New to the Forum, with my Newest Addition!

[minirocky]

I would like to take this opportunity to say hi

I found this forum a few days ago and I am enjoying the wealth of information regarding the mini! I have had full sized horses my whole life, and started with a Shetland X pony when I was a child, who we lost to kidney failure last year when he was well over 30 years old. I train Rocky Mountain Horses and show them. I've always wanted a mini, but never had the opportunity.

Until now.

I literally just unloaded my very first mini EVER. And he was a find. The lady who I purchased him from was just looking for a good home for him, and thankfully she thought I would be best. So we picked him up this afternoon, and I can now say I am a Mini owner. He's a chocolate silver dapple 13 year old stallion, AMHA registered, 32" tall, registered name B&W's Bullet's Touch of Blue. I would love some insight as to his pedigree for those more familiar, if at all possible? He's by Little King's Bullet Buckeroo and out of Flying W Farms Blue Penny. As far as I know, this pedigree is correct.

http://www.allbreedp...s+touch+of+blue

I'm working on uploading photos now.

I eventually want to start driving him, so I'm spending a lot of time on the driving forum. According to his breeder, who had him until he was 7-8, he was trained to drive at some point. It will be a bit before I can afford a harness and cart. I plan on doing a lot of ground driving with him.

This little stud has amazing manners - he's quiet, trailer loads, trots in hand, and stands nicely. It's obvious he's had a lot of training in the past. I have zero interest in breeding minis, but I am trying to decide whether to keep him intact and not breed him, or to geld him. I worry that he's an older stud and don't want to have any complications with the gelding. I've never had to deal with gelding an older stud - always geld mine young!

 

[Jill]

Welcome to LB and congratulations on your new guy!!! I love silver dapples

 

[Taylor Richelle]

Welcome from Maine!

Congrats on your new guy! He's very handsome

 

[minirocky]

Thanks so much

I just realized I probably should have put this in the pictures and video part, so I apologize. This seemed like the best place at the time, lol.

I love that he matches my full sized horses - I have 2 chocolate silver dapples, a black mare, and a red mare. So he's their mini-me!

My non chocolate horses:

The chocolate with all of the white is the son of the dark chocolate mare, and the red mare is the daughter of the black mare. Not sure how I kept that all in the family, lol.

 

[Wings]

Welcome to minis. the forum and congrats on your new boy! He looks nice

If you decide to geld his age won't be a problem. Two of my riding horses were gelded late (around 7 to 10) and one of my minis was at 5. Despite a few quirks such as satllion pooping habits and a flirty nature I haven't had any problems with them, in fact the mini was a youth performance horse!

 

[minirocky]

Thanks!

It's good to know that it's okay to geld him late, but the question is... Should I? I mean, he's already an amazingly sweet and easy going horse. He's not studdy at all. If he was full sized, I would be making that vet appointment now. But, I'm just not sure if there's any point in gelding this little guy. You honestly can't even tell he's a stallion.

 

[Wings]

It's my opinion that if he isn't a breeding horse he should be gelded, regardless of behaviour. There are a lot of minis around from the highest show horses to the $50 bargains with everything in between so it isn't exactly a good market to be selling foals in. Unless you're interested in campaigning him in somthing to 'prove his worth' as a stud I would just geld and enjoy what will be a fantastic gelding

 

[Songcatcher]

Congratulations on your new Mini and welcome to the Forum from Oklahoma. According to the AMHA Studbook Online, your stallion has no registered foals, so he has probably never been used for breeding. He is a grandson of both Boones Little Buckeroo and of Flying W Farms Little Blue Boy. Both VERY famous stallions.

I have gelded a 17 year old with no problems whatsoever. Best wishes with whatever you decide.

 

[minirocky]

I have zero interest in breeding - there are enough horses in this world and no matter how absolutely adorable he is, I just don't think he's breeding quality. He's got a few lower leg problems in the front I don't particularly like. I spend the vast majority of my income campaigning my mountain horses, so to seriously campaign this boy would not be something I'm interested in, and I definitely do not want to be the next big Craigslist "cyutttteeee" breeder.

I think that eventually I would like to start showing him some, if I can get him driving. I've wanted to do it since I was little. It would not be serious, just something fun to do when I wasn't showing my Mountain Horses.

So, gelding it is. I may wait until spring - it's time to float everyone's teeth, he needs his vaccinations and coggins, and there are a lot of other vet bills coming up at the moment. It would be nice to spread them out just a little bit, haha.

 

[Genie]

He looks very nice. Congrats and welcome to the forum.

Good luck with your little man.

Are you planning to let him join your big horses in the pasture? I know you aren't asking but I feel that I must share my bad experience when trying that.

