something. She will realize you are not just there to try to catch her and also that you are harmless. Horses are such curious creatures, eventually she should get pretty close. When she does, put a little grain on the ground by you and see if she'll come up-then graduate to feeding from your hand. I would keep most handling sessions to scratches and brushes for now. Going any further right now will just scare her. It will take some time, but patience will get you there

Wanted to ask quick-will you be keeping her in the same pen as your TB?

 

[Sandee]

If she's biting then watch the feeding from the hand stuff. For now I'd keep the treats to a minimum and just give lots of scratches and pats, brushing,and kind words when she does whatever it is you want. She needs to learn that you mean, not only food, but relief from itchy spots she can't reach and a good place to be safe. Getting her to trust you as her "leader" will not only help solve the biting but will get her to want to please you.

As for biting others. You or they need to discipline her with a loud voice or a swift swat or tap (not just a flat hand either) to the shoulder. Which is what a lead mare would do.

 

[needanswers]

Thanks for the replies!!

I'm not sure if you can see in the photo of her but she is being kept in her own area. So far I have been feeding her good quality hay as she has never been hard fed before (always been out on pasture) so I've been keeping her feed as close to what she has been exposed to so far to avoid colic. Here in Australia we feed more bulk feeds and less concentrates as a standard.

As you are all saying - I think she needs time, patience and good leadership. She is pretty quiet considering she is practically wild!