How did you get started in owning a dwarf/dwarfs??

[MiniHoofBeats]

Well this is coming up because IF my little PeeWee IS a dwarf, I plan to keep him anyhow...fixed of course, but this would be the beginning to me owning and maybe rescuing dwarf miniatures in the future...kind of makes me warm and fuzzy inside!

I would love to hear how you received your first dwarf, what made you want to bring it home, and why?

And of course, photo's!

 

[GMAMINIS]

:aktion033: I AM HAPPY FOR YOU THAT YOU CAN HAVE A MINI AT YOUR HOME AND GET TO ENJOY THEM WITHOUT ALL THE EXTRA TRAVEL & WORK. GOOD FOR YOU FOR STANDING UP FOR YOURSELF! NO ONE KNOWS YOUR SITUATION BETTER THAN YOURSELF AND IF YOU FEEL YOU DID THE RIGHT THING AND ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK WITH YOUR NEW MINI SO BE IT. ENJOY HIM! I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME PICS FROM YOU AND ANYONE ELSE TOO!! :saludando:

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Thank you so much GMAMINIS, I really appreciate your message =)

 

[nootka]

Actually I was wondering why the sudden change in type of horse you wanted myself after having to get rid of them, but if you want to rescue dwarfs, that's a noble pursuit. It's not easy though and I know Bill & Wanalynn, Little Bit (Janelle), even Mona has had experience with dwarfs (I think qtrrae also) and Tony, so they know what kind of physical problems that can show up, though I've heard of some that DON'T have a lot of problems even when they are fairly deformed, I just know eventually it seems to happen that you come up to "that time" when you have to make a very big decision and I don't think I could handle that part of it.

Best wishes in your decisions,

Liz M.

 

[deb in fisher]

I have had my 'little herd' for about a year and a half. I pretty much jumped in because I was inspired to

try to use minis with kids with disabilities. I've been a special ed teacher for 20 years and over this time have worked with kids from 6 months to 21 years, I think just about every disability, even before we could name them!

Thanks to Kay Baxter (kaykay) I am able to start my dream, with baby steps (ministeps!). Kay let me

do a project for a class I took when she was in Foosland. Being totally new to minis, she was thebest mentor

I could ever had. She was always encouraging and gave me the confidence that I would be able to help kids.

I knew it was meant to be when I fell in love with her filly and was delighted when I could buy her and then

found out her name was "Leap of Faith"!

Kay got a call from Mona last year about a mare and her dwarf that she had sent to Iowa. It didn't work out

so Kay agreed to let them come toher rescue ranch. She thought "Star" would make a great therapy horse.

This little dwarf is absolutely terrific. I have brought her to the at-risk preschool program in my school

district and throughout the day at least 75 little ones got a turn to pet her and brush her. Star was as good

as gold. She only left my side once,and that was to walk over to a little guy in a wheelchair. She went right

over onher own and put her head on his lap. We almost started crying it was so wonderful.

I brought Star and her mom,Lyndsay to a family picnic for all district students with the most severe problems.

They were both great...extremely well behaved and willing to let everyone pet them.

As I've told Mona, I'm sure she misses these girls, but they are bringing joy to some great kids(not to mention me!

Deb Murphy in Fisher, Illinois (east central in IL)

 

[sedeh]

Here's my little guy Buddy. He was our very first mini. My friend had leased some mares to breed and some were already pregnant when she got them. The foals would be the owners horses not my friends. One mare had Buddy and he just didn't look right from the get go. In nursing terms we would have called him and FLK(funny looking kid) which means we know they have something wrong in the gene pool but just not sure what. The owner was just going to have him put down so I said I'd take him. He has the most amazing personality! We call him "Mister Tude". He doesn't know that he's not normal.....or even that he's a little horse! He used to come in the house on occasion but since we've got other minis now he's out with the herd. Oh, one of the reasons I took him was to be a companion to the one gelding that I was going to have to show/drive etc. The same friend(wcr) that I got Buddy from encouraged me to breed minis instead......so now I'm up to 12!! :bgrin And, I love every one of them. Oh, Buddy does have lots of problems, from crooked legs, horrible bite and narrowed trachea which causes him to choke often. He's already had pneumonia once and I know he won't live as long as the others......but bless his heart I will love every minute we have him(he's 3 now!).

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Aww, you guys have some great stories! I love to hear reason why you first got started...I think it's great to use them with disabled children and adults, mini's and horses alike make awesome therapy animals =)

I just watched a show on tv today about a ranch called Angel Heart, they use horses as therapy for children and people with cancer...bless their hearts!

