Putting muscle on a mini horse

[Kubilee]

Hello, first off, let me introduce myself. My name is Tam and while I was raised on horses until I was well into my teens, I have never had any experience with minis whatsoever, never even had been around them. I have been picking up and learning as much as I possibly can, spending hour after countless hours asking and reading all I can about them.

My husband and I have this lot beside me, just under an acre, and we bought it, the goal was to put 1 mini horse oni t and have her as a pet that we could love for as long as we could...what we ended up with was 4 of them. Here's how that happened.

We found this one little girl, she was 5 months old at the time and my husband snuck around behind my back and paid for her and bought her for me, no fence, nothing, he just assumed I could bring her in the house I guess, who knows with him. lol We rushed, got all 4 of the ids out and we built a fence and a small run in shelter. We go to look at them and I fell in love with Sky, a 10 yr old Pinto Mare and I had to have her... and the lady said, as others had, that the baby needed a companion, so I bought her too. Paid her for them, left to go finish prepping for their arrival and went back on December 21st, 2010 to pick my girls up. The lady then, as well as my daughter and everyone with me, decided I should buy the leader, who my husband initially was in love with. Somehow or another, I ended up with her in the trailer as well and she is the love of my life now, so I am so happy they knew me better than I did. Onward about a month later, we found this gorgeous colt that I just absolutely fell in love with and he was supposedly only 1 yr old, so I thought what a sweet little companion he'd make for Peebie, the baby that started this. The gentleman brought him to me, and when I got him off that truck...... oh my god, not only was he not a yr old, but rather 2 yrs old and knew exactly what his umm.... parts, were for. He was not broke as I was told, he was not lead broke as I was told, he wasn't even in the least little bit friendly, so what in the world was I going to do with this wild demon?

Onward, I spent countless upon countless hours with him, his name is Banner, and he is the sweetest thing in the world and so loyal to me now. Tori hasn't let him have the lead role, but he thinks he has it, but regardless, HE is the leader of everyone when I am around, he blocks me from them, stands right between me and anything or anyone around when I am with them. All in all, he is a dream little guy ....... BUT..... he isn't a companion for Peebie, although he does tend to look out for her, for what reason, I have no idea.

Peebie, to get to the point..... bad case of malnutrition bad, and I knew this when we got her, but my husband is such a sucker for the underdog that he bought her. She is fine, healthy for the most part and putting on weight. I was told that the person that owned her and her mother let her mother starve to death and she died shortly after Peebie was born... and Peebie was on her way to be slaughtered when the lady I got her from found out and went and got her from him. That is all I know about her backstory, she wasn't weaned in the slightest, but her mother was dead, so I am not really sure how she is even alive right now.

She was Vet checked, no lasting or damaging effects that anyone could see at 5 months old.. just really needed to eat and eat right and get some weight on her. She was being fed way too much and was horribly fat around her belly when I got her... and I've slimmed down her belly, she eats regular. She eats extremely slow, so we have to pull her completely away from all of the others so she can get enough to eat. What I am having trouble with is putting weight on her legs and neck area, I guess muscle mass. I've tried to give her vitamins everyday, but boy she doesn't like that at all. I forget the name of it now, but it is granules, I tried putting them in her sweet feed once a day, she kicks it over and refused to eat the sweet feed with it in it. We tried to force feed it to her, opening her mouth and putting it past her teeth, and somehow she spits it right back out at us.

She's an absolute sweet little girl, and my daughter and I spend an insane amount of time with her, trying to run her around, and do anything we can to put muscle on her. But we're at a loss. She has been with us since December and for the most part, has no more muscle on her than she had when I got her. Does anyone here have ANY ideas how to get muscle on her? She grazes in the yard during the day....for a few hours, at about 4, we give her a couple of hands full of sweet feed, not much, but a little, and at night, she eats hay with the others. Is there anything else I can be doing to put muscle on her? She seems happy and she loves to talk to us, just needs some muscle on her desperately.

I know this is long, I love them so much and I love talking about them, sorry. lol I'll gather some pics of them.

