I got my first mini today

[WashingtonCowgirl]

Hi everyone! Today I got my first mini

He is a 9 year old red roan unregistered stallion (which will be changing here REALLY soon), 34 inches tall. He has 50 days driving training, and is basically bombproof. There were two young boys running around, my three dogs (two of which are just slightly smaller then him) ran up to him full speed to say hi with not so much as an ear pin or dirty look. I am totally smitten with him

Pretty good, considering it was about 18 hours from the time I saw his ad till he was sitting in my pasture.

A little about me, since I don't think I have introduced myself here yet. I am 19, and from Washington (obviously). I have owned large horses my whole life (mostly AQHA and APHA registered horses), worked for boarding facilities/breeders/trainers, and even trained a few myself. I have two dogs, a lab and a mountain cur, and my roommates have a border collie pup. I'm a little nervous about what exactly to do with Spanky, but whatever we do I'm sure we will have fun! I plan on feeding him an rb (trying to decide between LMF's SuperSupplement or Purinas Enrich 32) with plenty of grass to eat during the day. He has 10 acres to himself right now, but once he is gelded we will be getting him a buddy. If there is anything that you feel I should know, please tell me, as like I said, this is new to me

OH, can't forget some pictures of the little dude

Everyone, meet Spanky

Confo shot from a few weeks ago:



Movement shot from a few weeks ago:



Today. Standing really under himself. I promise his cannons are not that angled



Also from today. His cute little face and speckled nose

 

[Lizzie]

Congratulations and what a good looking and fun boy you have there. Looks as though he has some bit of Appy in him too and is in pretty good condition. I'm sure you and he are in for many wonderful years together.

Lizzie

 

[WashingtonCowgirl]

Congratulations and what a good looking and fun boy you have there. Looks as though he has some bit of Appy in him too and is in pretty good condition. I'm sure you and he are in for many wonderful years together.

Lizzie

Thanks

He does need a few groceries, but that will improve once I start him on some BOSS and his RB

 

[Equuisize]

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy....

He sounds like a gem. Congratulations!

...and Welcome to the Forum.

Do watch him on the 10 acres of grass,

depending on where you are in WA.

Our grass would normally be dying off, this time

in July, but not this year....it's still quite lush.

Sounds like you've a good foundation in horses, so

I'm probably preaching to the choir.

Have fun.

 

[WashingtonCowgirl]

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy....

He sounds like a gem. Congratulations!

...and Welcome to the Forum.

Do watch him on the 10 acres of grass,

depending on where you are in WA.

Our grass would normally be dying off, this time

in July, but not this year....it's still quite lush.

Sounds like you've a good foundation in horses, so

I'm probably preaching to the choir.

Have fun.

We are near Olympia . We haven't had horses in quite a while (about 2 years) so the fields are overgrown and mostly dry. We do plan to start grazing him in our front yard, which has lush green grass, so we will be starting him at about a half hour, slowly working up to an hour twice a day. Right how he is in a medium sized corral with short, mostly dried out grass. But founder and colic is definitely something that I worry about, as I heard minis founder/colic easier then full sized horses.

 

[Wings]

Congratulations! I'm glad to hear you'll be getting him a buddy! They really love having another with them!

That must be how we all start out -- getting one buddy, then two buddies, then.....

Then 17 buddies

Congrats and enjoy him! Nothing like the first mini!

 

[REO]

Welcome to the forum!

And welcome to minis!

They are the best!

Minis do founder easily. Many believe that Bute is hard on minis (should you need to use it) and we avoid Quest wormer on minis.

He's a cute appy! Looks like you'll have a great time!

I have a gelding named Sparky

 

[LittleRibbie]

Congratulations on your new little appy, he sure is cute. Im happy to hear he will soon be getting a buddy. your going to have a blast driving him. Dont forget to look at the driving topics here on LB too. I only drive for pleasure but there is always great info there to help even those of us that dont show.

Have fun!

 

[Jill]

What a pretty guy!!! Congratulations and "welcome to the club"

:yeah

 

[Riverrose28]

Welcome from Southern Maryland, your little guys is too cute, and you really lucked out with him already trained to drive. You are going to have so much fun with him you will soon want more and more as minis are addictive.

 

[little lady]

Hello from Southern Illinois! And also welcome to the can't have just one club. He is cute and love his coloring. Hope you get hours, days and years of enjoyment from him. I too came from big horses all my life and the hardest thing for me was feeding them. It is VERY easy to over feed them. It is also very easy to want to spend sooo much time with them you get very little if anything else done. You have conme to the right place with some very wonderful and helpful people. Enjoy your new miniature!

 

[lildrummer]

He is handsome and so unique! Welcome and enjoy! I certainly do~

Lildrummer

 

[Getitia]

Congratulations on your new addition. You and he are going to have some wonderful times together. A lifetime of memories for sure

 

[bannerminis]

Congrats on your new boy he is gorgeous. Wish you the best of luck with him

 

[Songcatcher]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum from Oklahoma. You probably already know this, but if you choose to get a mare as a buddy, be sure to wait 6-8 weeks after gelding to put them together in order to avoid any surprises. A few sperm tend to linger around for a while after gelding.

I envy you driving. That is my goal for the future.

 

[MeganH]

Congratulations on your boy! Welcome to the forum!

 

[Taylor Richelle]

Congratulations!!! And welcome to the forum! You have a nice looking boy there

You're going to have lots of fun with him

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Welcome from Snohomish, WA!

Your new boy is VERY nice, it's really too bad he's unregistered as that limits your show opportunities and he's more than nice enough to be competitive.

On the other hand he's got great build for something called Combined Driving Events or CDE's, and Washington is one of the few places in this whole country where minis are not only allowed but actively welcomed in that sport. Look up a place called Happ's down in Ethel off Highway 12, it's not too far from you and there will be a major event there the first weekend in August. You should come watch! You'll get a chance to check out a lot of carts and harnesses in person which is an invaluable opportunity for folks as far from Amish country as we are. Don't miss it! I'll be down there probably on Saturday to watch the cross-country marathon phase.

Minis do founder more easily than big horses, they can develop massive hay bellies with ease, shouldn't have Quest wormer and are prone to Bute toxicity so you have to be really, really strict with their dosing and try to use Banamine instead if you can. Take him to your local vet clinic and get him weighed on an accurate scale- you'll be glad you did! Many people (including vets) overestimate their weights and that can be a problem with dewormers and such.

If you've got a Western background, remember that in driving the only communication the blinkered horse has with you is through the bit in his mouth. You've got to have contact so he's not out there all alone! A lot of riders have trouble with that at first, and with how to get them to go forward without using your legs. Do you have someone experienced you can take lessons with?

Welcome to the wonderful world of minis, congratulations on a stunning new GELDING and I look forward to meeting you both soon.

Leia

 

[wingnut]

Welcome from this Maryland mini owner!

You're gonna have a great time with your sweet new boy! Congrats!

 

[Equuisize]

Gosh, we're practically neighbors....I live in Montesano.

We're about 35 minutes from West Oly.

We've got lots of minis folks in the area.

Your grass could be similar to ours underneath.

Lawn, unfertilized?