Nootka - I don't really know what to say as far as why the change of heart...all I know is, i've been given the opportunity to bring in one little mini to bring into schools, elderly homes, pet stores, parks, etc. to present to children and strangers...I originally wanted a stallion as small and correct as I could find that I could also lease in the summertime out to stud, but I stumbled across PeeWee, I think he's going to be correct but a lot of people think he couldn't be anything other than a dwarf...so I am saying, if he is a dwarf, I am still going to keep him...and he is going to be my therapy/educational mini... and maybe i'd like to get a second dwarf to be his friend =)

Who knows, I still have 3 days to wait before I get PeeWee's recent photo's! I just thought it would be nice to hear everyones stories that do currently own or rescue dwarf mini's =) They need homes too!

 

[nootka]

I see. So you were asking everyone about THEIR stories of how they got started and somehow I missed how you "might" have got started.

I personally think height (boy don't flame me for this one) is a warning sign when it is ultra ultra small, and when coupled with anything else that is "off" I would say no breeding, but then again I am sort of strict in that regard and careful, so maybe prejudiced a little smaller to me equals they better be even better in proportions than their say 30" plus counterparts though to be honest I don't know that proportions get closer to "right" compared to big horses until you get closer to the 38" mark.

I have had a filly here that I consider to have been exhibiting some traits of dwarfism. She ended up being about 30" tall (that wasn't the entire reason I though so, though). She had a high domed head, fairly heavy bone for her height, and a severe underbite. She was pretty correct other than that, and very personable and friendly. I sold her very inexpensively to a pet home and though I could not get her spayed, I feel she is safely out of the gene pool and still enjoying being treasured as she always loved to be. She was very intelligent and learned tricks at the drop of a hat. I miss her to this day....

I have known several fairly severe dwarfs and I just don't think I could handle it, myself so more power to you if you find yourself capable of taking care of one maybe two of them.

Liz

 

[frekles93]

[SIZE=14pt]Well my story begins with Babydoll in 03. Someone here posted a topic that they had found this Dwarf for sale and wanted to know if anyone could maybe get her..... well I had thought about "helping" Dwarves and had read up on them to maybe one day get one. Well the owner was about a 3 to 4 hour drive form me so I contacted her. She had several people interested and she had a $500 price tag. Ok I scrounged around and between my mom and I got the money. Next step.... where we going to be chosen? The lady was SO nice and really wasnt condoning the sell of Dwarves, she had the thinkin gof that if someone had to put money into something they where more apt to take care of it. She emailed me and asked when we could come get her!! Well she came home in the back seat of my truck... all 60 pounds of her![/SIZE]

My next one was Pretty Girl. She is a retired Personal Ponies horse. The girls on my Dwarf Forum posted her and I decide that Doll needed buddy. This was June of last year. So after all the red tape of the adoption forms and such, I made the 4 hour trip to Boonville to get my mom and dad and then made the 12 hour drive to Michigan to get her. Boy did I get the looks as we hauled her home in the back of my truck!! After 24 hours for her (night stay at mom and dads) and 28 hours for me we made it home!!

My lastest is Hidalgo! I got him July 27 of this year. The owner came to the clinic I work at in April after rescuing him form a horrible place... he was skin and bones and had 1 to 1 1/2 inch hooks on his teeth and was told that he is 25+ years old. He also has 1 eye. Well the 27 AM she called me and asked if I wanted him (of course when I first saw him I told her if she ever needed to get rid of him I wanted him) YES YES! Then she said well our dogs attacked him and he is tore up pretty bad... ok Get him to the clinic. All wounds have healed and he is doing great!

I have now gotten my "quota" of dwarves and am not actively searching for any more, but if any "land" in my lap I will welcome it with open arms!!!

April

 

[appypintolady]

My dwarf came to me 16 years ago. I bought a pet colt from a breeder near me and she said "Oh I will give you a companion for him as he shouldn't be alone". Well, the campanion was a dwarf. The kind that has the legs that are bent out at odd angles. He has a larger girth and tiny little ears. If I had known what I know now I don't think I would have agreed. He is a sweetheart but he founders and colics very easily, I really have to watch everything he eats, no alfalfa ,in anything, and no spring grass and sometimes he has a hard time getting around. But he runs and plays and has a great appetite and is very healthy for a 17 year old dwarf.

 

[kaykay]

Deb im so happy to see you posting!! i miss you and the horse crew so much!! And thank you so much for your kind words but you forget to give yourself credit for being so open to learning something new

I have to say Deb was/is very dedicated which is what it takes to help dwarf horses. She had to take star every 2 weeks to have work done on her bad leg and believe me it wasnt easy but deb did it. Because of this star now walks much better and has a better quality of life.

