New to the Forum, with my Newest Addition!

[susanne]

You've got yourself a beautiful boy, and I love your big horses, too!

As for gelding...keep in mind that I'm a worrier, but I'd be nervous keeping a mini stallion around full-sized mares. Not that it isn't done, but since you do not intend to breed him, why risk it? I'd worry more about him somehow getting in with the mares, acting like a stallion and getting kicked than I would about gelding him.

Bute is another concern with minis is their sensitivity to bute -- not all vets are aware of this, so avoid its use if possible, or use the least amount possible.

Weight tapes do not give accurate estimates with minis, so if your vet has a walk-on scale, I would get a real weight and keep it in your records.

And definitely get him driving! Come on over to the LB Driving forum and see what a blast everyone is having driving their minis!

 

[Eagle]

hello and welcome from Italy. Congratulations your little guy is a real cutie

I would strongly advice you to keep 2 fences between him and your big horses until you get him gelded cos most of my guys are really gentle and cuddly UNTIL there is a mare in heat

Congratulations on your conversion from big to small but be warned...... they are very addictive and soon he will need a friend

 

[candycar]

Another welcome from Kentucky

I could tell by the scenery you were in the flat part of KY, I'm up near the hills. Too bad your not closer.

Handsom little guy you have there! I also love the silver dapples. Just wait 'till spring when you can clip him, it's such a lovley change of color!

 

[topnotchminis]

Hehe, thanks so much! I've been to Glasgow many a time. I live up near Lexington (hehe, go cats! ). Do you do shows in the area?

Yes. We show Some local and AMHR.

 

[minirocky]

Hehe, I absolutely cannot wait until spring when I can clip him. I'm right at the start of the foothills of Eastern Kentucky - go 15 or 20 minutes and you will hit Mountains. I love the varying scenery of the state, I've never been to Catlettsburg, but if it's in your av picture, it's gorgeous!

Good to know about the inaccuracy of weight tapes on minis. I don't know if my vet has a scale but our local equine nutritionist does. I will talk to her, she was getting ready to come out anyway I believe. I had read briefly about minis being sensitive to the bute, and i will definitely make sure to not use it. Banamine is okay though, correct?

As far as mares in heat go, two of my mares are pregnant and one has a corpus luteum that won't regress, so she hasn't come into heat all season despite hormone therapy. Do you think it's okay to leave a sturdy wooden 4 plank fence between the two pregnant mares and him when there really aren't many hormones of a mare in heat to come into play?

They are definitely addictive, but my addiction will have to be left to tack, lol! I had to fight tooth and nail to get this guy. I'm currently living on my parent's farm and my father said I was at my one mini limit. I would love to get this guy a buddy (when he was gelded, of course), but it doesn't look like that will happen.

You know, I find it interesting this boy is registered as gray. I've seen SO many people call the silver dapples gray. If I look on any sites, 9 times out of 10 the color is completely misnamed.

 

[Mona]

Hi there...welcome to the forum and to the wonderful world of Miniature Horses!!

Yes, if he were mine, I would definitely be gelding him. It's just the best, stress free lifestyle for him. In fact, there is a very STRONG possibity that his being underweight is a result of his being a stallion. Stallions will fret and run themselves to skin and bones, fretting over not being able to be with "their" mares. He looked overall healthy as to his diet, as his coat looked really nice, which is a telltale sign of good nutrition, as I am sure you are aware.(having biog horses)

Wishing you many years of happiness and enjoyment together!

 

[minirocky]

Thanks so much!

He really doesn't seem to fret too much about the ladies, every so often he will talk but whenever I look in he is taking a nap, lol.

Here is a new photo of him, we had my little sheltie out too who was very curious about Blue. I figured what better than to get a shot with both of my boys! Man, I thought it was hard to get one animal to pose for the camera. Getting both of them was nearly impossible! I've got him braided so his mane will stay on one side, since it seems to like to flop on both sides.

 

[HGFarm]

Welcome to the world of Minis!! LOL, he does look like your big guys after he was thrown in the dryer and shrank, hee hee

A nice stallion always makes a very happy gelding and I know MANY people who have gelded stallions in their 'later' years. If you are not breeding, I would just geld him- it's that much less to worry about, and I bet he would love to have a job driving you around the neighborhood! Again- welcome and enjoy!

 

[minirocky]

Thanks so much! Gelding is definitely on the to do list. It's still very fly ridden at the moment, so I'm going to wait for a frost or two and let the population die down.

 

[minirocky]

I cannot wait until I can start driving my little boy. I ordered a mini sized surcingle, a mullen mouth driving bit, and a pair of protective boots so that I can start ground driving him. Thankfully that is a regular exercise with my full sized horses, so I don't have to fumble with the lines while trying to get him to change direction, lol! I'm glad to be over that for the most part.

I have been combing through the threads, reading everything I can. And man... fitting harnesses is like an art. I know the basic parts but I am lost after that. I don't think I would be able to even guess what would be well fitting and what would be poor fitting ie how far the shafts should be in front of him, where the breeching should sit, how high the shafts should be... Goodness. I have a lot to learn and limited funds, so I cannot really take any driving lessons. It's what I get for being a broke college student working on my MBA.

Believe me, I won't be just hitching him up and going for it... But until then I feel like I am adrift in a sea of knowledge that I just don't get yet.

There are driving trails around about 45 minutes to an hour away. I cannot wait until we can go explore them together. It's a dream I've had ever since I was little - we got a cart for my pony, but by that point he had foundered and was getting older. We didn't have a harness and never hitched it. Eventually traded it for a few round pen panels, as I didn't have a horse that would fit it. It was much bigger than my boy, so it wouldn't have mattered even if I kept it. But, I did get the opportunity to drive a friends horse on some trails at Mackinac, and that was an awesome chance to get my feet wet last year.

Am I going to have to invest $450-500 for an easy entry cart that's any good quality? I don't want some cheapo that's going to break down in 2 months.

Here's a new photo of my boy, taken the other day when we were hand grazing.