D&B Training and Progress Journal

[DB Minis]

Hello all! I'm so excited to be a part of this wonderful little community and I want to share the life of my two minis, Dio and Butters.

Dio and Butters were part a group of neglected mares and foals rescued from a kill pen by a local miniature horse rescue. They stayed at the rescue then a foster home for 6 months until we adopted them. They are around a year old now and hopefully realizing they have found their permanent home.

Dio is a silver dapple large mini/small pony already passing 37" and Butters is a palomino large mini currently around 34". My goal for these boys is to become therapy ponies for our little farm. Butters is destined to life as a unicorn as well!

The boys landed on our farm 3 months ago and have progressed so quickly already, learning love from humans, basic handling skills, and most importantly just being horses. They are being trained with positive reinforcement and live on a mini track paddock to exercise their growing bodies and stimulate their growing minds. We are looking forward to a lifelong partnership with these wonderful boys.

Without further ado, please welcome Dio and Butters! The first three pictures are from their arrival at our farm, still extra fluffy with baby winter coats (Butters was a little sheep!). The last two pictures are their arrival at the rescue as wee babies.

 

[HersheyMint]

Welcome to this great forum. Members are so willing to help and answer questions Your two guys are so cute. Congrats on bring them to a loving home.

 

[DB Minis]

Thank you so much HersheyMint!

Fast forward three months, we have reached the heat of summer and the boys are looking very good. They are getting comfortable with fly spray and they are now wearing fly masks throughout the day, but they take them off every so often because the masks are just too big. Time to go shopping for some actual mini masks.

Butters is a complete dirtball now so I'm eager to start bath training, especially since we are in the 90s for the foreseeable future. Today I threw in a kids pool with some water to beat the heat and they enjoyed exploring it and drinking from it, they even made a few splashes.

 

[Kelly]

They look like two peas in a pod, so bonded! They are so handsome can’t wait to hear about them, their progress and their training, best wishes

 

[HersheyMint]

Love the pics. They look like happy

 

[Crimson Rose]

Welcome! Your boys are adorable Also yay for more positive reinforcement miniature horse people! I can’t wait to read about your upcoming adventures!

 

[DB Minis]

Thank you all! They are definitely two peas in a pod and they have such good hearts. I'm looking forward to sharing their journey with everyone

 

[MaryFlora]

Welcome to you all! Love the photos!

Dio and Butters are super cute and look very happy! The kiddie pool is a wonderful idea!

Their masks came off? An experience, I think, that we all can relate to!

Look forward to their (and your) adventure!

 

[DB Minis]

We had a sudden thunderstorm downpour yesterday, about an inch of rain and some hail came down lasting about 20 minutes. This was the first big rain we've had with the boys, they handled it well and enjoyed the muddy aftermath a little too much - Butters was able to get pretty close to matching Dio's color. Today is gloomy with thunder again and we're expected to get another 2 inches this weekend - after having months of hot dry weather it is going to be a muddy fiasco here.

We are chugging along in training right now, Dio has been making great progress being calm and engaging with touch and handling. Butters has been struggling with this, he is very alert to his surroundings, slow to engage, and sensitive to touch during training. It might be wishful thinking but I'm pretty sure it's because Dio was gelded a couple months ago and has chilled out a bit, while Butters just recently decided to drop his jewels (the rescue and vet thought he was gelded, he held them in there real good!). I'll be waiting for cooler fall weather to get Butters gelded, Dio was done in the heat of summer and came out swimmingly but I was anxious about the heat and flies. In the meantime we will keep practicing calmness but I am so looking forward to the gelding!

 

[HersheyMint]

So nice they are enjoying each other and you also

 

[MaryFlora]

They both look terrific! Do you have a favorite activity or exercise with your little buddies?

I enjoy walking with them and just hanging out, and their favorite activity is meal time!

 

[DB Minis]

Thank you Mary, they have blossomed into beautiful boys this summer. Right now I'm just enjoying spending time with them and bonding, they are still a little fearful and untrusting of people so it's a great feeling when they choose to spend time with me. I am very much looking forward to grooming time when they are ready, I can't stand having such unkempt horses!

 

[MaryFlora]

Unkempt? I’ll have to post a photo of mine after the Spring thaw….or during winter in their fuzzy coats!

 

[DB Minis]

Oh yes my boys have proven they are most beautiful in mud season. They arrived here with scraggly baby winter coats and I can't wait to see their next winter coats! Summer is their chance to shine but they aren't excited for me to help them shine yet Dio is getting some good dreadlocks in his mane but he has trauma with touching his mane. Their little herd was matted with burrs so I can imagine the intense brushing the rescue did to clean them up. Butters' mane was so bad they decided to just roach it, so he's still growing his mane back. Next summer should be amazing

 

[DB Minis]

We survived "Hurricane Hillary" which ended up being downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reached land, and once it hit us it wasn't much more than a heavy rain with some high wind gusts. The pasture flooded like it usually does but drained really quickly and the animals stayed dry. The boys miraculously stayed clean the whole time and are enjoying the fallen branches now. We have some cool weather for a short time then we're heating back up which I'm very much looking forward to.

 

[MaryFlora]

I’m very glad to read this and hope others fare as well!

I’m curious about the branches they are enjoying? Some trees can be harmful, even in small amounts. I hate sounding like a negative Nelly, but lost a horse years ago, to colic when a neighbor threw poplar tree branches over the fence (unknown to me) one evening to my Appaloosa, Red. The vet tried everything.

They do look very satisfied in the photo! And clean!

 

[DB Minis]

I'm grateful for your concern and so sorry for your loss! The branches are from a black oak, a probably 100 year old ginormous tree that shades half their pasture, so it is quite unavoidable. Luckily they had a slow introduction to it, a single leaf falls here and there, so they have not gorged on the leaves and currently the ground is covered in leaves but they have lost interest. They also have hay available at all times so they are keeping their bellies full. I am definitely on high alert keeping an eye on them since they are new to this property and experiencing the seasons for the first time here. I'll probably be going out with a rake soon, just in case!

 

[HersheyMint]

We survived "Hurricane Hillary" which ended up being downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reached land, and once it hit us it wasn't much more than a heavy rain with some high wind gusts. The pasture flooded like it usually does but drained really quickly and the animals stayed dry. The boys miraculously stayed clean the whole time and are enjoying the fallen branches now. We have some cool weather for a short time then we're heating back up which I'm very much looking forward to.

So glad you faired well. We did too. We had the rain 5.25 inches but not the wind. So thankful, I hate the combination of those two.

 

[DB Minis]

I'm happy to hear that HersheyMint! Looks like we got between 3-4 inches of rain, certainly felt like more! I would be very happy to live through any weather if there was no wind, although it is nice to have a little breeze during hot spells.

 

[HersheyMint]

I'm happy to hear that HersheyMint! Looks like we got between 3-4 inches of rain, certainly felt like more! I would be very happy to live through any weather if there was no wind, although it is nice to have a little breeze during hot spells.

I agree with you on that.