Pics of my new mini! Now I have questions!!!

[christyinco]

I adopted this mini "Pico" from the animal welfare place that I volunteer. He is approx. 8-11 months old, from what they can tell. He has adjusted super well and is eating, drinking, peeing, pooping, everything looking good. I basically started feeding him what I give my horses - good quality grass hay; mineral salt block; mush in the morning (1/2 c. soaked timothy pellets, Equipride digestive enzyme, Progressive ProAdvantage Grass Formula pellets). I've had him a week and just started letting him out into the larger paddock. He is in a smaller pen at night then opened into the larger paddock during the day (some grass, but not much) and I drop some hay in different areas for him to forage.

Here are my questions...

How much hay should I be feeding him? The last weigh in was 144lbs. (one week ago).

He is VERY calm - doesn't run much at all - if any and is not very reactive. He's not sure about people so I've been working with him a lot on that and he's already had a trim on his feet and stood really well for that. Is this normal? I guess I was expecting a lot more running around and energy for a young horse.

You may notice on some of the pictures he has quite the big belly. Is this normal in babies or should I be worried about this? He was wormed about a month ago at the shelter.

Lastly, anything you see in him off the bat that I should be aware of? We have no infomation on him from the prior owners, so he is a mystery. He's pretty small - about 26".

Thanks!
Christy

 

[Rhondaalaska]

He looks like he needs more protein.

That will give the big belly,

And he looks like he needs to fill out more in his back end.

How does he feel . Can you feel his hip bones or ribs?

How tall is he.

I know others can tell you a lot more and give you good advice.

I am glad that he has found you.

He sure is cute.

 

[chandab]

Since he came from a rescue organization, they probably got him in because he was neglected, so in his young life he probably hasn't gotten the care nor nutrition he's needed to grow properly.

With time the Progressive grass formula should cover his protein needs and help him recover from previous neglect. Progressive has a feed chart on their website (at least it used to be, in their library - I have it saved to my computer - its the small horse chart) which shows how much a mini his age and weight should be getting daily of the Progressive products. If he's in that 8-11 month old range and about 150# then he should be getting 1.5# of the grass balancer daily, after he's 12 months of age then you can drop him to 1# (as long as he looks like he's lost that "starving kid belly" from lack of protein), (and then after he's turned two he can go down to 1/2# daily for maintenance); I know it sounds like a lot for one so little, but since he's growing he can really put it away and needs the nutrition to grow properly. As long as he's up to date on his deworming, then his belly is likely lack of protein; if he's not up to date on his deworming, you'll want to get that taken care of so his body can utilize the feed he's getting.

Since he's still a baby, for now, give him pretty much all the grass hay he wants; once he's a bit more mature and caught up on his nutrition, then you might want to limit him to 2% of his bodyweight daily.

He might just a be a more calm little boy, but it might be his lack of proper care previously, you might find once he's feeling better and has good nutrition in him for awhile, he'll get more energetic.

These pics are a bit hard to tell if anything might be suspect (a bit dark and odd angles), if you can get a square on side shot of him taken down at his level, we'll be better able to give you an evaluation.

 

[Marty]

What Chanda says.She always knows what she's doing.

I'm only going to add that I'd treat him for ulcers. No question about it. I always treat babies for ulcers and the belly and lack of enthusiasm is also a sign of that. Give him another week or so and he'll be zooming around like he should.

 

[chandab]

The only thing I forgot to add, depending on how much of the grass balancer you are giving him now, just be sure to increase it slowly so you don't over tax his system with too much at one time (like over the course of at least a week should do it).

 

[christyinco]

Thanks for all the feedback. He was malnurished when they got him in April - came it at 95lbs. They also suspected a calcium deficiency and were feeding him some alfalfa. Wow, I've not been feeding him enough ProAdvantage - I'll start increasing his feed. He eats the grass hay almost all the time.

How are ulcers treated in minis? I'm going to take him to my vet next week for an overall check so I'm sure she'll give me input on what I'm doing or not doing.

Thanks so much. I'll post better pictures.

Christy

 

[disneyhorse]

Chandab....Are you sure that much ProAdvantage Grass??? We have one of their nutritionists working directly with my workplace, and the 1,000 pound mustang gets one pound daily of the ProAdvantage Grass. My 400# shetland gelding is getting 3/4 of a pound (two cups) daily... And he's a hard keeper. I'm going to look into this.

Christy... What you're doing sounds good. I'd free feed the grass hay for a youngster. He may look potbellied now but that should even out with time.

 

[disneyhorse]

http://www.prognutrition.com/pdf/GrowthChartDailyFeedPlannerSM05.pdf

 

[REO]

You're doing well with him!

Growing babies need lots of protein.

Free choice grass hay is good. If he's the lone mini he may not run & play by himself.

When was he dewormed last?

He's a lucky boy to have you!

 

[christyinco]

I talked with the guy at the feedstore and he recommended 8 oz. of ProAdvantage Grass (8oz. til 12 months/ 6 oz. til 18 mo./ 4 oz. til 2 yrs./ 2-3 oz. after 2yrs. old). That sounds about right since I give my full size horses get 1lb. daily. However, I do see where Chandab got her 1.5# on the chart - based on his age and weight.

He was dewormed in May. I'm going to have a fecal test done on him before I opt to worm again - I don't want to do any more than I have to for his delicate system.

 

[disneyhorse]

A full size mini should get a full cup of the ProAdvantage, I wouldn't reduce it like that...

 

[chandab]

Chandab....Are you sure that much ProAdvantage Grass??? We have one of their nutritionists working directly with my workplace, and the 1,000 pound mustang gets one pound daily of the ProAdvantage Grass. My 400# shetland gelding is getting 3/4 of a pound (two cups) daily... And he's a hard keeper. I'm going to look into this.

Christy... What you're doing sounds good. I'd free feed the grass hay for a youngster. He may look potbellied now but that should even out with time.

Yes, this is the growing horse amount. I know it sounds really high, but if you go to their website and check out their small horse feed chart and look across the 150# and 8-11 month section of the chart it says 1.5-2# daily. Once my minis were adults, all B-size at around 300-350#, then they got 1/2# daily for maintenance. [Just double checked and 8-11 months at 150# is just above the line between the 1-1.25# and 1.5-2# feed rate, so you could probably feed less, but since he was malnourished, I'd probably go with the higher amount to get him going in the right direction.]

 

[chandab]

A full size mini should get a full cup of the ProAdvantage, I wouldn't reduce it like that...

I'm with you on this one, where did the feed store guy get his ideas on reducing; although like so many he probably doesn't have a clue what a mini weighs.

 

[REO]

I'm not sure if you know this or not, but please don't use Quest wormer on minis.

If he was done in May, he needs to be done again. I would give him an extra big dose of Strongid.

 

[MindyLee]

Can ya get a up close pic of his legs and feet? Not sure but from his knees down, looks a lil thick and knees a lil large. (Hoping just pic angle) Just want to see, nothing alarming.

 

[christyinco]

I will get a new picture. His legs probably look large since they didn't shave his legs - he was too sensitive about them, so they only shaved down to top of knees. I need to finish trimming him up.

 

[MindyLee]

Thats what I thought but asked!

Hes a cutie!