Considering a Miniature Horse

Miniature Horse Talk Forums

Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Twitch4Me

New Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2021
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Location
Saskatoon SK
I'm looking at purchasing a Miniature Horse, primarily as a companion for my Appy Endurance Gelding. However as I'm not very familiar with them I was wondering if you lovely folks might be able to answer a few questions for me.
While the new arrivals primary job is to be a companion I would like to use them for driving as well. I know they have a tendency to be obese so my thought is to select one that would be athletic enough to be ponied along side my gelding during our shorter conditioning rides. Now, I think I'm an ok judge of conformation for regular sized horses, however since many of the mini's that I'm seeing for sale are in full winter fluff as well as obese do you have any advice on what I should be looking for or things to avoid? I'm about 5'10" and 230lbs so what size of mini should be looking for to pull a cart for me?
 
Hi and welcome!

Good mini conformation is just like good regular horse conformation only tiny. 😁 It is definitely hard with the fluff, it makes them all look obese and short-legged! Here's a few things I personally looked for when searching for a driving mini. There are some really knowledgeable breeders on here who will hopefully chime in with other things I didn't think of.

I paid particular attention to the feet and areas where abnormal fat pads would form if the pony were actively IR. So I wanted nice solid feet without any visible dishing on the toes (aside from normal flaring from lack of trimming) or big ridges that might indicate past laminitis, and no cresty neck or fat pads along the sides and around the tail head. If the horse is badly IR, exercise will only do so much and there are a lot of management issues that come along with it to keep laminitis at bay. My horse is still young and he may develop IR at a later time but it's much easier to prevent it from causing a problem than to manage the problems if they have already happened.

I wanted a horse with a nice efficient trot and a strong hind end. I paid attention to the hind leg conformation - minis can be predisposed to stifle issues so that's something I looked for. I ended up with a horse that is somewhat cow-hocked but who engages his hind end and lifts his back naturally when he moves off, whether he's hitched or not. So much easier if that's just there from the get-go rather than having to train it in.

Also, while a downhill conformation would be a hard stop for me with a big horse, I felt it was less important in a driving horse and my horse is slightly downhill although I think he may develop out of it, he's still young and was not in work, and he lifts his front end naturally when he moves. But I still wouldn't want one that is dramatically downhill since I think it makes their work harder for them and predisposes to front leg issues.

For me the most important thing was temperament. I wanted a sensible horse without anxiety, to the degree I could determine that just with a quick introduction. So I took him out on a lead, took him away from his friends and to an area he wouldn't normally go, and watched how he acted. He didn't scream for his friends or get rude and try to drag me back that way. It's proved to be true - if his buddies leave him behind he's fine with it, if I take him out and his neighbor screams for him, he doesn't get bothered by that either. I think that's important in a horse who will be a companion since he might be getting left behind at least some of the time and you don't want to have to be worrying that he's freaking out while you're away. My vet told me when he basically waved a vial of sedation in Rowan's direction and we had to hold him up while his teeth were done, "your pony has very little circulating adrenaline". He can still get up to some trouble but he's not anxious while doing it!

I'm not a very big person and I use a Hyperbike so the total weight my pony has to pull is only about 160lbs, but we do have some hills and rough terrain/muddy areas where I drive so I didn't want him to have to struggle to pull me. I had driven a 35" mini when learning to drive and we zipped around fine in the ring in an easy-entry cart but I felt that a slightly bigger horse would be better for my purposes: Rowan is 37" and solid built. I think this becomes way more important the more off-roading you want to do and the steeper your terrain. If you're mostly going to drive on flat, firm surfaces then just about any mini could pull you fine as long as your cart wasn't too heavy. For me, I wanted to stay well below "full draft" which is when the horse is pulling its own weight. I think my horse weighs about 275#, maybe 300. So if you got a similarly sized mini then you'd need a pretty light cart to stay below full draft. Most of the easy-entry type metal carts are around 120lbs or so. The Hyperbike is only about 35-40lbs.

And FWIW, I used to trim for a woman who had a large mini that was her endurance Arabian's companion and she used to take that pony along on most of her conditioning rides. So they can go pretty fast and far! The pony was still fat, though. ;)

Sorry, that ended up turning into a book! Hopefully it's a bit helpful, at least.
 
Welcome! What distance are you competing at? I can't comment on the driving but second what Abby P said about temperament. A confident mini who doesn't mind being left alone at home and who has enough 'go' to enjoy going out on rides with you would be great.
 
I think I would look for a small pony if I was you. The leg room in a pony cart will be more comfortable and you would be able to do more types of driving if you really get into it and enjoy it. You might want to give rides eventually too and a little bigger would not limit you. Good luck on your search for the right companion and potential driving horse! Keep us posted.
 
Temperament is my most important criteria. It's difficult to tell about that at first. Talking to an owner about how the horse fits into a herd will be helpful.
I had a miniature a couple of years ago who didn't get along with my 25 year old gelding. They got into squealing kicking matches. Unacceptable for me. He seemed like such a pet, and children could brush him but he wanted to be boss. I sold him to a couple who wanted to further his driving training. They had 5 big horses. Within a few weeks, my horse was the boss of all those big ones. If one came up and acted as though he would challenge him, my horse showed his teeth with his ears back and the biggie backed off. It was not a scenario I could have lived with, but the new owners were fine with it. They did not see their horses as pets, but as horses. I am more of the pet type.
So, knowing in advance what kind of horse relationship you want would be helpful.
He was about 36". His owners were a little heavy, but he had no trouble with the cart and passengers. My driving horses are 32 and 33. They have no trouble with my wooden cart and two adults. But, being taller, the cart fit for you could be something to investigate and might look nicer with a 36+ horse.
 
Hi! Minis are definitely great and you wont regret getting one at all! To be honest...I haven't read all the replies but I can say that the body condition is just the same as regular horses. Do you know body condition scoring? That's the easiest, quickest, and best way to determine your mini's condition and weight. I hope that helps! :)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top