Anyone own a miniature horse?

[youdontknow32]

Yea, I've never owned a min. Put ponies and horses. All the ponies that we've had were stubborn and no fun....but I use to clean stalls for this lady who had like 5 of them, they were the sweetest things, always following me around when I was cleaning their stall, they would let me in the with them and follow me around like a big old puppy dog! They are really fun to show to, they will jump over polls, it's the sweetest little thing, they make saddles for them and blankets just like a big horsey!!

I hope you get your daughter one...she will fall in the with the miny....


I've always wanted them, I've always loved horses, but my parents never cared enough.


As a warning, people that get hooked on horses, never stop!!

haha

-Nicole

 

[monarc23]

Minis are spunky sweet and comical. I called mine a Boomerang...he'd get loose and at first i used to freak out when he'd get loose, but he knew where home was and since a total of three properties connected to ours he'd run a B line away from me to the end of the last property, rear and dance arounda little bit....I'd call "DUDE GET BACK HERE!" and he'd whinny and come bolting right back to me....I miss him more than words can express. He's living on a bigger farm now being a pasture buddy to a pony.

I got him as a reciently gelded 2 year old....ooh boy ohh boy...im glad I had horse experience before my mom got him for me....he was a handful. I was bitten (on the butt) kicked and stepped on for the first few days....this wasnt out of meanness mind you...he was playing! LOL! Also not sure what experience you do have but if you get ayoung just gelded boy...you'll have to basically tear open his gelded area daily and clean it out...it's very painful for the guy and my mini never recovered from the fear of being touched down there after it did finnally heal. Not to mention ya gotta clean the sheath esp in the winter time i notice boys get those things really crusty and you just can't ignore it it's gotta be cleaned for infection can set in. Mares, i've never had a mare mini...however im assuming they're just like normal sized horse mares....'tudy when they come around heat time.

I trained my mini to park out (for show), bear back ride by neck and plow reign (he was a blast for the kids when my family had summer parties), and cart driving. His tricks included laying down on grass or water, rearing up on command, giving paw (yep lol), sitting on his bum, jumping over obsticles, coming in the house (he ran right to my moms bedroom when he'd get in and stare at himself in the full bodies mirror), walking up and down porch steps, and I think that was about it. He was a blast i'd have one again in a minute,but i think my mom (whom i rent from) would KILL ME.

I was there when he lost his baby teeth (i wish i woulda kept one for akeep sake of sorts), I was there when I entered him into his first and only 4h show at my county fair where he won Grand Champion Gelding and also my younger friend entered him into the 4H animal tallent show while i was at school and he won first prize. I had to work with him daily, and i mean daily with training and grooming to get him where he was. They can get fat just like ponies can which can lead to foundering, and on those lil legsof theirs that's really debilitating.

I only have a few pictures of Little Dude (yep that was his name---before we got him it was Reeses Peices). We bought him for $300 at the auction, endedup selling him at 5 years old for $1,500 because of all he had learned.

I'd give all that money back to have him back againthough he's still young at 10. My mom made me sell him she wanted out of horses completely even though he was mine. *sigh*.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Thank you all so much for you responses! I almost had myself convinced that my DD really doesn't need a horse, but now I know she does!

You are all such great enablers! Once again, I will be fussing with my DH over the issue.

I think he's scared that I am going to want a huge barn next!

I have actually found a farm that sells mini's not to far from me and have been looking there. The lady has a male that is 3 months old for sale right now, but I'm thinking I'd rather have a mare so we don't have to worry about gelding him later. Here's a picture of the one I've been looking at. He's the one who's name is Peppe.

http://kennedymillfarms.com/for_sale.html

 

[halo]

I do I do!!

I have him as a baby sitter for other horses, for horses that I have to put in the barn by themselves, for race horses when they come home from the track and need down time. He's a gelding, which I highly recommend, and is as sweet as my puppies. I adore him, and will always have one or two around. The hardest thing with them is to NOT overfeed them. They stay fat on air, and are very easy to founder if your not careful. I highly recommend them.

