Hello from Lady Lavender in Houston

[Lady Lavender]

Hello, my name is Katrina and thanks to my husband, Sean, I am finally living my dream of having my very own horse! We brought Precious home about two and a half weeks ago and I have been having a wonderful time with her. I renamed her Precious Lady Lavender, Lavender for daily purposes. She is a beautiful bay and white, not quite three years old 28 inch Mini with the most soulful big brown eyes. I've spent years looking at horses and dreaming of what it would be like having one of my own but I can't ride due to an injury and I thought it would be not only impractical but cruel to have a large horse just sitting in a field with nothing to do. This past July, I was doing some internet research on senior center activities online for my mom (she's an activities coordinator for a senior center), I came across a photo of the most gorgeous little horse wearing sequined shoes and fairy wings visiting seniors, and I knew I had found the perfect kind of horse for me. I never knew Miniature horses existed, if I had, I would have had a dozen or so by now.

I'm learning about all facets of horse care as fast as I can. Amazon.com loves me, I think I bought every book they sell on Minis. I have also been reading posts on here and grilling my neighbors with horses and the poor girl at Steinhausers with questions. The woman I bought Lavender from is an angel! I have been texting her practically nonstop with all my concerns and she has patiently answered all my questions and put my concerns to rest. I just want to do everything right to make Lavender's life as wonderful as she makes mine.

My main concern is that she is lonely and I've noticed a couple of behavioral changes in her over the last few days and I'm working on resolving them but I could really use some help. I went online to look for a local trainer but they seem mostly geared towards riding than behavior modification and the few I've called don't deal with Minis. If anyone knows of a Mini instructor in the Houston area or in Texas, I would appreciate the info. I'm also searching for a friend for Lavender, but so far all the Mini's available for sale are several hours away from me and we don't have a trailer yet. We brought Lavender home in the back of my Jeep Liberty.

Lavender and I are looking for new friends and clubs to join here in Houston.

Happy to be here,

Katrina and Lavender

 

[izmepeggy]

WELCOME from Kentucky..You will LOVE this forum..Lavender is a doll.I think maybe she is trying you..Have fun with her but don't let her bully you.And believe me sometimes they will.Just remember,although small,she is still a horse..Oh,and giving them kisses is a given..lol..

 

[REO]

Welcome to the forum and to the wonderful world of minis! You've come to the right place!

I bet there are many mini people around near you. There are clubs in TX too.

What was her situation where she came from? Did she have friends there? I'm glad you're looking for a mini friend for her, she'll be so much happier with one. Just what things is she doing that you are concerned about? Tons of great people here to answer your questions

 

[Just_Rena]

Hello from southeast Texas. I bought a really nice mare from Walking D Minis in El Campo, its near Houston. Maybe they could help you find a friend for your mini.

 

[Lady Lavender]

Hi Reo,

She came from a nice home with about 15 other minis. She was born and raised at the ranch where we purchased her. The problems started about five days ago, she bit me on the butt while I was cleaning her stall then she ran off, I thought she was just playing so I ignored it. The next day as I was walking across the yard she ran up behind me and bit me again. The next day while I was petting her she bit my hand. She does not get treats by hand so no excuse there. Per advice I received I corrected her with a quick smack on the nose and a firm NO, she looked startled but then went back to eating grass. I thought the matter was over so I went to work on something by the barn. I heard her coming up behind me so I turned and she ran right up to me and reared up striking out with her feet. I grabbed her halter and tried to calm her down but she started bucking and spinning and trying to bite me. Monday, she went to the vet, when I asked about her behavior he said it sounded like she wanted someone to play with. Tuesday, when I went to feed her she started her running up and trying to bite. On a lark, when she ran at me I ran towards her and I chased but didn't come near catching her in a playful way and she spun around and started running and kicking in a happy way all through the yard and then she came back to me very calmly and didn't bite she just wanted to be petted. I don't know if I did the right thing but for the first time in days she was back to my sweet little angel. My main goals are to not screw up my horse and to understand and correct the bad behavior.

 

[Lady Lavender]

Hi Izmepeggy and Just_Rena,

Thank you for the welcome to the group.

I will check out Walking D minis. I'm looking for another under 30" filly. I wouldn't mind a mare and foal either.

 

[Boss Mare]

Welcome! I love her color!

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

Welcome! I'm in Texas, too, but way up north by Fort Worth.

There are a TON of clubs here, just go on the AMHA and AMHR websites and check them out. You can also look for breeders there, too.

Plus, Tony from Little America is down your way, he may have several for sale.

 

[SugaryCharm]

Welcome from a fellow newbie! Lavender is beautiful.

Not sure if registration is important to you, but there are often quite a few minis on Craigslist going for beans. However, some are not well cared for so you'd have to be a bit careful.

 

[Al B]

Welcome to the forum. Where in Houston are you. I might can be of some help.

 

[Lil Eowyn]

Welcome from Minnesota! Enjoy your stay! =) Beautiful filly.

