My new Miniture horse! Mr. Ed Jr. Rode home in a jeep!

[bossynbella]

First off I want to say that although I had no thought that when we went to the Kalona exotic animal auction last saturday my husband would buy me a miniture horse I could not be happier. No I don't have any experience with horses first hand, though as im sure many girls do I have dreamed and read and read and planned since I was 5 to have a horse of my own. Sure I was hoping for a horse to ride, but I couldn't be happier with my 35 dollar pony. I was on the small animal side and hubby had gone over to the hoofed side to see if there where any mini burros going cheap he came back and said " you should'nt of let me do that I bought a pony" IM like a what? a little brown pony he says. I say " will it fit in the jeep? " as that was all we had to carry it home in! I think so he says. So we go to pay and get the receipt and it says HOF2 BLK MINI PONY (STUD) Im like you bought a stallion? hes like i guess so! So im thinking this pony is likely to be quite rowdy and possibly a little mean ( like I said I dont know alot but I was hoping for a gelding) We go to get the pony and hes tiny! no halter or anythign on him so they open the stall and off goes the pony! Running through the sale barn! we finaly steer him the right way Hubby lifts him up shoves him in jeep and climbs in after him. What a ride home that was! 2 hrs later we get home and he unloads easily! We put him up in a pen we had been using for chickens. After a little work with him he is a sweetheart! He whinnies when I come out of the house, loves to be brushed and likes to nuzzle up to me. I have slowly been working to see what else he will let me do. He will let me pick up his hooves and I notcied they are full of mud/gunk etc. can I clean that out myself? Or do I have to pay someone to do it? He is shedding out his winter coat I assume? They shaved his neck and looks like they cut some burs out of the fur on his rump he looks shaggy. My neice is a proffesional dog groomer and shaves our dog every summer, can i have her shave the rest of him to even him out? or do I just need to wait till he sheds it on his own. Since I have brushed him he is super soft but seems hot and looks goofy! I have included a couple pictures of him. At night we bring him into the "garage" chicken shed into a stall all his own with lots of straw for bedding and hay in a tub to eat as well as water. I got him a salt block yesterday. He gets to eat grass all day and has access to hay as well. What else should i be doing for him? I have to say I love this pony! I took him for a walk yesterday around our acre just letting him eat when he wanted brushing him and leading him around.
Also I have a two year old great nephew can mini's be ridden? my neice said she heard they dont have strong enough backs, but that they can pull carts sometimes. Something I think could be very cool in the future. Please Ive been reading up on them as much as possible in the last few days but sometimes its nice to have someone tell u what u should be doing in a certain situation!
Here are a couple pics before I brushed him

 

[jbowyer01]

Oh my he is so cute! Congratulations.

 

[Crazyland]

LOL Congrats! He is so cute.
I don't know anything about horses or ponies so I can't help you.

 

[RabbitMage]

Keep reading, reading is good.

You need to clean his hooves out yourself, ideally once a day. You'll need a hoof pick for the job. In addition he needs to be seen by a farrier every 6-8 weeks to have his hooves trimmed. Being a young, growing horse this is extremely important.

You can go ahead and clip him. Do it now, especially if it's warmer where you are.

Watch his diet very closely. Minis get fat easily and are prone to thinks like colic and Laminitis/Founder which can be caused by diet. You may want to limit his time on the grass or keep him confined to an area without much grass, feed him a grass hay as opposed to alfalfa, and probably supplement him LIGHTLY with either a complete feed or one intended for growing horses.

 

[Bunnylady]

As the owner of 3 minis, and a hopeless addict of a forum for minis, let me offer you heartfelt congratulations on your new boy. He looks adorable. He also looks very young - possibly just a weanling. I know we have other members that own minis, I'm sure they will join in shortly, but let's see if I can answer a couple of questions for you.

He will let me pick up his hooves and I notcied they are full of mud/gunk etc. can I clean that out myself? Or do I have to pay someone to do it?

You need to learn to do this yourself, it is an important part of maintaining healthy hooves. There is a tool, called a hoof pick, that is made for this job. There are even mini sized ones, but as long as you are gentle, the bigger one will do just fine. Start at the back of the hoof, and scrape toward the toe to clear the mess out. There is a v-shaped structure called a frog at the back of the hoof, it is sensitive, so don't get too rough with it, the rest of the hoof is hard enough you won't have to worry about hurting it. Do run the pick down the crevices of the frog (one on either side, and one down the middle). It is important to clean these out, as this is where the dreaded thrush infection begins. Your mini will need to have his feet trimmed regularly, you need to get a farrier to do this (although some mini owners learn to do it themselves).

