Not to sure what to do(mini horse)

[B. Saffles Farms]

Quote:
Appearently my horses and horses ive seen kept alone must be an exception.

They have thrived, not just survived. Ill guarentee you, you wouldnt have known they where kept alone without someone telling you they where.

ETA, if you cant trim your horses feet yourself, you problay dont need a horse to begin with.

Well the last time I checked HORSES is plural=more than one... So do you have A horse or HORSES? This person is talking about getting a HORSE=singular. How could your horse thrive ALONE if you have HORSES? This makes no sense.
FYI VERY VERY few horse owners are qualified to trim, shoe and maintain a natural hoof balance. It takes years of education and hands on.

Ive got horses, some are kept seperated from the rest of them, WHICH MEANS 1 HORSE KEPT ALONE/WITHOUT ANOTHER HORSE OR HORSES TO KEEP IT COMPANY. Excuse me for not making myself more clear. I know she is talking about getting a HORSE=singular. And I will guarantee, if she chooses to get the HORSE it will be fine kept alone.

I didnt say anything about being qualified to shoe your horse, I was reffering to trimming a horses feet, it is NOT rocket sience.

 

[skirbo]

Actually, proper trimming (and shoeing) is a science. Proper angles, not just textbook angles but what is correct for the individual conformation of your horse, is incredibly important and crucial to getting the best performance out of your horse and will help keep him sound for use longer. I consider myself a very educated horse owner and I know that I am not capable of trimming my horses' feet properly. I can pull a shoe in an emergency and that about does my farrier skills in.

Where I board, the owner took in an arabian stallion (now gelding) who had been kept alone, totally by himself, for almost ten years. Someone else bought the horse because they felt sorry for him. He was taken to a boarding stable where he was surrounded by horses that he couldn't really be around because he was a stud. He started self mutilating. Horribly; he still bites himself sometimes and has scars on his chest and sides from doing it. Eventually my friend was given the horse. He is now gelded, around other horses and on Prozac to control the mutilating and the fits he would have regularly, spinning in circles as fast as he could until he fell down doing it. For no reason. He's sweet but very unpredictable and probably always will be.

For more information specific to miniature horses, check out lilbeginnings.com

Sarah

 

[Momo]

Yes, a horse can be kept alone. No, it is not nice for the horse. Also being separated from other horses on the same property and being alone without other horses nearby are two different things. If you want to get this mini you will have to have a properly prepared and safely fenced area. As with chickens, the right infrastructure is important for keeping horses (actually it's more important for horses as they are complex creatures). Patandchickens has it right. Think about what you want. I know you want this mini, and believe me I know how that feels! But of course if you bring that horse home you have a responsibility to give it as good a life as you can, and that means space to move, not too much grass, not standing in mud all the time, a dry safe area, shelter he can move into and out of at will (not being shut in), good clean hay several times a day, clean water at all times, proper hoof trimming (I trim my own horses but have had a lot of practice and study) and at least one other horse for company. If you can't provide these things, then you are not doing right by the horse. If you can, then do. Good luck!

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Skirbo, I wouldnt blame that horses behavoir on being kept alone.

And momo my horses that are kept seperated arent kept anywhere close to any other horse or horses. They all do great.

And since I see that only certain peoples opinions on here are all that matters, and others opinions are just plain wrong, Im not debating this anymore. Ive just stated the facts, that I know and have expierienced, through my 20 some odd years of owning and training horses. Once again it wont bother the horse to be kept alone.

And to the OP, remember these are people opinions, based on expierince and for some I belive book reading, Id be more worried about your yard than the horse being sad and lonely and deppressed.

 

[skirbo]

Where I was taking riding lessons there is a gelding across the street from her farm that stands *all day long* at the fence looking at her horses. He's surrounded by goats, but is the only horse. He's incredibly depressed and constantly tries to get out of the fence.

I realize your experience is different than the accepted norm, so I will consider it to be the exception that proves the rule.