 

[Ashley]

You sure shes not just thin? Hay and a few handfuls of sweet feed is not enough for a growing horse. Chances are she was probably on the right feeding schedual when you got her, despite the big belly. The big belly comes from poor nutrition not to much food. Hence if she was starved when she was younger its going to take a long time to get the belly back to normal.

You really do need to up her feed, and to something better then sweet feed.

Do you have pics of her? that might help.

 

[midnight star stables]

First off, CONGRATS on your new HERD! They are very addicting aren't they?

To touch base on her feed, although it is hard to say without pictures, I would be changing and increasing her grain intake! I do not feed sweetfeed as there is not enough in it.

My yearling filly was getting 2 lbs of a 16% complete feed, 1(+) lbs of soaked beet pulp and a flake and a 1/2 a day (all broken up into 2-3 feedings) this past spring. My filly is a show horse but was not really "worked" other that the odd lunge for manners or turnout with her buddies. Here is a picture of my yearling filly this June. She still needed some work to her diet, but she looked pretty good for her first few shows.

I also want to mention that your boy can breed your yearling, so you may want to geld him and/or keep them apart.

Good luck and have fun with them!!

 

[Kubilee]

Here are some pics of her. She gets fresh grass for about 5 hours, we pull her out. We stopped this for a time, as I was worried she was getting too much of it, but her weight started dropping really bad again, so we gave it back to her. She gets the sweet feed, which is what the prior owner told me she was feeding her, only she was feeding them a coffee can twice a day which the Vet said was entirely too much for them, being minis. On the last feeding I give them each a flake of hay in the evenings. Twice a day, I go out and work with them and give them some treats.. they are packed with vitamins in them, but she'll eat those all day if I let her.

She does look a lot better than she did. And in NO way am I slamming the girl I got her from... she rescued this baby and I will always be grateful for that, nor am I saying that she didn't care for her properly, but she was in such bad shape when she got her and I got her before she was out of the dark.

It may quite possibly be that she is fine, I only have what the others look like to base it on, and she is so shy and timid, which I am only assuming it was from the neglect she went thru, god knows what that guy put this poor baby thru.

 

[Kubilee]

Here are the others:

This is banner, we got him and he was supposed to be 1 yr old, but he's so not a yr old, he was a year old when this guy got him. He was so jumpy and skittish when I got him, but look at him, how could you even consider not spending every minute with him? He is, I believe, 2 years old, nearest I can tell.



This is Tori, the story behind this one is a twisted mess, but I have her now and she'll not be moving again. I was told she may be bred and was due the end of August or beginning of September, but I am not so sure, she doesn't appear to be pregnant, that is a waiting game. Thankfully I have a good local support system in place for her. She is 8 yrs old



This is Sky, she is such a little sweetheart, but she'd eat until she exploded if you'd let her. lol She is just now 10 years old



And finally, this is all 3 of the adults



That's it for my little family, one I truly cherish with everything I have but am learning more and more about them each and every single day. All I do know is there isn't anymore hitting them, and they'll never be shuffled around again, not as long as i have a breath in my body.

 

[Kubilee]

First off, CONGRATS on your new HERD! They are very addicting aren't they?

To touch base on her feed, although it is hard to say without pictures, I would be changing and increasing her grain intake! I do not feed sweetfeed as there is not enough in it.

My yearling filly was getting 2 lbs of a 16% complete feed, 1(+) lbs of soaked beet pulp and a flake and a 1/2 a day (all broken up into 2-3 feedings) this past spring. My filly is a show horse but was not really "worked" other that the odd lunge for manners or turnout with her buddies. Here is a picture of my yearling filly this June. She still needed some work to her diet, but she looked pretty good for her first few shows.

I also want to mention that your boy can breed your yearling, so you may want to geld him and/or keep them apart.

Good luck and have fun with them!!

awww, she is beautiful.

