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

[shadowpaints]

i think he looks around a year old.

see the hair by his rear?? looks like he has been rubbing a lot and to be on the safe side, i would de lice him

check out craigs list, and the forum i gave you the link to earlier, ask in both places and find one with references!

 

[arabianequine]

Quote:
Ask your vets and look in the local paper for farriers.

 

[arabianequine]

The vet can tell his age by his teeth...my vet only charges an office visit fee if I bring them in....$35.

I agree his eyes look a bit odd.

Good luck!

 

[SillyChicken]

aww how cute!

So does he have a name yet?

(Have to admit I'm disappointed you didn't have any picts of him in the jeep!)

 

[hearthnsoul]

Oh no you didn't!!! he is just gorgeous!!! I am so envious

 

[CountryMom]

I would have to say that he is probably about a year old. And the molted looking hair on his rump are two things. One he is probably trying to shed out some hair as it is that time of year. And second he would have better luck at it if he had been dewormed. He is most likely rubbing his backside from the worms and needs that taken care of.

My best advice is to make an appointment with your vet and take him in. Go over feeding and deworming with your vet. He isn't going to take nearly as much dosage for deworming as a full sized horse. Also your vet can (like others have said) check his teeth and determine his age. You can also then make a decision as to keeping him a colt or gelding him. If he is mainly going to be a pony for fun and pleasure and if he is not a registered mini, I would highly suggest gelding him as soon as possible. That way you do not have stallion behavior issues to deal with as you learn how to handle this little cutie. Your vet can also recommend a good farrier and not just one you find in the paper whom you really have not refferences on. With instruction and help from your vet you can get a good start with him. Then start reading as much and many books and websites as you can. Minitack.com has some great books and videos on minis and training them. Also some nice tack his size which can be a challange to find.

Then get an appointment with a farrier. The farrier can check the feet as well as trim them to see if their is anything health wise wrong with his hooves. Most times not, but a good farrier can help you and your animal with regular trims and soundness issues should they arrise. They can also teach you how to handle their feet and clean them out. A hoof pick is a necessity, but daily cleaning isn't something as manditory. Cleaning a couple times a week is fine. And especially before and after any handling too.

Good luck with him. Minis and ponies can be very wonderful and loyal animals to own.

edited to add: Clipping is something you will need to do before the heat gets really bad. Just prepare your dog groomer for more of reaction from your pony than most dogs do. My oldest got nailed in the chin just Saturday when we clipped our 2 month old pony colt because he reared up so quickly his head nailed her. The vet may also be able to give you a bit of Ace to calm him during the process....again check with your vet on that and dosage. I use Oster Clipmasters because they are heavy duty on those long wooly coats.

 

[texasgal]

I agree that he is AT LEAST a yearling .. His mane is fairly long .. and those guys look young and cute because of their face shape.

He's very cute .. watch too much rich grass .. as others have advised.

Enjoy!

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote:
Minis can be a little deceptive, to someone who isn't used to looking at them. I was looking at the little guy's eye, and ear, and their proportionate size compared to his head. Also the lack of definition to the jaw, and extreme fineness of the muzzle. I was looking at the mane, too. Minis can grow a lot of hair, pretty fast, that mane really isn't all that long for a mini, though it clearly is too much for a foal.

I don't know if these will help, but here are pictures of a couple of my minis at comparable ages. They were taken in the wintertime, so they are very fuzzy. Mini fuzziness can hide a lot of detail, so I don't know how much they will show, but here goes:

This picture is my girl, Syd, at somewhere between 12 - 18 months old. Look how mature she looks, and the length of her mane.Right behind her ears, there are some bits that are sticking straight up; that is how much has grown since the last time her bridle path was clipped, maybe 3 months before (she is also very dirty!)

:

This is Blondie, at about 8 months. Blondie is more refined in type than Syd is and has a smaller, cuter head, though you'd never know it through all that fuzz!:

 

[bossynbella]

Thanks for all the advise! His hair on his rump has been cut with scissors. My groomer said probably to remove burs. He will be shaved this weekend and we will see what he looks like under all that fuzz! its so soft though! I almost wish he could keep it, but I dont want him to be hot!
So he has learned to open his gate.... we clipped it shut with snaps from old dog leads... today when we got home from work... Mr. Ed was standing by the chicken pen watching the chickens. He had somehow knocked the fence over! compleatle removed it from the iron fence post! Post standing fence down! So we tied him the rest of the day and now he is in his stall in the garage. I have no idea what I will be doing with him tomorrow as we both have to work and obviously he can get out of what we thought was a secure enough pen. Will be doing pen building this weekend. And more picture taking too!

Melissa

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

Just wondering how you all did today with the escape artist I mean the precious mini!? lol