How strong are they??

[Deb]

I feel kinda of silly asking this, i always assumed i could out muscle my mare if i had to (shes 35 about 250) and shes pretty good so up till now i didnt get to see how strong she is lol, but shes new to lunging and the other day she ducked out on me, so then she was facing away, wow shes strong

i mean i really had to dig my heels in to stop her i even slid about a foot, i did win in the end

but i think i no longer feel that when she learns to drive ill feel bad having her pull me

as to the lunging, shes tried this a few times since, but now im ready for it, so shes learning it wont work, but i guess just surprised that somthing so small really still has so much "horsepower"

 

[Sue_C.]

Once you have her put to cart, and get her really moving up a hill, or somwhere that you can really see the powerful muscles in her little body...that will really floor you. (Note: When she is properly worked up into condition, of course.)

I love roadster, or doing the barrels and poles with my horses. Especially the games; when you are "coming home", I swear they drop about two inches and stretch out in that huge trot. Like they say..."That's what I'm talking about"!

 

[Jill]

Years ago, Harvey and I were driving a mare I trained to drive (first hint...). We had taken her trail driving w/ no problems and then were driving her in an open field and something spoked her. We both jumped out of the cart and each grabbed a rein and I swear, it took the two of us to hold her. I had always imagined if a horse spooked, even one of the big ones, with a bit in their mouth I could hold them. WRONG. If not for Harvey being with me, I think that mare would have gotten away from me and gone off with the cart following her. She is about 35". Just never had a clue they were so strong.

On the bright side, that was years ago in 2000, and I feel like I know tremendously more now about driving horses and about starting them. I'm going to be training Sunny to drive starting very soon and feel like I can do a good job this time. One reason I think my mare spooked is I started her from day one in a closed / blinder bridle and didn't do nearly enough ground driving. I think something spooked her and then she was pushed over the edge because she was not ever actually comfortable with exactly what was that behind her (the cart).

 

[Voodoo]

They sure can suprise you with that strength can't they

. I definately think they're more than 1/4 hp

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I have heard the formula that they can pull three times their weight. They are stronger for their size than any other breed. Lots of people are surprised by how strong they are--for instance, the vet!

Marsha

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Rabbit is 28" high and weighs around 128 kgs depending on the time of year. He has always weighed around this, it seems to be his ideal weight.

When he was eight years old he got in with the big horses and one of the mares kicked him in the mouth. 48 stitches later the Vet left me with a syringe of a/b's to put in him twice a day, and told me to put them in the rear end. I had never put them anywhere but the neck but I did as i was told. I did pull back on the syringe but, as I went to inject the stuff I must have nicked the wall of a vein and the stuff went IV instead of IM> Rabbit dropped at my feet like a stone. I shouted and my friend's big son leapt in and picked him up and literally jump started him. Four of his friends cam in and they carried him out in to the yard and walked him, to keep his heart and circulation going. HOWEVER he had another small heart attack, leapt forward and panicked as another rest in. I was holding his head. He CARRIED us all- five large, well built Rugby Player type young men, and little old me flapping off his head like Ahab off the White Whale!! I kept his head turned and he kept running. We did a complete circuit, twice, of five acres. If we had let go he would have killed himself on the fence as he could not see, but he carried us all two complete circuits before Patrick could let go and run up to phone the Vet (long before cell phones!!) The Vet, also called Patrick, told him since the horse was still alive he would be fine, and he was. But how he carried me, off the ground completely and four big men dragged behind I shall never know. Now, if I am asked "How strong are they??" I always say it depends on the motivation!!!

 

[hobbyhorse23]

The ADS people who look at their size and think minis should not be allowed to "overdo it" have the same idea as you did. I tell them to try leading or lunging Kody when he's in a stallion mood and see if they think he'll have any problem pulling them!! These little guys retained some big horse proportions when they downsized...same amount of hair packed on a smaller package, same placental thickness, oversized genitalia in males (don't know about the girls), same number of teeth, and the heart and lungs also remained large. My vet commented on that when he did the prepurchase exam on Kody. He said the minis have large hearts and lungs compared to their size and like Secretariat, that's their secret to having such strength and stamina. Outsized hearts in little bodies, both literally and figuratively.

With that much ability to quickly circulate blood, I'm not surprised their little muscles are super-powered!

Leia

P.S.- Think about it. How often do we humans really use all our strength? The horses have no such silly restrictions, especially if they're scared. They throw everything they've got into it and that's a lot!

 

[Deb]

The ADS people who look at their size and think minis should not be allowed to "overdo it" have the same idea as you did. I tell them to try leading or lunging Kody when he's in a stallion mood and see if they think he'll have any problem pulling them!! These little guys retained some big horse proportions when they downsized...same amount of hair packed on a smaller package, same placental thickness, oversized genitalia in males (don't know about the girls), same number of teeth, and the heart and lungs also remained large. My vet commented on that when he did the prepurchase exam on Kody. He said the minis have large hearts and lungs compared to their size and like Secretariat, that's their secret to having such strength and stamina. Outsized hearts in little bodies, both literally and figuratively.
With that much ability to quickly circulate blood, I'm not surprised their little muscles are super-powered!

Leia

P.S.-  Think about it. How often do we humans really use all our strength? The horses have no such silly restrictions, especially if they're scared. They throw everything they've got into it and that's a lot!

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Well, im not underestimating there power, anymore

she is a strong little girl, thankfully 99% well bahaved, too

 

[minimule]

I've heard the formula is 3x their own weight as well.

In a pulling competiton, a pair of mini mules out pulled ALL the horses there. They won by size:weight ratio. They beat a HUGE pair of Belgians.