My neice is a proffesional dog groomer and shaves our dog every summer, can i have her shave the rest of him to even him out? or do I just need to wait till he sheds it on his own.

Yes, you can have her clip him. Depending on where you are, the temps may be high enough now that he will be much more comfy without all that wool on his back. Be prepared - he will look amazingly different!

can mini's be ridden?

Well, yes they can, but it depends on a lot of things. If your little guy is a young as I think he is, you've got another 2 years before he'll be old enough to even consider putting weight on his back. How large a child they can carry depends on how big the mini is. The usual rule of thumb is like a big horse: 20 - 25% of the animal's body weight for rider and tack. A lot of people assign a weight of 300 lbs. to any mini, but this isn't accurate. Really small, refined minis may weigh less than 100 lbs. It is important to know your mini's weight. He will need the same care as a big horse, and things like wormers are given according to weight.

Has your mini had his shots yet? Depending on where you live, there are several that might be given, your local vet would know what they are. Try to find a vet that knows about minis. They are mostly like big horses, but there are a few things that are different. Mini people usually steer clear of Quest wormer (active ingredient, moxidectin) and Bute, because the margin for error on those products is so small and it is very easy to do harm by overdosing.

You will probably want to get your boy gelded at some point. Some mini stallions are perfectly sweet, but a lot are not really different than any other kind of stallion, just smaller. Your vet can give you better advice than I on this subject.

As for driving minis - oh, yes! They can pull very well, though you do need a good trainer to teach them to do it safely.

Best of luck with your little guy, I think you are already finding out why we mini people believe that minis are like potato chips - one is never enough!

 

[bossynbella]

Its nice to hear that he is young I was thinking he was an older horse. He seems to have a bit of a cataract? glossy thing on his right eye and does not like to walk on my left side because of this I think. Twice today when I was walking him around he tried to "nibble"? on my leg! How do you stop this? I simply said "NO" and kind of gave his head a gentle shove. He learned to open his gate! and is at the moment walking around the yard! I plan to fix that in a couple minutes! I thought it was cause his pen is almost out of grass but maybe hes had too much grass already? I sure don't want him to get colic! How much does a farrier usually charge in the midwest to trim hooves? We are on a budget for sure and I can see hubby saying he has to go if it starts costing too much money

Well I better go catch mr. Ed and put him back in his pen. He just seems very lonely I think hes been use to being with other horses.

Melissa

 

[mom2jedi]

Congrats on your new addition!!!

As for being used to having companions, that's very true. All horses are herd animals including minis. He will be much happier if he has a companion. It doesn't have to be another mini, a goat or donkey or sheep will be fine since he's not a full sized horse. Good luck and have fun.

Oh, research is always a good thing, keep reading!

 

[suburbanminifarm]

Bunnylady gave you great advice. You sure have your homework to do! I agree that he looks very, very young. You probably want to schedule his first Vet visit just for a checkup and ask loads of questions of the Vet. He is so, so darling......cogratulations!

 

[shadowpaints]

first off congrats! he is a cutie!!!

ditto to what everyone said... BUT make sure when you call around to have somone trim his feet that they know how to trim minis! as a miniature horse farrier, i have seen so many feet ruined by poor trimming!

probaly a good idea to worm him as soon as possible. he will go great on grass hay ! ( thats what we feed our minis)

another thing for you to serisously think about. Getting him gelded. many people dont like to but he and you will be MUCH happier with those 2 extra brain cells LOL

we have 3 (soon to be 4) geldings and we love em to death!

Clipping, it depends on what your weather is like now. i kow here in Idaho the temps at nite are still under 30. so its too cold to clip.

also he looks like he might be a bit lousy. it would be a good idea to de-lice him also.

if you need any help, gimme a holler! ill be glad to!


here is a GREAT site for you to join also!!
http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?act=idx

they are all awesome and VERY helpful people!

 

[bossynbella]

I'm not sure where to look for farriers to begin with. we live in a rural area where most vets either deal primarly with cows and such or with only dogs and cats. Why does he look lousy? I havn't seen any bugs on him. They did cut him a few times where they shaved him at. He looks alot better since I brushed him I need to get new pictures.
How old do you think he is?