I haven't been here long at all and certainly don't think that my opinion counts any more or less than anyone elses.

Respectfully,
Sarah

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Im not saying my opinion is right or wrong, its just an opinion that has worked for me. People could learn alot if theyd keep an open mind to others expieriences and not shoot them down before they try them.

 

[CountryMom]

Horses can survive and thrive alone. Not every horse that has colic, ulcers or other issues are from being alone and many have no health issues being alone period. I believe in EVERY horse situation that most of the health issues in horses is a predisposition in the genetic make up. Basically things are bred into the horse by either breeding for a certain sport or for a certain bloodline. There are things that happen when you concentrate a certain gene and some of the health issues arise from that. Say the navicular horse that many people blame on riding too hard when in realitiy the horse's hooves are either not formed right or their internal structure is just not bred strudy enough.

So will this mini have a good life is more like the question that should be asked instead of swing from two extremes of beliefs. A mini alone with a devoted owner who sees to every need including the social needs is a better home than being tossed to pasture as an ignored outgrown children's pony with no care. They are not wild since they have been domesticated so many generations now. They don't do well with "retiring to the pasture to live out their days" mentality I see over and over and used as an excuse to do nothing for them period.

As for land requirements, I would say a small pasture - one to two acres and a good stall to put up at night. Not a have to stall, but minis don't need to eat themselves to death. I would not recommend them for your yard, but then I have put ours and even our shetlands in the yard to graze and help me keep up. Mind you my yard is large enough to be a pasture. Sure helps on the mowing. LOL

If you are a new horse owner, you need to find yourself a good HORSE vet and a good farrier. Farriers are a dime a dozen as far as getting them to trim, but a good one is worth a mint. I have found that minis tend to need their hooves done more often. And as my farrier tells me, there isn't a lot of damage that can be done with a rasp and a short amount of time keeping the hooves filed. I have and will again trim my own, but then I have been around horses and farriers for years now. I wouldn't recommend it for a novice. And I can say, I have never screwed up a horse by trimming or filing.

Ultimately you need to educate yourself with all the information you can find (and BYC isn't necessarily the top horse forum.) I would say do some reading and find some other horse owners in your area. Even call your vet and ask about their thoughts on feeding and health issues. I believe the magazine TheHorse.com is the place for all the good up to date medical info and articles of care. Take the BYC horse owners as a source of info (mine included) and put it together with all you find out to make an educated decision. No one way is perfect.

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

CountryMom, Very well said.

 

[CountryMom]

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Yes, and I have seen farriers in the past refuse to trim a mini because they can be hard to handle. Put an unruling mini with a farrier with a sore back together... well you get the picture.

I also believe that if you own a horse it is the OWNERS responsibility to train that horse or have it trained to stand for a farrier and a vet and behave. It is NOT the farrier's to train or the vet's to train. IMO

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
This is totally false! Horse kept alone, stress colic, crib, get anixiety etc etc etc. They are herd animals and do not thrive alone. I am not saying they can't live, but they won't THRIVE!
That said, how much land do you have? If your worried about hooves tearing up your grass, don't get a horse. Even a mini is pricey BTW they need the Farrier every 6 weeks, deworming every 6 weeks. Mineral/salt quality hay, grain, Vet, vaccinations etc.

Appearently my horses and horses ive seen kept alone must be an exception.

They have thrived, not just survived. Ill guarentee you, you wouldnt have known they where kept alone without someone telling you they where.

ETA, if you cant trim your horses feet yourself, you problay dont need a horse to begin with.

They can be healthy alone, but they do better with a companion. Also, I have known many people with horses that trimmed their own. They thought they did an adequate, or even great job, but the hooves were not very well balanced. I'm not saying a person can't do it, but saying "if you cant trim your horses feet yourself, you problay dont need a horse to begin with," sounds a bit like picking an argument. It's quite a ridiculous statement.