Even a playful kick from a biggie can be the end of your little man. My experience is that they do not mix.

 

[minirocky]

I am very sorry to hear if you had a bad experience with that, it definitely could be devastating.

I do appreciate you asking - feel free to ask me anything! There are a lot of things I have to learn about minis, despite my experience with full sized horses, haha.

No, he will be in a fenced in run beside the big horses - so he will be able to touch noses with them and be in their company, but not directly with them. I don't want to chance it.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Welcome from SE Pa.

All three of my boys are geldings. Pick cool no-fly weather for gelding and you will be fine.

Minis heal fast. Gelding cost me about $150, but I know it can vary from vet to vet.

Best wishes and you are going to love it here!!!

 

[minirocky]

While we are asking questions - what would be the safest way to put weight on him? He's a little skinny right now, you can see his ribs and hips. I worry about feeding him too much and jumping the other way and have him founder.

I currently feed a 10% sweet feed, and I am looking to switch to ADM Alliance PrimeGlo. I can get a separate feed for him. I love McCauley Brothers, they have some low starch options. What would be best to give this boy, and how much? I have a timothy/orchardgrass hay. How much should I be giving him of that?

Welcome from SE Pa.

All three of my boys are geldings. Pick cool no-fly weather for gelding and you will be fine.

Minis heal fast. Gelding cost me about $150, but I know it can vary from vet to vet.

Best wishes and you are going to love it here!!!

Thanks so much! I'm already loving it. It's so cool to see this much information in one place!

Here is another photo, one of me and Blue as soon as he stepped off the trailer. I have a lot of de-burring left to do, lol. He had a blast with them apparently.

 

[REO]

Welcome to the forum!

Your boy is a nice boy! I know you're going to gave fun with him!

There is a search feature on the right top of each forum page. There are tons of threads about feeding you can find that way

There are a couple of things different about minis. One is to not use Quest wormer on them. Minis have died as a result.

 

[minirocky]

Thanks so much! I will definitely have to do some searching. I've got a lot to learn about minis. Thank you so much for letting me know not to use Quest - I had no idea. But I do know a full sized horse that had brain tumors form as a result of that wormer, so it has been a no-go for me for a long time. Is that the only wormer they are reactive to?

 

[chandab]

While we are asking questions - what would be the safest way to put weight on him? He's a little skinny right now, you can see his ribs and hips. I worry about feeding him too much and jumping the other way and have him founder.

I currently feed a 10% sweet feed, and I am looking to switch to ADM Alliance PrimeGlo. I can get a separate feed for him. I love McCauley Brothers, they have some low starch options. What would be best to give this boy, and how much? I have a timothy/orchardgrass hay. How much should I be giving him of that?

Feeding minis is basically the same as feeding full-size, except they generally eat a lot less. Personally, I'd stay away from the sweet feed (minis don't usually need the extra empty calories), but the ADM Alliance Primeglo sounds like a really good feed (and I"m going to guess, looking at the directions on-line; the mini would get about 1/2#-3/4# of it daily for maintenance, maybe a little more depending on how much he actually weighs). As to hay, I think you said your minis is about 32" so maybe around 250# (might be a bit high), so as a starting place feed him about 1/4 the hay you give your big guys (you can always adjust up or down after you see how he does with that amount).

 

[Chelley]

I haven't yet, thank goodness-what is it with Quest wormer that can kill a mini? Anything that you prefer? I know it is best to rotate wormers.

Welcome to the forum!

Your boy is a nice boy! I know you're going to gave fun with him!

There is a search feature on the right top of each forum page. There are tons of threads about feeding you can find that way

There are a couple of things different about minis. One is to not use Quest wormer on them. Minis have died as a result.

 

[minirocky]

Feeding minis is basically the same as feeding full-size, except they generally eat a lot less. Personally, I'd stay away from the sweet feed (minis don't usually need the extra empty calories), but the ADM Alliance Primeglo sounds like a really good feed (and I"m going to guess, looking at the directions on-line; the mini would get about 1/2#-3/4# of it daily for maintenance, maybe a little more depending on how much he actually weighs). As to hay, I think you said your minis is about 32" so maybe around 250# (might be a bit high), so as a starting place feed him about 1/4 the hay you give your big guys (you can always adjust up or down after you see how he does with that amount).

That's good to know, thanks!

I am planning on moving away from sweet feed with both my big horses and my new boy, I just need to go get a new bag of feed and start transitioning them over. I will do a weight tape for a rough measurement, and the next time the local nutritionist comes out, I will have her weigh him.

 

[topnotchminis]

Welcome to the forum from KY! Congrats on you new mini. ( love the sweatshirt......go CATS! Lol)

 

[minirocky]

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?