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lesean1977

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Hi

Im totally new to the world of minis. I have ridden all my life though so Im not new to horses in general.I got this little girl off of craigslist in south carolina. Shes 4 years old and as far as I know the man had had her since she was just a small baby. She hasnt been handled a whole lot other than being caught and brushed and his grandkids play with her some. The previous owner said she can be a little hard to catch but in the few days shes been with us she learned very quickly that it wasnt such a bad thing. She is calm, my 10 year old daughter can handle her without any trouble. She still needs to be vetted and dewormed most likely. The previous owner did nothing with her in the four years he had her. That is being done in two weeks. She was on a dry lot as far as I know, on my property she has a backyard with half grass the rest shaded then the front yard( in the pics)she gets to hand graze for a small amount of time. Thats where my questions begin.. is with feeding. Should I supplement with hay? I have been told she doesnt really need feed. Just grass and possibly hay through the winter. Shes been on grass for almost a week now and seems content. She grazes but does laze around under the trees also so she isnt gorging on the grass available. I would love any tips or tricks for training. Im most familiar with Clinton Anderson style training so I have been doing a little of that. She is a little sluggish in response to the lead rope and correction in general. So I assume she is just a lower energy horse. I would love to eventually train her to drive thought that would be a fun project for my daughter and I. If she is suited for it. So if any one is in the Charleston SC area and has experience I would love to pick your brain. Any other advise is welcome as I said Im new to this particular branch of equines.

Thanks

Kirstie

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Welcome to the wonderful world of MINIS!

Yes, I would add hay to her diet. I would also give her a mineral/salt block. She probably doesn't need grain, but there are supplements available that many people like. Other members on here can give you suggestions in that department.

Your vet will advise you on a worming rotation and what vaccinations are recommended for your area. You will also want to ask about farriers who are willing to trim minis. (Not all do.)

It looks like your new little girl has found a wonderful home. Enjoy!
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of MINIS!

Yes, I would add hay to her diet. I would also give her a mineral/salt block. \
Any suggestions on best type of hay. Again Im used to haying large horses, they would use coastal or timothy. And portions Ive read people giving 1/2-1 flake per day all the way up to a round bale with a slow feed net. Im thinking she definitely needs worming though looking at her in my pictures her belly looks a little low and round to me. But I could be seeing things lol!

Thanks!
 
Welcome, congrats on your first mini.
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Personally, I'd go with the timothy hay of those choices; while I've not fed coastal, I've read of people having issues with it being too coarse for their minis (of course, like anything that depends on your location and the quality of the hay).

As to her weight/body condition; get your hands on her and feel her, minis coming into winter woolie hair are difficult to tell condition on without feeling them. You shouldn't be able to easily feel her backbone, hips or ribs; but you also shouldn't have to dig for them through a layer of fat.

There is a formula on the LB Info pages to help you determine her weight (if you don't have access to a scale): http://www.lilbeginnings.com/info/misc/ Its about in the middle of the page. Like full-size horses, minis need a minimum of 1% of their bodyweight in fiber/forage daily to keep their digestive system running as it should; total diet should be 1.5-2% of their bodyweight (this is just a place to start, some need more, some need a little less). So, a 250# mini would need 3.75-5# feed daily, more in winter to help keep warm.
 
Any suggestions on best type of hay. Again Im used to haying large horses, they would use coastal or timothy. And portions Ive read people giving 1/2-1 flake per day all the way up to a round bale with a slow feed net. Im thinking she definitely needs worming though looking at her in my pictures her belly looks a little low and round to me. But I could be seeing things lol!

Thanks!
Frequently horses with a belly are lacking in protein, which they need to build muscle. And if she's had no excercise, she probably has very little muscle tone. I do not agree that horses need nothing but grass, especially single plant pastures/lawns/hay. They are natural browsers and will eat many different things in a wild enviornment.

I would reccommend an equine dentist; lots of horses cannot utilize their feed properly because of unshed caps or sharp points on the teeth.

One sign of parasites, I was told, is if the coat hairs have a hook on the end. If she hasnt' been wormed in a long time, follow the vet's advice.

Good luck! She looks and sounds like a very nice girl!
 
Personally, I'd go with the timothy hay of those choices; while I've not fed coastal, I've read of people having issues with it being too coarse for their minis (of course, like anything that depends on your location and the quality of the hay).

As to her weight/body condition; get your hands on her and feel her, minis coming into winter woolie hair are difficult to tell condition on without feeling them. You shouldn't be able to easily feel her backbone, hips or ribs; but you also shouldn't have to dig for them through a layer of fat.

