Miniature Horse 4H program

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mdegner

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Location
Cosmos, Minnesota
I am wondering if any of the Lil Beginnings folks from Florida are interested in getting a 4H miniature horse program going? About 2-3 years ago, the MN 4H organization added a miniature horse program and it's doing quite well. One of the individuals who was instrumental in organizing and advocating for it in MN is working with someone in Florida, who would like to network with others in Florida. Whether you have kids or not, if you have minis, it can be a nice program to get involved in. Some of us up here have seen an increased market due to the 4H program and it can be a good channel for horses who aren't necessarily top of the line "halter" horses.

If any of you are interested, please respond or PM me and I will pass that information on.
 
This sounds super!! I have 2 mini's and 2 boys and we would love it.Where I live there is really nothing to do if you dont have animals, so it would be great for other children as well. Hopefully all goes well!!
 
I am not in Florida but I started a 4-H Club in CT last year and all but one of the members use our minis for projects. I know the rules are not the same in all states, but if I can help in any way, let me know. There is a lot of information on our website (link below) including a lot of our program material which is updated regularly. Our members are working on ground driving this winter and there is more information (mostly public FB photos) at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.499310990107499.106469.100000858077660&type=3,
 
They stopped mini classes in my 4-H area in MN, so at a meeting I made a motion to start them again and they talked to the fair board and they have them again! But only 1, I wish they would have some sort of separate mini shows in my area XD
 
In our area (New England) there are 4-H classes at most of our AMHA shows, plus mini classes at enough of our open shows that we can show almost every weekend! Our 4-H Fair has an Equine division with mini classes (including ground driving this year). I think the key is to get involved and get out there with your minis! We asked one show to add mini classes and they were happy to do it as long as we guaranteed at least 3 entries and explained the rules to the judge. The judge had a blast, and I see he is still judging mini classes. We find that the open shows tend to be very flexible and will allow multiple entries in trail in hand classes (for example) so two kids can share a mini.
 
We also have a miniature horse and donkey 4-H Club in lower southwest Michigan called Mini Whinnies. We started 5 years ago with 10 members and this year we're at 50! The majority of our members are between 9 - 12, with several older members who do a great job assisting the younger ones. We also include a Clover Bud program for children 5 - 8. My sister-in-law started the club when people approached her with interest, and she and I are co-leaders. We also have a great group of parents - with so many club members, we couldn't do it without them!

We work hard to ensure all the members are included in our activities, regardless of age, ability or the quality of their project animal. We have several members with special needs and are looking into ways to better meet their needs, too.

Our 4-H Extension office is becoming more and more supportive of our Miniature horse 4-H program, even to the point of this year accommodating a separate state 4-H Miniature horse show for us and others in our state who want to show their minis at the state 4-H level. And at our county fair last year, we had to be housed in our own barn because we outgrew the equine 4-H barn!

We maintain a page on our website for our 4-H members, as well as having a closed, invitation-only Facebook page. If I can help with any advice or information, please feel free to reach out!
 
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Wow - I don't know how you can deal with 50 members!!! I feel like I have my hands full with 9. We started last year with 8 members, all using our minis, and then added one more this year with her own. We also have a member with special needs and would love to brainstorm about this. We took 3 of our minis and 6 of our members (including the one with special needs) to an open show last fall and everyone did great. BTW, our club is Little Hooves 4-H Club!
 
I also run a 4H Club called the Mini Whinnies but in Massachusetts! Www.ncminiwhinnies.weebly.com . I started our group 5 yrs ago and we've grown to 25 members. Massachusetts 4H now offers Very small equine classes at most of their 4H shows. We asked for mini classes 3 yrs ago so we could compete in the State show. We started off with 5 kids attending the State show that year and last year there were 18 making it the largest division. This year I think we'll need to split the division as its becoming more and more popular.

The majority of the New England AMHA shows have now added 4H classes . It's typical for us to have 16 -20 minis in our halter classes in our local 4 H shows! Start a club and you'll be amazed at how quickly it takes off. The kids ( and adults) have so much fun!
 

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