And yes I know about the breeding thing, I've already talked to a Vet, I am considering letting him breed with Tori and then having him gelded, given she isn't already pregnant that is. His testicles have not dropped yet, she told me how to tell and I watch this one closely. I don't want to start a business or have 200 horses out there, although if I had the room, I probably would. Although having that experience one time would be nice.

 

[Eagle]

Hello and welcome

Please don't take this the wrong way as it sounds like you are doing your best to learn and get them all healthy but your youngster looks like she needs some serious help. Where abouts are you? perhaps if there is someone experienced on here that lives near you you could meet up so they can help you get her diet under control and check your worming routine.

You have come to the right place as there are many very kind and experienced people on here that are only too willing to help.

Good luck and once again welcome to the wonderful world of minis

 

[mydaddysjag]

Your baby is too thin, and needs way more grain. I would put her on 16% feed targeted for foals or growth. Often, vets dont understand feeding minis, they think they are tiny and easy keepers, or air ferns, so dont require much feed. Some adult minis are easy keepers, but I have never seen a foal that is an easy keeper. Your babys issue isnt lacking muscle, she just needs to gain weight overall. The big belly isnt from being fed too much, its from her not getting enough protein in her diet. You know how you see the commercials for starving children and they are skin and bones, but have a big pot belly? The minis get that way too, and that looks like what is going on with your girl. I think you will notice a big change if you start her on a feed targeted for her age and the proper amount of it. If you dont feed enough, they dont get the correct amount of vitamins, minerals, fat, and protein from the feed.

When was the last time you dewormed her? It looks like you might want to try to do the 5 day purge with her too. Most foals need dewormed once a month for their first year.

As far as breeding, I would steer clear of it, Minis dont foal like big horses do, the foals often get stuck or have other issues, and I cant count the amount of deaths just this year that the forum members (many experienced breeders) have had. Having a newborn foal would be great, but I could never handle the heartbreak of losing my mare and foal.

Your horses are all very pretty, and I cant wait to hear more updates on them, and see more pictures as your baby grows.

 

[Kubilee]

Hello and welcome

Please don't take this the wrong way as it sounds like you are doing your best to learn and get them all healthy but your youngster looks like she needs some serious help. Where abouts are you? perhaps if there is someone experienced on here that lives near you you could meet up so they can help you get her diet under control and check your worming routine.

You have come to the right place as there are many very kind and experienced people on here that are only too willing to help.

Good luck and once again welcome to the wonderful world of minis

I don't take anything the wrong way. If I was afraid someone would say something I didn't want to hear, I wouldn't have come to ask for advice on this. I only want what is absolutely best for her.

And in her defense, I did clip her. It is so hot here, with heat indexes over 100 for more than a month now... and she wasn't shedding her winter coat. The others had already shed out, but she hadn't. I'd feel down to her skin and she was sweating so bad it was scaring me.. so I bought some clippers and clipped her. I was hosing her off a couple of times a day and she just wasn't cooling off at all, and I am not talking a little sweat, she was soaked to the bone with sweat, and I felt bad for her. That's part of why she looks like a psychopath and her coat is out of sorts.

Worming, I worm them every 2 months, rotating between the three that the vet said to rotate them on. I can't even think of the names of them, but they are the ones she told me to rotate with and she takes that fine.... she is coming up due for another round of wormer in about 3 weeks.

I have been looking in my area and found hay with higher protein in it, she has a mix of timothy and red clover hay, about a flake of that each night. I should correct myself here on her grazing, she was only grazing a few hours a day for the longest time, but I noticed her not really putting on so much weight, so for the past week, I guess, I've been taking her out to graze from the morning feeding until the night feeding.... so she grazes for about 10-12 hours a day (for the past week or so). She's really starting to perk up now, but this is the first time since I've had her.

The real issue i have right now is what exactly and how much exactly to feed her on that middle feeding each day, the one where I have been feeding her the sweet feed, from what I am getting in private and here, I am thinking I need to really step THAT one up. I am on my way right now to get some 16% pellets and try her on that and see how it works with her. Up until today, I've been being told not to over feed her, and I've been so scared of doing that. Banner over ate one night and got a bad stomach ache and I nearly died trying to figure out what to do, so I didn't ant her to have the same issues.... so many people BEFORE now, including the vet, have said not to feed her too much.. and I honestly thought I was doing right by her, but I am seeing on here from you all that raise these babies and have forever, telling me completely different. Who do I trust? I say the people that raise them...