 

[helmstead]

A word of caution - limb deformities are a BIG deal in minis, and SO many breeders just pop out foals left and right with no real attention paid to conformation.

The colt you're looking at has very poor hind limb conformation, as does his dam.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Quote:
Thank you for pointing that out Kate. I might do better to look elsewhere then. This is exactly why I am asking you all for advice!

Thanks again!

 

[reallemons1]

This is my mini Romeo and my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter. The mini's I have been around are generally good natured, with a very few exceptions. Mainly depends on how well and how much they are handled. Romeo is quite dependable with any size child and has even done nursing home visits. He rides and pulls a cart and is 32" tall.

 

[Bec]

reallemons1- That is soo cute!

I would definitely get one that is older (older meaning not a baby and green). You would have to wait a while to do anything other than brush and lead, basically ground work, for about 2-3 years. They can't have a cart behind them until they are 3 because their hip bones need to fuse and the extra weight isn't good for them. And you really don't want to start putting the weight of a person on them until about the same time. Breaking a horse to ride can be quite trying and doing it with such a little one might call for bad times. An older one will be ready for interaction right away with your little girl. I chose to get a filly because I didn't want to have to geld. It would be great if you did find a gelding, they tend to be gentle and as mentioned before mare's get, well, mare-ish and moody. My Quarter horse mare doesn't have that problem but a lot do. Being that my little Kahlua is only 7 months, we don;t have that problem with her as of yet.

I think you are on the right track with finding the right horse and doing your research first like you are. So many people just run out and get an animal because it is cute then down the road puts it up for sale because they have changed their mind.

The one that was at my daughters riding camp also does nursing homes and schools.

Here are some pictures I got this morning of kahlua for your daughter!


Kahlua being naughty and nibbling my fingers..

Here is a Kiss..

Relaxing in the sun..

 

[patandchickens]

Please don't get a baby mini for a young kid. Minis need just as much training and maturing as any other horse, and can be just about as dangerous when they do something silly. For a 4 yr old you want something older that's been there done that seen everything.

Remember that minis -- and most ponies in general -- have significant laminitis/founder issues, much more so than the great majority of horses. You need to be excruciatingly careful about their exposure to grass grazing or to grain, and even then, a number will STILL develop laminitis. They are just metabolically predisposed to it. Laminitis is a big deal and can cause you a lot of grief and threaten the animal's life as well as soundness, so it is definitely something to think about.

Also make sure that you can find a farrier who will trim a mini, before you get one -- many will sigh and do it if they're already doing several other normal size horses at your place but with the prevalence of knee and back problems among farriers it is sometimes (varies regionally) real hard to find someone who will come out just to do A Mini or A Small Pony.

Honestly, IMO your best bet would be an older (like, 15 or 20 or 25) SMALL horse, even pony-sized, but of a horse breed (or a crossbred of horse breed type ancestry) rather than pony breed. But small, like 13.2-14.2 sort of thing. There are small QH and Standardbred types around in reasonable numbers that often work out excellently well as kid's "ponies". Yes, they will eat somewhat more than a mini (although not nearly as much as a 'real' horse) but frankly, a kid's first introduction to horses is not a place to get all crazed about budgetary issues. It needs to be SAFE, first and foremost, and you have to consider what other bills and aggravation *besides* feed the animal may carry with it.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[gumpsgirl]

patandchickens - Thank you for your advice and you did make some excellent points. I do realize that my daughters safety is first and foremost important here and that is why I have asked for opinions rather than just jumping into something, budget aside. This might not even be something I can do, I just am looking into. I do have a friend that is a farrier who will trim the hooves, so that's not an issue. I am just looking for something that will be small enough that won't be so intimidating to my small daughter, yet gentle enough that it won't hurt her. Another reason I am shying away from a pony. I am learning about miniatures, but needed to know if they have the snotty personalities that ponies have. I have a perfect spot that would work out for a mini and just merrily wanted to know what age, what kind of personality, etc... would be best for my daughter. Animals around here get the best care possible. If I can't afford to give that kind of care to them, then they don't come to my house. Thanks again for you input.