Another thing to keep in mind is the financial aspect. Some dwarfs dont have a lot of medical problems but many do. So I would just warn anyone that was embarking on this to be aware of the financial and emotional costs of helping these sweet tiny ones

Here are some pics deb sent me today of star doing her job

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Awwww, I just love to see photo's of these precious darlings helping others =) Thank you for posting those photo's of Star for Deb!

Over the last year that I have been on here, and the last 2 years that I have been into mini's, I have heard a lot of stories about dwarves and how much care they require...I have not yet made any decision about getting one, and at this time I am still assuming/hoping that PeeWee really is just a correct, tiny little stallion! I will know more on Tuesday, and I will know even more when he arrives here at home =) I may end up just looking for a nice, tiny little gelding to bring in as a friend for him, or I might just stick to loving PeeWee up a storm and not getting a second mini. I am going to have just me and PeeWee for probably quite a long time before considering a second one, remember I still need to convince the city to change it's ordinance to allow mini's lol I only have clearance to bring in PeeWee so far =)

I just love hearing all of who, when, and how you all got your first dwarf and what made you want to help more =) I think it's just great!!!

 

[Bluerocket]

We have 2 dwarves. Nutmeg and Clove. Nutmeg is a 7 year old mare and Clove is a 6 year old gelding.

I was leasing a mini gelding to get to know minis and to learn how to drive. The owner of the gelding had Meggie (Nutmeg) who was 2 mos old when I first saw her. The owner was short of funds and Meggie had to have surgery performed on her legs - they were growing in the shape of "J" -- the outside of the front legs were growing faster than the insides of the front legs - so the were collapsing outward. The owner could not afford the vet bills and Meggie was just too adorable to put down. At that time her bite was correct, and frankly we could not be SURE that she was a dwarf - we just felt she probably was. At that time I COULD pay the bills - so Meggie became mine. Around 9 mos of age her bite went off - and as she matured more dwarf characteristics emerged.

I purchased Clove at an auction - he looked like he might be a dwarf - and he was collapsed on one hind foot. He was awfully cute and Meggie was pretty lonely. So we bought him and he was gelded - and now they are best buddies (and have been so for 6 years).

Here is a website page of Meggie and Clove: http://foxhollerfarm.com/dwarves.html

Here is a link to my photo album that has some more pictures of the dwarves (and our goats): http://pub2.bravenet.com/photocenter/album...918&album=42299

Here is the picture of Meggie - how she looked when I first saw her:

JJay

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Ahh yes, I have visited Clove and Nutmeg's site before! It is so weird how they look so normal as foals, with just slight hints of *maybe* being a dwarf..but how the dwarfism shows the more they mature. Bless you for bringing in the two sweethearts =) They are precious!

 

[qtrrae]

I received my first Dwarf from a friend! It was the first time I had ever seen a dwarf. She was of course adorable!! I brought the Mom and baby to my place and named her Precious. She was exactly that - "PRECIOUS!" The Mom was standoffish but little tiny Precious followed me everywhere. I couldn't believe that a tiny little filly like that could show so much love. I'm sure people on the LB Forum got sick of me always showing pictures of her and talking about how adorable she was.

Right before her 6th. month birthday she got very sick and sounded like she was having asthmatic attacks. We took her to several vets to get different opinions - tried everything but her breathing just got more labored and much worse.

We had X-rays taken and a scope done of her throat and found out that Precious was slowly suffocating. Her palate was closing off - there was NO hope for my precious girl. Believe me I would have mortgaged this entire farm if there were any way to save her.

I took her back home and held her in my arms as the vet gave her the shot, I will never forget her looking up at me as if she understood. I vowed then - NEVER AGAIN would I take another dwarf and go through that agony.

Here is my very special girl - My Precious!

But the following spring when another friend of mine had a dwarf, they called me and asked if I would take her. I hesitated but a minute and said, Yes! She was only 14 inches when she was born, just a tiny little filly. I have tried hard NOT to get too attached but of course that is impossible. She is now 1 and 1/2 years old and is doing great.

Here is "Treasure"

We decided Treasure needed a friend so we ended up getting Buddy, he is also (of course) just adorable and Treasure LOVES to boss him around. Buddy is also 1 and 1/2 years old.

Both of them have bad bites and are quite tiny but they are full of love and we wouldn't part with them for the world. They need supplements and get very wet beet pulp twice a day along with their grain. We are also adamant about having their feet trimmed every 3 - 5 weeks depending on the growth.

Here is "Buddy!"

 

[MooseLMJAsh]

awww! treasure and buddy! they are so cute!! and such sweeties!!!!

cindy needs to post pictures of CHECKERS!!! he's sooo cute!!! i'll see if i can find the pics of him from before she picked him up! we put ribbons in his hair and everything!