 

[Eagle]

I would listen to the more experienced breeders on here, some have been breeding minis for many many years and have helped me with my mini's immensely. I wish you all the best.

 

[Kubilee]

Your baby is too thin, and needs way more grain. I would put her on 16% feed targeted for foals or growth. Often, vets dont understand feeding minis, they think they are tiny and easy keepers, or air ferns, so dont require much feed. Some adult minis are easy keepers, but I have never seen a foal that is an easy keeper. Your babys issue isnt lacking muscle, she just needs to gain weight overall. The big belly isnt from being fed too much, its from her not getting enough protein in her diet. You know how you see the commercials for starving children and they are skin and bones, but have a big pot belly? The minis get that way too, and that looks like what is going on with your girl. I think you will notice a big change if you start her on a feed targeted for her age and the proper amount of it. If you dont feed enough, they dont get the correct amount of vitamins, minerals, fat, and protein from the feed.

When was the last time you dewormed her? It looks like you might want to try to do the 5 day purge with her too. Most foals need dewormed once a month for their first year.

As far as breeding, I would steer clear of it, Minis dont foal like big horses do, the foals often get stuck or have other issues, and I cant count the amount of deaths just this year that the forum members (many experienced breeders) have had. Having a newborn foal would be great, but I could never handle the heartbreak of losing my mare and foal.

Your horses are all very pretty, and I cant wait to hear more updates on them, and see more pictures as your baby grows.

See now, I was so worried about all of these things that you have pointed out here. And I swear, I have talked to about 3-4 vets, as I am as picky about them as I am about what Dr my kids see, they are all my babies. And ALL of them have warned me of over feeding her... seriously. BUT, not a lot of folks have minis around here where i live, most all of them have big horses, so maybe this is why. I must have called these vets 100 times and comparing notes from one to the other, and then I'd read here (yes i have been reading this board since I got them in December) and I've seen just the opposite of what they told me, in almost every single case. But clearly what they are telling me isn't working well, so this is why I broke down today and posted here, you all seem so kind and actually deal with them day in and day out and that's what I need.

I do fine with all other areas with all of the others, but not on her.... I've been so worried about her. I can't even get a straight answer around here as to what color any of them even are.... LMAO

When Banner came here, he spotted my horses and went completely insane.. he knocked the guy down that brought him and was all but trampling him, I held him off so the guy could get up and I knew right then and there this horse had never been handled at all. I stood in there with these 3 minis rampaging all over the place, and somehow got them all tied down close enough where they could meet but not kill one another and left them there for about an hour.... when I let them off, they bucked and kicked for a little while and then stopped, but he was still not having one thing to do with me coming anywhere near him. I must have spent days on end going out there and just "being in his space" and playing with Tori and Sky, ignoring him completely. Eventually he'd start walking up to me, but still not having anything to do with me and if I raised my hand to touch him, he'd freak and bolt.

It was coming to a point where I thought maybe it was best to let someone take him that could help him get past his issues and help him. I was literally in tears. About 2 days later, I had all but decided that was what I had to do, and it was killing me, when he went down on me, he started rolling and wouldn't get up. I came in and read this board to find out what to do, I googled it and found a post somewhere here.... everything was pointing to giving him things I didn't have and couldn't get my hands on late on a Sunday night. I seen somewhere to give him Pepto and walk him...... so here I go with a full bottle of Pepto and I poured some of it down his throat, I made him get up, taking every breath I had in my body to pull him to his feet and even more to make him walk with me. After a little while, he started perking back up and walking of his own free will..... I did this with him every little while until almost daylight.... (this was about 8PM on Sunday). I made sure he was ok and came back in and slept. When I went back out there to feed him a few hours later, he came right up to me, leaned on me, put his face on my chest and just stood there for the longest time wanting me to pet him. He's been stuck to me like glue since... he's lead broke, and will let me pick up his feet, all of them...... I can raise my hand and he doesn't bolt anymore. He's like a completely different horse.