There is a formula on the LB Info pages to help you determine her weight (if you don't have access to a scale): http://www.lilbeginnings.com/info/misc/ Its about in the middle of the page. Like full-size horses, minis need a minimum of 1% of their bodyweight in fiber/forage daily to keep their digestive system running as it should; total diet should be 1.5-2% of their bodyweight (this is just a place to start, some need more, some need a little less). So, a 250# mini would need 3.75-5# feed daily, more in winter to help keep warm.
She is definitely a woolie mammoth right now. Her coat feels very dense and thick. I used a weight/height tape, she measured 34" and was coming in at around 200-225 though Im not sure how accurate those are versus a actual scale. I think she will improve with better diet and care. There are so many different ways to care for these little ones. I just want to do it the right way and get her healthy without risking her getting sick. Since writing this post I cleaned out her feet which she wouldnt hold still for me to do when we first got her a couple days ago. They smell suspiously like thrush. Ive never seen the bottom of a minis hoof so I have nothing to compare to but it seems like the wells on each side of the frog are really deep and her frog looks odd. (On a big horse the bottom is rather flat ) Something else that could be bothering her. I dont think her previous owner did much in the way of hoof care. No idea when he had her feet done. They dont look terrible but could probably use a trim.

So I should get her a mineral block or is there a better way to get some minerals into her? Should I start her slow on hay seeing how she is grazing a good bit?
 
Also could someone talk to me about foundering. How big of a threat is it? Is it really a huge concern with these little guys? Some people I have talked to have me a little on edge. I scared to feed her lol! With our saddle horses we always used just a purina horse feed usually sweet feed plus free feed on a big round bale. Probably not the best diet in hind sight. So going into this Im a bit uneducated on different feeding options for minis. Im a little overwhelmed with all the different methods out there. Some are saying grass only others say hay and some say feed and hay.
 
It really depends on what your horse needs, just like any size horse. Some do fine on hay/pasture plus salt; others need a more elaborate diet to stay fit.

My budget is shot, so this year I started the majority of my horses on just a vit/min supplement with their hay/pasture, and they are doing fantastic. I have a senior stallion that needs senior feed, yearlings that need growth feed, and two metabolic horses on special feed; but 10 of my minis are on just the vit/min supplement, a little oats plus their hay/pasture and they are doing great, and so is my pocket book (I went from over $100/month to "grain" those 10 horses to $25/month). [We raise our own hay, so I don't have to really figure that into the budget; its not an out of pocket expense for me.]
 
Welcome!!! Your questions are standard ones when first joining the wonderful world of minis
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My mares are picky about their hay. Straight timothy in our area is way too course and "stemmy". Our first year we wasted about 1/2 of every bale because of it. You want soft, leafy hay if you can find it. I use a mix of grass and alfalfa but that's not always available or necessary.

Founder is a problem if a horse is too fat and gets little exercise. These guys, in general, can live on air. I have a horse that tested positive for Equine Metabolic Syndrome. Without getting too technical, it's similar to diabetes in horses. Too much rich, high sugar grass for her will bring on a bought of laminitis. Let that go too long without some kind of management and you risk going to full-blown founder. BUT!!! It doesn't have to be that. I use a combination of muzzles, exercise, dry lot with hay and no pasture during the mid-spring through fall season. The increase in exercise was the #1 thing that has turned her around (after she was no longer sore). From all my research and discussions with my vet, we can easily keep her from even having a laminitis bout again (let alone founder) as long as we keep some simple rules in place.

On the flip side, I have a mare who has trouble keeping weight on so she can be on the pasture 24/7 with no problem.

I generally don't feed grain. My younger 3 mares get a ration balancer (minerals and vitamins) during the late fall and winter months. My hardkeeper does get pelleted feed with a rice bran pellet for additional calories. I have a new weanling filly and she's getting a Mare & Foal 16% sweet feed. She'll be on that until she's 2. I keep salt and mineral blocks available at all times.

After 4.5 years of miniature horse ownership, I've come to believe in the KISS method. That's what works for me and my girls. There are so many different ways to go and a lot is dependent on your circumstances and your horse. Ask questions, research, talk with your vet and go from there.
 
Welcome to the board, and to your first mini. I got my first and only mini in March. How you feed and how much you feed all depends on your mini's personal needs. My mini, although on the smaller side, isn't very happy, unless she gets around 3.5 -4 lbs. of hay a day, and two cups of feed, all divided between two meals a day. She isn't a big gal either...but she isn't on any grass due to there isn't a place to turn her out, where I have her boarded. I personally weigh the amount of hay I give, as one bale may be a heavier grass and one lighter, so to me weight is the only way to tell exactly what I am giving. She was getting a hay belly, so I've added protein by giving her some Chia seeds, sprinkled over her feed. Her belly has gone down a lot. Anyway, have fun...these mini's are addicting!
 
You need to get a farrier out for a good trim and he will let you know if she has thrush and he'll tell you what to do. I use Thrushbuster.

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Also, I'd call the former owner just to cover your bases and ask if there is any way she would be pregnant. Just because.....

Grass founder is a huge problem and you are right that it is a very real concern. It is caused from the sugars in the new spring grass growth. When the sugars are high in the peak of the day, over exposure of grazing can set off changes in the horse's system causing founder. This is why many people have a dry lot where no grass grows and during that time you can return your horse to the dry lot with hay until your grass is established. Its complicated. Your best bet to understand is to read this over

www.safergrass.org

I feed hay year round for this reason and in winter I am very generous with it. II don't like sweet feed either because of the extra sugar in the mollases so feed oats and most of mine get 1 cup twice daily. I put out a white salt block and a red trace mineral block and we're good to go. Be sure your horse has plenty of shelter and don't let her eat any acrons which are poisonous.

Good luck and best wishes.
 

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