Need Information on feed/shelter mini horse through winter

[shadowpaints]

i cant tell in the pics very well, but he has a pretty big belly, when was the last time he was wormed? his top line looks a little lacking also

to me his feet look long for his height, and he needs more toe taken but i could be wrong i agree that every mini is different, but out of 20 head i dont have one mini that can go more than 12 weeks in between trimming.

are you planning on gelding him?? it would make him soooo much happier! and you too not to mention you wouldnt have to worry about the studdiness!!

he is definatly a cutie!! how old is he again?

 

[babyblue]

Well Ed’s got a pretty big belly going on right now lol. First thing is I would worm him, secondly he could use more exercise. His hooves could use a trim sooner then later, but its not a disaster yet. I would geld him, not only for you and your children’s safety but it will increase his value. A stud is only valuable if they are extremely high quality, trained, shown, registered. Other wise they can just be a pain to deal with and most people (if you planned on selling him) would pass on a stud. A three sided shed is all he needs and he would be far happier this winter in that then a stall.

I would be concerned about his weight, his belly is big and even with worming its still a big belly. If you have to dig to find his little ribbwiches that’s not good for him long term. I have a 20yo full size qh. He’s been me and my sisters show horse all our childhoods and is now our children’s show horse. He has mild arthritis problems when he gets too fat. So what we do is keep him on good hay and pasture, small amounts of higher protein feed and use a joint, hoof and coat supplement on him. The big part of his care though is exercise exercise exercise. You can feel the ribbwiches, but not see them, he has hard muscle and his build resembles that of a professional runner rather then body builder like most qh’s do today. Here’s a pic of him and my niece at a show a few days ago to show you what I mean by lean and fit.

 

[Bunnylady]

Ed looks very young to me - like a weanling/yearling. He also looks like he isn't getting enough protein in his diet. You often see young minis that look like that, big bellies and nothing on the back, when they are fed just grass hay. Some people look at the belly, and say "oh, he's fat!" without looking at the whole picture. ED IS NOT FAT!! Ed is a baby, if anything, he's a touch thin (look at the point of his hip). Ed's backbone stands a good bit higher than the surrounding flesh, and it shouldn't. There should be enough muscle and fat to make his back nearly flat. My filly Blondie tended to look like that, I finally had to add alfalfa pellets to her diet to help fill in her topline. A yearling is too young for serious exercise, you can damage their joints if you ask too much, too soon. He can play all he likes, but any forced exercise should be only at a walk or easy trot, and only for short periods (babies have short attention spans!)

A lot of people worm babies Ed's age every month, because worms can pull a lot of nutrition from a growing baby. Ed is also well on his way into his winter coat, so his need for protein is even higher (hair, after all, is mostly protein). If you can add a little bit of alfalfa hay to his diet, great. As I said, I give Blondie a couple of handfuls of pellets every day, but I have to soak them, because they are a bit too hard for youngsters to chew up.

 

[Skittlez]

He is a cutie. I agree with the other posters about the worming. He seems very young still. He still has his baby hair for a forelock, he didn't shed out well, and his top line still seems to be in the baby stage. How old is he? Is he a yearling? His back toes are alittle long, and he needs more heel. He seems low in the back hooves.

I would worm him every 2 weeks for 6 weeks, then he can go on a rotation. I wouldn't worm him too much a first in case he has a large worm load, you don't want him to colic passing worms.

My mini and shetland have large bellies, but due to grass, not worms. They can get fat on air! My mini is too fat, but he has no issues with founder. My shetland on the other hand has had founder issues this year, so no more grass for him. He is in the barn healing right now and then will go on a dry lot. I put the mini in with him to keep him company and the mini will go on the dry lot with him. Diet time

Also October is a good month to geld. Weather is cooler and the bugs are down. It should fairly inexpensive, depending on what your vet charges. I paid $120.00 for my 2 year old Arab colt, but I know others have paid up to $400. As long as both testicles have dropped properly, It should be a fairly low cost procedure.

 

[bossynbella]

A friend of mine who raises full size horses took a looked him over when we got him and said he looked around a year old, she examined his teeth etc. He hasn't any testicles.I have heard that sometimes mini's don't drop like they should or they only drop one. Well Ed doesn't have either. I have also heard that Gelding a mini who's haven't dropped can be very expensive. We don't plan to breed him and would geld him money allowing but like I said no testes. I will look into wormer. I guess I should give some back story about our money situation. My husband lost his job last fall and has had no luck finding a new one, I lost my job this July and have just started work at the local wal-mart making only 7.65 an hour. To add to that we have had a unknown disease kill 80% of our flock. The USDA sent out a vet who tested for three things (apparently they are only concerned about the big things) they tested for AI, END, and Infectious laryngitis which it wasn't any of those. If interested you can find the topic of the chicken disease by searching for my name under the category emergency's diseases and cures. Along with that my oldest sister who lives in Colorado was diagnosed with pancreatic Cancer in End stage last month. Then Last Thursday she had surgery to remove it and they found it was to advanced. She has 6-9 months to live. Thus being said I am not saying that these things are more important then Ed's health, that is why I started this post because though I really want to keep Ed I am afraid I will not be able to provide for him the way he should be cared for. Wormer for instince. I have no idea how much that is. Anyway I hope to be able to afford to keep him, like I said we bought him as an impulse and I would love to keep him I am so attached to him and he to me, but I want to do what is best for him not what is best for me.
Give me your advice
Thanks
Melissa

 

[Bunnylady]

Really sorry to hear about your sister - Pancreatic cancer is a bummer. Often by the time it is diagnosed - well, you know.

Yes, I can see where all these other things would have you distracted from what's going on with the (was it $35?) impulse buy of a few months ago. Minis will get to you though, won't they?

Wormer for instince. I have no idea how much that is.

Around here, a tube of wormer runs $6 - $12, depending on the brand and the active ingredient. Wormer is given by weight; a tube contains enough product to dose an animal Ed's size at least 3 times, probably 4. DO NOT use the brand named QUEST (active ingredient, moxidectin). It is too easy to overdose, and can cause problems in thin animals even at the appropriate dose.​

 

[Skittlez]

I am so sorry to hear about your situation.

If you would like, pm me and I will send you a couple tubes of wormer. It runs from $9-$15 a tube. One tube will do about 1000lbs. So a tube would be good for 3 doses for your mini.

I think your Ed is younger than a year old. He still has his foal hair, and his mane and forelock are still baby fuzz. His testes should drop around 10 months to a year old. Some minis do take a little longer, but he sould be ready to geld as a yearling. If you look on DreamHorse.com and look up minis, max 1 yr old, you can see the difference in their coat and mane.

I am not sure how far you are from Northern Illinois, but if you need help with him, send me a message. I have extra hay too if you need some to get you through for a while. It looks like his pasture has enough grass for a little while.

Sarah

 

[bossynbella]

Well we had him shaved this spring. He did have a long coat of fur. And its like his main shortened on its own. I will post a couple pics from earlier this spring and when we first got him.

These two are before we shaved him, like two-three days after we got him.

This one is after we shaved him, He will let me set a baby on his back. I don't put all the weight down on him but the little boy loved it until Ed turned around and licked his foot! Just like a dog would it was hilarious!

 

[Skittlez]

Wow, he sure did look rough. I would have bought him too! He may be a year then, he should have family jewels soon then. Your son is going to be quite the cowboy! How cute!!

 

[bossynbella]

Not my son. Unfortunately it's not likely we can have children, I have PCOS and we have been together for 5 years and have no children, so I baby sit a lot and watch my niece and nephew as much as possible.