My point n that is... I know I have in me to help her, I did it with him. BUT in that incident, it's had me terrified of the same thing happening to her, she's been so weak that I wasn't sure if I could get her thru it like I did him. So I've been so scared to let her eat too much, based on that and what all vets have told me.... as well as others. BUT I am seeing now, she needs basically all she can get..

I thank you all so much, I know I can get long winded and I am so new at this, but I do so love them and I want the very best I can give to them, I know I have made mistakes and I'll make more. But I love them enough and I think they love me enough to see it thru. My husband reminds me every single day how lucky they are to have me and me to have them. Ihave some health issues as well, nothing preventing the care of them, but things that THEY can help me get thru... and they are, each and everyday, and I want to do the same for them.

 

[ohmt]

It sounds like you are good 'horse mom'!

You have been given wonderful advice already about increasing her feed. I feed free choice alfalfa/grass hay to my weanling-2 yr olds as it has higher protein content along with a 16% sweet feed (Omelene 300) and beet pulp added to that during the winter. Here is a yearling I had last year-just coming out of winter. Even with all of that feed you can see he could use a few more pounds (which he quickly put on as soon as it warmed up a bit).

I think once your little one starts getting the nutrition she needs you will notice a big change-she'll lose the belly, start to fill out and get a lot more energy which will help her build some muscle.

Keep us updated on how she's doing!

 

[Mominis]

You will find that her efficient use of what she's getting will improve as you get her into shape. My two guys are both on 1/2 pound of Omolene 500/ 3/4 pound of Timothy-Alfalfa Hay AM and NOON and 3/4 pound of Omolene 500 with 3/4 pound of Timothy Alfalfa Hay at PM feeding. They are worked six days per week, or they were pror to this stupid heat wave, which is when these photos were taken--about 3 weeks ago. They have been chilling out during the heat and are going back to work tomorrow. Our workout routine involves ponying, free longing, free jumping, and in the case of the three year old grey...driving and long lining.

 

[bannerminis]

Your minis are beautiful and sounds like they all have a wonderful new home with you.

It does sound like your little filly needs more food not less. The foals put a lot of effort into growing in their first yr so they need to get the right amount of feed to support it.

The pot bellies with no weight anywhere else usually means they are lacking in protein and/or worming.

You have said they are on a regular worming routine so it really comes down to the feeding.

I always meet people here in Ireland saying that they cut down their minis feed as they are fat and have a pot belly but when I see them they have no weight on their bum or neck and have no topline.

So its one of 3 things to my mind and that is Worming, not enough of the right feed and also believe it or not Lice - if lice goes unchecked it will pull a young horse down very quickly especially if they are poor to begin with.

I hope you find the right feeding program and looking forward to hearing about her progress.

I think I have read a lot about people that are trying out some new type of Purina Feed (at least I think thats what it is but I could have it wrong)

I am sure there are plenty people that can help you get on the right tack and wish you all the best.

 

[chandab]

Welcome to the forum. You've already received tons of good advice, so I'll only add a little to that...

When you change feeds do it slowly so as to not upset their digestive system, like take at least a week to increase feeds or change feeds. Always feed by weight; weight of feed and weight of horse. Don't use Quest (Moxidectin) wormer on minis. And, be extremely careful using bute with minis, they seem to be more sensitive to it than full-size horses.

I had more things, but lost my train of thought when the phone rang.

 

[AnnaC]

Hi Tam, good to meet you and to hear about your minis - I think they are very lucky to have found someone like you to care for them and worry over them.

A lot of vets have no idea/experience of minis, so you are going to have to work very hard to build up as much knowledge and information as you can, so that you can educate any vet you meet with, plus possibly veto any treatment they try to give if it might be harmful. That said there are many many vets out there who do have experience with minis, so perhaps you might be able to find one near you for the future.

