Miniature Horse Keeping Questions

[chandab]

Yes, that's a suitable dewormer for minis. The tube will be marked for dosage by weight. I'd discuss frequency of deworming in your area with your vet; but typical schedule is every 2 months.

 

[Tess]

Okay, Thank you.

 

[Tess]

Hi,

Only 7 days left! I will try to take the best pictures. I will post the pictures here on this topic a few days after they get here. I want to wash them and make them clean for the pictures. I need to find a nice corn, oats, barley mix. Does anyone know of a nice brand? I would like to buy online if possible.

Thanks.

Tess

 

[chandab]

Skip the corn, it's not the best choice for horses. Feed is very expensive to ship, since it comes in 40-50# bags, you'll be better off finding it locally.

How old are the minis you are bringing home? do you know what they are eating now? [if it's working, you could look into keeping them on the same feed or similar feed (you might have to change brands).]

 

[paintponylvr]

How far away are you from the breeder they are coming from? How much feed is she/he providing you with to switch over - since it sounds like you are changing them to a different feed? Feed stores are usually where you would purchase feed. Where are you getting your hay from?

It's always exciting to get a new horse. Can't wait to see your pics of your new ones.

As to how often for that type of wormer - check with a vet in your area or with the vet hospital in your state. They would be more apt to give you the right time frame for each type of wormer and the amounts each horse should receive.

You might want to look into doing some of the "specials" with different companies. I get email from Valley Vet. Several times a year, I can order Ivermectin (drug name) wormer for just $1.99/tube. I also get both sale emails (coupons) and sale catalogs from Dover Saddlery. They also sell ivermectin several times a year for $1.99/tube. I usually don't have shipping charge with Valley Vet, but do with Dover... I purchase Panacur or Safeguard (drug name - Fenbendazole) & Strongid (drug name - Pyrantel Pamoate) in liquid forms and Anthelcide (drug name - Oxibendazole) in paste form for worming. In the past, we've used Ivermectin 3x yr; double dose of Stongid 2x yr; Panacur for the 1st worming on babies and as a double dose 5-day "power pac" if necessary; and Anthelcide 1x year.

I don't give Quest (drug name - Moxidectin) nor wormer products with Praziquantel (though that is what I've been told I can/should switch to now. It's usually sold w/ Ivermectin now).

 

[AnnaC]

I agree with the above. You need to find out what they have been eating - hopefully the folk you are gettig them from will offer you some of their present food so that any change over can be done gradually. Also ask when they were last wormed and what was used (they may have been wormed just days before they come to you).

Regarding food, you need to get a bag of normal horse and pony cubes/pellets to start off with - not a good idea to go with a mixed corn feed - with your grass and/or hay providing the essential fibre. And dont forget a salt block and a good quality mineral/vitamin lick/additive.

Also I would not worry about getting them clean for the pictures - we dont mind and anyway they will probably be a bit nevous/on edge having come to a new home and to give them a couple of weeks to get settled in and used to your routine would be good before you start doing 'extras' to them. Do you know if they have ever been bathed? If not it is something you will need to introduce them to slowly when they are settled and relaxed not as soon as they arrive.

Good luck - cant wait to see the pictures.

 

[Minimor]

Ask at your local feed store what they have available. My feed mill sells a nice mix known as 60-30-10 - oats/barley/corn - the horses love it and do well on it. I used to always use oats, but the horses actually prefer the 60-30-10. I'm not big on pelleted feed and use it only for horses that need extra weight or sometimes for nursing mares/foals.

You will not want to buy feed on line & have to pay to have it shipped to you. That will be much too expensive.

 

[Tess]

Hi,

According to the seller she feeds them one flake of hay once at night and once in the morning and in winter months she includes a 1/4 cup of the corn, oats, barley mix more as a treat than feed.

AnnaC- about washing them I will take your advice and not wash them for the pictures. I will check some other stores for the mix but the farm store I went to did not have it. Yes, they will be dewormed tomorrow. The seller just said ivermectin paste. I have a salt block but I do not have a mineral block. I will try to find one.

chandab- the two minis are 10 and 13.

paintponylvr- I am about 7 and 1/2 hrs away to drive. I am not changing the feed but I might have to change the brand. I will check with the vet about how often for the dewormer. That's a great idea. I do get catalogs from Dover Saddlery. I will check if they have any specials.

Minimor- We do have a store here called feed and farm supply I will check what they have for the mix. I will look if they have 60-30-10.

Thanks,

Tess

 

[chandab]

At 10 and 13 years, they don't likely have any special dietary needs like growth or senior feeds, and if she is just giving them a handful in the winter of grain, you might not need any grain at all; but rather just a vit/min supplement like Sho Glo from MannaPro (just one scoop daily for minis, scoop included in bag - I have two on this, my mini jenny donkey and the mare she shares a paddock with).

 

[AngC]

I'm not sure why you've decided on a "a nice corn, oats, barley mix" ?

Corn is for pigs, oats are for oatmeal, and barley is for beer. ...that's just my opinion.

I spent a lot of time researching horse food. Much of what people feed I don't understand. I can understand if someone does not have access to a particular food item, but ... I especially don't understand why someone in Eastern WA would contemplate feeding bagged feed ...doesn't seem cost-effective when you're living smack dab in the middle of a decent hay-producing area---head east to Idaho or west to the WA hay belt??? Hopefully you get horses that aren't prone to fat and regulate their eating habits. I have one of those.... but even he wouldn't be able to survive on bagged food. Worst case is that you end up with one that's prone to fat. It's heart-breaking and a fair amount of labor keeping them lean.