 

[Scooter]

Hi Katrina,

Welcome - I'm new to minis too and I coudn't survive without this forum! You could be me, everything you said in your initial post is what I feel too

My wee guy is 7mths old and very inclined to bite too but its more like investigating than being aggressive and it is improving because we scold him every time he tries. He did run up to me once in the paddock when I was just walking around "keeping him company" and tried to bite me. I read a post here where someone said that if horses don't have playmates they will start to think of YOU as their herd and need to learn that biting and kicking is not acceptable behaviour with humans (as it would be with other mini playmates. Sounds like another mini could solve your problem but as I say I'm a newbie - the "old hands" will have lots of good advice for you

 

[Lady Lavender]

Hello Boss Mare, Field-of-Dreams, Sugarycharms, Al B,

Thank you very much for the welcome to the group! I've learned quite a bit from this group already and look forward to learning much more.

To Michelle- Thank you! I'm excited to see what she will look like in her summer coat. She has the longest most beautiful glossy black tail that I have ever seen. I simply love her!

To Field-of-Dreams- I will check out the site's club list. Lavender was purchased as a pet and I intend to train her towards therapy work. Thus far, I have not found a therapy group here in Houston but I am very new to all of this so, we have plenty of time to continue looking. I'm interested in joining a club to be around people with far more experience than I (which currently is everyone)and to give Lavender opportunities to participate in new and exciting things like parades and costume contests. Ok, perhaps the latter is more for me than for her but I can't help it, she is just so cute! I like several of the fillies available at Little America, I will have to check on the distance but they are certainly worth the trip.

To Sugarycharm- I have been keeping an eye on Craigslist in several cities and also Equinenow. There are several I would love to bring home but they do not fit my criteria. Any horse I bring home must be female, under 30" as an adult. There is a blue roan, I saw this morning and I'm waiting to hear back from the owner that I think I would happily break my under 30" rule to have her but we don't have a trailer so if the horse won't fit in my jeep standing, I can't bring her home. We are looking for a trailer as well, I made inquiries

to several ads in equinenow but have not received any replies in kind.

To I gotta get a life- we live about twenty-ish miles south of midtown Houston, just outside of the little town of Liverpool.

Thank you again for the welcome! Have a bright and beautiful day!

With kindest regards,

Katrina and Lady Lavender

 

[Al B]

On your way to Little America, stop by. We're just on the NW side of Houston right off 290. I can also hook you up with several clubs and even some Therapy groups.

 

[Lady Lavender]

Hello Lil Eowyn and Scooter,

Thank you for the welcome to the group! I'm very happy to be here!

To Lil Eowyn and Amy - Yay a Tolkien fan! When choosing Precious' new name, Eowyn and Galadriel were at the top of my list. The sad thing I realized, was that other than those all my other "if I ever get a horse" names were for boys. Bill the pony, Talat, Nimblefoot, Shadowfax, Tsornin...all males. Lil Eowyn is beautiful!

To Scooter- Happy to meet another newbie! If that is Scooter as your avatar he looks very handsome! Before Lavender, I had been around large horses and several ponies. My next door neighbor had miniature donkeys and he said his horses were miniature as well but honestly I just thought he meant pony because they were definitely not that small. He used them for driving. They were always very sweet and gentle. I watched him take each horse out for a walk twice a day, a different horse or donkey each day. So, when I brought Lavender home, I waited a couple of days to let her settle down and then took her for a walk, a few houses down then turn around to come home at first then a few more houses and finally all the way down the street. I thought we were doing so well. In the evening when I put her in her stall for the night I would sing or bring a book and read to her so she could get used to my voice. I haven't done that for three days now and I miss it but I'm trying to give her some space and let her be a horse. I was also bringing her in the house and walking her through each room. I hope we find a way to resolve the biting soon because I hate being away from her.

What do you put down in your stall as bedding? I put down pine shavings with straw on top of that and cedar shavings around the edges to discourage pests.

Thank you again for the welcome!

With kindest regards,

Katrina and Lady Lavender

 

[Lady Lavender]

To Al B

That would be wonderful thank you very much!

 

[SugaryCharm]

I tried to stick to my "must-have" criteria while I was looking for a mini (mare, papered, pinto, gentle to handle/easy to catch) but the pinto part fell by the wayside when I met Charm...she has no white at all except a few white hairs by her navel!

Also, not too long ago someone else on here (forgive me, I forget whom it was) went to look at a mare to buy and fell in love with a stallion instead! It's funny how sometimes you instantly connect with a horse that you would not have otherwise considered.

Not sure what you are looking for in a trailer, but if you haven't yet stopped by horsetrailerworld.com, it might be worth a look! They have a ton of ads there. Good luck and happy shopping!

 

[Scooter]

What do you put down in your stall as bedding? I put down pine shavings with straw on top of that and cedar shavings around the edges to discourage pests.

We use a horse mat to keep him up off the cold flag stones (well, it might be a cattle mat!) and wood shavings. We started by putting wood shavings over the mat and every night he would choose to sleep on the flag stones which didn't have shavings on them - guess he didn't like to sleep in his wee/poo - who could blame him?! So then we changed his stall so that the mat has no shavings on it and he sleeps on it and uses the shavings as his bathroom - like a cat litter tray! Actually he often holds on until he gets outside to do his wee - he's nearly housetrained - lol.

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

Don't despair if the horse you love is a bit far, most breeders I know will transport for you. We do all the time, within reason and for gas money! Just ask!

 

[shadelady]

Hi. You want to look up Nancy