One quick word of warning - dont give Quest wormer to your minis, and avoid the use of Bute for any sort of pain relief - ask your vet for Banamine instead.

As regards your four sweet minis. I would move Banner away from your girls, breeding is something you really dont need to get into yet, plenty of time in the future if you decide to follow that route. Can you put him in a different space - he can be next to them with a secure,safe fence as he is used to them and will need to be close to his friends? It is not easy to see from your pictures, but Tori looks as though she is lacking a little weight on her hind quarters. She could do with building up a bit, especially if she might be in foal, so a good quality general feed with a protein level of around 12-14% would be good for her. Do not worry too much about your other mare being a bit overweight, just give her a little less of the same feed you get for Tori. Before too long we shall be heading into another winter and they will all stay healthier and warmer if they go into the winter months carrying a little bit of extra weight.

Your little filly however does need help, as you have said. What have you been worming her with up to now - some wormers need to be repeated every 6 weeks and others can last up to 10 weeks, then there are those that can be used to treat tape worm at the right time of year, or bots when you give them in December, so it would be useful to know what you have been using. Anyway to save wasting money, I suggest you gather a small amount of her droppings in a bag and take them to any vet for a worm count (it would be a good idea to do this for all four of them). When you get the results you can worm her specifically for the worms she (they) are carrying, if any. If the vet suggests a powerful wormer because she has a worm burden, then I would suggest you first use a mild wormer and follow up with the vets recommendation a couple of weeks later - she could develop colic if she has a large worm burden and takes a powerful wormer to clear them all at once.

Can you leave her on your grass 24 hours a day - grass (or Doctor Green as it is often called) is the most natural food they can eat and certainly wont do her any harm as she is already used to 12 hours daily - you could put Tori out on the grass as well, at least for the day times, it will do her good especially if she might be in foal. As to feed for your filly, I'm in the UK so not sure about the Brands of food that you have where you are. But she needs a good quality weanling-2year old, 16% protein, and will need the full amount according to the instruction details on the bag, but just start her off slowly, say a mug full night and morning or even split this into 3 feeds, and slowly build up to the full reommended amount after 10 days or so. I wouldn't worry too much about adding any 'extras' to this feed, lets take things slowly to start with. If she is on your grass 24/7 (it looks good grass?) then she may not need hay, but you can offer some soft leafy hay to her and if she eats it then give her more. Another important thing (for all four of them) is to make sure they have a salt supply available to them, plus a good vitamin and mineral block (instead of a block this may be supplied in plastic containers - ask your animal feed supplier)

Dont be tempted to 'work' your little filly at all, she is too young and her condition is the first thing to get right. In a month or so when improvement can be visually seen, she might enjoy being taken for walks, but no 'work'. You have to have good body condition before you can introduce 'work', so with her, next year will be soon enough.

Hope some of what I have suggested will help - like you I also write loads! LOL!! Please keep asking questions, however silly they may seem. Everyone here will be only too willing to help you with advice, although like me, their advice will be their own personal ideas based on their own experience, and from all their information, it will be up to you to find what suits you and your minis.

Good luck!

 

[Kubilee]

I went to the only 3 places I have here locally and the closest I could come to 16% pellets was a 14% Complete for Mares and Foals made by Triumph. The girl in the store that I got this from also raises minis and she's helped me a great deal with the wormer, so I talked to her for a little while about the feeding.. she suggested this, said it was very good for them, and was high in protein which is what Peebie needs.

Here is what I did, I got it home and I mixed it with the sweet feed I have left so that they are slowly moved over to this, and it isn't such a shock to their tummies. I gave Peebie about a cup and a half of it right away, and she was muttering at me the whole time she was eating it... I swear I think she smiled. lol I know the slight changes I had made on my own before coming here are making her better because she's been talking to me a lot more and walking back up to me more and more. But I just wanted to know what else I can be doing.. and I appreciate you all so much. You just have no idea.