Regarding ivermectin...
I've been doing fecal counts and going with vet recommendations. Ivermectin was the last thing recommended for Nicky (a heavy shedder) They started us with the fenbendazole type products. That said the best thing I've accomplished for internal parasite is picking up the poop, every single, stinking day; even when I felt lazy. I took poop samples in for fecal counts at the beginning of this month and not one of our 3 needed a dewormer.

 

[Minimor]

Have to disagree with you AngC. Oats is a very fine horse feed; so is barley as a matter of fact. Want to keep your horses from gaining too much weight? Oats can help with that. I haven't had one get fat on oats--that's why if I have one that needs weight I add pelleted feed. If I want one to drop weight--increase oats and then give more exercise. Works very nicely. Been feeding oats to horses for my lifetime with horses. The 6o-30-10 is quite new for me but I am liking the results from it--it is a very good substitute for plain oats.

 

[Tess]

Hi,

Only 5 days until they come!

Thanks,

Tess

 

[Tess]

Hi,

The seller wrote and said she is coming on the 24th. She had to change the date because of the results for the coggins tests. So only 4 days not 5.

Thanks,

Tess

 

[Tess]

Only 3 days!

 

[AngC]

Have to disagree with you AngC. Oats is a very fine horse feed; so is barley as a matter of fact. Want to keep your horses from gaining too much weight? Oats can help with that. I haven't had one get fat on oats--that's why if I have one that needs weight I add pelleted feed. If I want one to drop weight--increase oats and then give more exercise. Works very nicely. Been feeding oats to horses for my lifetime with horses. The 6o-30-10 is quite new for me but I am liking the results from it--it is a very good substitute for plain oats.

geez, the quote thingie on this forum kicks my butt. I was trying to quote Minimor

I've been watching some of these "what to feed" threads for awhile. And I think they're difficult to treat with a blanket statement, like for example: oats/barley/grains are good. So I would like to disagree with you Minimor.

Frequently, the person asking the initial question provides too few details. I've been tinkering with our feeding regime. And I've tried not to be an old fuddy-duddy, but I keep thinking back to how my parents fed horses. Horses got grass and in the winter in Montana they got grass hay. The only horses that received grain of any kind were animals under work--hard work. I'd estimate that, for example, one of the roping horses that performed 4-6 hours/day would be fed grain. ...But not the kind of grain I've seen which is coated with molasses. ...it was dry and looked like that steel-cut Quaker Oats cereal. And the grain may have been barley---not sure, but again it did NOT have that molasses, sugar coating I've seen on bagged feed labeled for horses.

I KNOW that Coco, our mare, started getting fat when one vet told me to feed that bagged, molasses-coated, mess of oats/grains/corn to Coco when she was pregnant with Baby. It has taken me about 2 years to get the excess weight off Coco. I am just thankful that we didn't have laminitis with Coco, like we did with Baby. (Coco really was the more likely candidate for laminitis because of her weight with me being a dumb-butt and feeding her that stuff.) I believe we have Baby at a decent weight; she looks slick. And Coco is looking pretty good. I am just really not convinced that feeding grain-type products to mini horses is a good idea. ...unless they're getting hard exercise.

I didn't mean to hi-jack the OP's thread.

 

[AnnaC]

I tend to agree with you - back in the dim past we also fed straight oats to horses in work, occasionally with a little barley added or a sprinkle of crunchy salt, but never corn. My main concern is that to feed an oat diet to horses and to get it 'correct', needs experience which a novice/first time owner may not have, plus they will have a whole bag of the 'mixture' suggested to get through if they are not going to waste it. It is possible that the OP's two new minis may prove to have different needs, food wise, and therefore a small amount of their present feed being sent down from the seller (to make the change over easier) plus a bag of good quality basic horse feed would be the sensible way to go at the start.

 

[Minimor]

Some minis need a surprising amount of feed to stay in nice shape. Some of mone are in hay only with just the ocassional 2 or 3 handfula of oats as a treat. Some get 2 lbs of oats per day and some get 1 pouND per day. Just depends on what they need. I would not say they all need two pounds per day but likewise you really should not say that minis should never have oats. The blanket statement that oats is bad for horses is also not true.

Given the small amount Tess said these horses are getting. ...a 1/4 cup?...that isn't even a TASTE. In that quantity she isn't going to do them harm regardless of what grain product she buys.

Some minis need a surprising amount of feed to stay in nice shape. Some of mone are in hay only with just the ocassional 2 or 3 handfula of oats as a treat. Some get 2 lbs of oats per day and some get 1 pouND per day. Just depends on what they need. I would not say they all need two pounds let day but likewise you really should not say that minis should never have oats. The blanket statement that oats is bad for horses is also not true.

Given the small amount Tess said these horses are getting. ...a 1/4 cup?...that isn't even a TASTE. In that quantity she isn't going to do them harm regardless of what grain product she buys.

Some minis need a surprising amount of feed to stay in nice shape. Some of mone are in hay only with just the ocassional 2 or 3 handfula of oats as a treat. Some get 2 lbs of oats per day and some get 1 pouND per day. Just depends on what they need. I would not say they all need two pounds let day but likewise you really should not say that minis should never have oats. The blanket statement that oats is bad for horses is also not true.

Given the small amount Tess said these horses are getting. ...a 1/4 cup?...that isn't even a TASTE. In that quantity she isn't going to do them harm regardless of what grain product she buys.

 

[Tess]

Hi,

Okay, the minis are coming tomorrow around 4:30p.m. According to the seller they started shedding on April 16. Does that mean that they still will be fluffy?

Thanks,

Tess

 

[chandab]

Yes, they are likely still fluffy. Give them a few days to settle in, then start grooming them, it's a good way to get to know them and bond with them.

 

[Tess]

It's today! I will post pictures on here tomorrow.