I gave the others a big scoop of this and they all but mauled me, they didn't even wait for me to get it down to them, they just came up and wanted me to start handing it to them. So they ate it right out of my hands, muttering the whole time. Even Banner was talking to me and he's usually a man of few words, but he even had plenty to say. lol

Most around here say to feed them 1/2 a cup of sweet feed a day and two flakes of hay each.... but I'll be feeding them more. My gut kept telling me that wasn't enough food, but one would think a vet would know best. The little girl at the place I bought this food told me, don't listen to any of these vets, they are all idiots. She takes hers to the next county over to a Vet that she says loves and raises minis herself, I got her number.

I look at them right in the face everytime I go out there and I cannot imagine for the life of me how anyone could abuse such beautiful creatures. I have wanted horses all my life and I have them, and each had their own heck before coming here, not that I am any savior by no means.... but I do tend to take on what others will not when it comes to animals and they were no different.

Tori, Banner and Sky will give me kisses.... all I have to do is bend down to them and tell them to give me a kiss and Banner will start poking around on my face, all OVER my face, if he has water on his mouth, I end up with a muddy face. Tori and Sky will just lay their faces on my face. But the fact that they trust me enough to do that, just means they know they are all safe now, at least to me.

I'll keep you all posted and if it's ok, I may stick around, not that I am going to be able to help, but I can sure learn all I possibly can. You have all been so helpful to me.

 

[Kubilee]

Yes PLEASE stick around, and keep sharing pictures of your little ones!!

And never say you have nothing to offer! What you are doing now is a learning experience for someone who's never had minis -- and there are many new people here every day! So feel free to comment and share -- we all can learn from one another!!

So happy to hear how they acted. Nothing like a horsey kiss!!!

.

I just came back in from checking on them. I gave them all an extra helping of the feed pellets today and I am such a paranoid freak that I've been out there I guess 100 times looking at them to make sure they are doing ok. Tonight when I went out, they weren't trying to maul me for their treats, but rather seemed satisfied and just wanted their nightly hugs... they got extra helpings of that as well tonight. lol

I did notice when I put Peebie up that she had a little fly bite spot on her right front leg and she was rubbing and rubbing it with her halter. I have some wonder powder here and some saline spray, so I cleaned it out really good and pulled that halter off her face so she doesn't beat it worse with the metal buckles on that halter. It isn't a bad spot, but enough to make her favor it a bit, and it is fresh.. so hopefully I caught that in time.

BUT all in all, she is already showing some signs of feeling better, and she wouldn't stop talking to me.... and I know it's just the first day of this new feeding, but she already is showing signs of feeling better.

SO... I want to say to all of you, how very much I appreciate your help. I can't even begin to tell you how addicted to these creatures I am and how important they are to me, so the help you have given me has been amazing and i won't soon forget it.

 

[ohmt]

Make sure you keep posting pics of her so we can see how she progresses. It's amazing how quickly they can wind us around their little hooves isn't it?

Another thing to be very careful of is leaving halters on them 24/7 (i'm not sure of you are, but though i'd mention it as I saw they had their halters on in the pics). I only put the halter on a horse if i'm doing something with them. Horses being the very curious and injury bound creatures they are can do a lot of damage if left with a halter on. I have heard of way too many stories where they get the halter caught on something and break their neck or end up with broken bones or a brain injury.

 

[shelia]

Congrats on your new little family! You have gotten some wonderful advise here. I just wanted to add;

It is a good idea the check all manure piles daily. You want to make sure they are not too dry, not too runny. You want to make sure there are enough of them. Healthy horses will generally make you a pile shortly after they eat. There should be a few piles per horse per day. If you find that someone is not passing manure You may be looking at a future colic. If a horse has not passed manure in 24 hours you have a big problem. You will need to call the vet.

You will also want some psylium on hand. About once a month, you should give them psyllium for 5 days. This will help keep sand out. You can use sand clear. You give it by weight so it is not much at a time.

Keep a close eye on you little colt that coliced. How is his manue looking? It may have been gas colic because of switching the diet.