Newblets With Questions

[Lacie]

[SIZE=10pt]Hello everyone![/SIZE]

I've owned and shown horses for 4 years, and now we're working on something we've wanted to do since we started, but we now have the knowledge to move forward. We want to start our own mini farm, but I still have some questions about different things.

We will start getting a harem of mares together as soon as we upgrade our property, extend our pastures (basically decreasing our yard work which is FINE with us!), and adding stalls and all that good stuff, so I have a wagon load of questions!

1.) Mini's can have overo coloring, so does the OLWS gene exist too? I would think so, but I'm not familiar with mini breeding.

2.) What other defects (besides dwarfism) can happen to minis that could be potentially fatal?

3.) What is a good stall size for minis?

4.) Are the 'arab' style face clips still 'in' or was it a small fad?

5.) What type of fencing have you found to be affordable, and safe?

6.) Alf-Alfa is rich for full grown horses, so if you have a mini mare who is pregnant and you can't feed it grass hay because of fescue, how much (or should I say, how little) should you feed a mini?

Our goals are to build a small harem of great mares (which is going to be expensive, but it'll be worth every penny saved to buy quality), and show them.. The mares, once proven, will be bred to stallions who also have their own sets of credentials, and from there our farm will hopefully grow to be one of the best! But first, we have to make our property nice and safe to contain and manage a small herd of minis, as well as support two regular horses. We're looking to also in compliments to conformation, to breed for color - don't get me wrong - Color isn't necesarry, but I show an APHA gelding who I'm going to show on the PtHA circuit as well, and it'd be utterly convenient to pack him and a few minis to head out to a show, ya know?

Soo yeah, it'll take awhile to build but I think it'll be well worth it.

 

[Alex]

Welcome!!

1. Yes the LWO gene exists in minis, you still have to selective about breeding etc.

2. Besides Lethal White, I cant think of any thing mini-specefic that could be fatal.

3. My stalls are 9x9, i believe.

4.What do you mean by arab style? If you mean clipped close and all gooped, yes.

5.Electrice braids

6.Not all grass hay contains tall fescue. If you were to feed alfalfa, I would mix it with orchardgrass, personal prefrence. I go by 1-2 % of the horses bodyweight, in lbs.

Good Luck!

 

[Leeana]

I cannot answer all of your questions but here you are...sounds like you have planned out a nice program, and yes, it is all well worth it.

1.) Mini's can have overo coloring, so does the OLWS gene exist too? I would think so, but I'm not familiar with mini breeding.

2.) What other defects (besides dwarfism) can happen to minis that could be potentially fatal?

3.) What is a good stall size for minis?

My stalls are 10x10 ft ...most have a small drylot connected to them so they can go in and out as they wish enclosed by 3 roundpen panels. My shetland stalls are more like 15x15 ft with the same size outside panels as the minis.

4.) Are the 'arab' style face clips still 'in' or was it a small fad?

You are refering to razoring ext? I dont think arabs are aloud to razor anymore actually (Carol will correct me if i am wrong). But yes, we still razor, goop and do detailed facials. ASPC though has banned razoring on the shetlands above the muzzle.

5.) What type of fencing have you found to be affordable, and safe?

We have some wooden fences and we have cattle panels ...i like both. Cattle panels would most likely by more affordable and last the longest.

6.) Alf-Alfa is rich for full grown horses, so if you have a mini mare who is pregnant and you can't feed it grass hay because of fescue, how much (or should I say, how little) should you feed a mini?

My hay is 75% Orch Grass and 25% Alfalfa ..works great for broodmares, weanlings, yearlings, show horses. I like that mix, our hay is very soft.

 

[Lacie]

*headdesk* this forum is giving me a hard time! LOL it could be my internet...

Mkay, since it sounds like the faceclips are still used... How do you do it?

Gooping - ha, I like that term!

We don't want to use all electric here. We live in a very deer populated area, and they have some form of sick humor by jumping over our fence and pulling it down, and we live close to a highway. There's some kind of rope that is similar to the material that Centaur Fencing uses, and we're really leaning towards that and running a strip of hot tape inside and slightly low to keep the stupid neighborhood dogs out, and keep the pretty minis in

 

[disneyhorse]

1.) Mini's can have overo coloring, so does the OLWS gene exist too? I would think so, but I'm not familiar with mini breeding.

Yep, the OLWS does exist. Be sure to get at least the stallion tested to ensure he is negative. If he's positive, be sure to test all your mares if this is a color you will be breeding for. Works the same across any breed of pinto horse.

2.) What other defects (besides dwarfism) can happen to minis that could be potentially fatal?

Nothing "fatal" but be sure to carefully look for locking stifles, bad bites, retained testicles. These things are RAMPANT in the miniature horse breed BECAUSE they are "not fatal" and if you hang around this Forum long enough, you will see all sorts of "excuses" people come up with to justify keeping an animal that hints towards these faults and still breed them.

3.) What is a good stall size for minis?

I have always kept mine in 12X12 foot stalls, they are WAY big even for a B size mare foaling out. I have even kept a pair of A size yearlings in this size. So you could go smaller, but if you have the luxury of having a bigger stall I'd go for it.

4.) Are the 'arab' style face clips still 'in' or was it a small fad?

Yes, this "fad" is still in, particularly with the AMHA minis. A little less so with AMHR but plenty of people "razor." If you do some searching on this Forum you will find past threads which describe more about it. You can get away just fine by shaving above the eyes and all over the muzzle with a 40 or 50 blade and then applying baby oil gel for shine. I have never razored, even at Nationals. It's not necessary to win.

5.) What type of fencing have you found to be affordable, and safe?

Shop around and see what you can find. Visit some local barns and see what you like. Everyone has preferences.

6.) Alf-Alfa is rich for full grown horses, so if you have a mini mare who is pregnant and you can't feed it grass hay because of fescue, how much (or should I say, how little) should you feed a mini?

There are lots of grass hays that are fescue-free. I have fed Bermuda, Orchard, and Timothy grasses to broodmares. Alfalfa hay is good in small amounts for minis that are showing, working, or breeding, but is best only about 50% of the hay amount. Again, check out some old Forum threads on feeding if you're interested.

Hope that helps.

Andrea

 

[Lacie]

4.) Are the 'arab' style face clips still 'in' or was it a small fad?
Yes, this "fad" is still in, particularly with the AMHA minis. A little less so with AMHR but plenty of people "razor." If you do some searching on this Forum you will find past threads which describe more about it. You can get away just fine by shaving above the eyes and all over the muzzle with a 40 or 50 blade and then applying baby oil gel for shine. I have never razored, even at Nationals. It's not necessary to win.

Good to know! I'd probably do it for larger shows, but if we're just hitting a weekender I don't want to take away all their fly defense.

 

[Jill]

1.) Mini's can have overo coloring, so does the OLWS gene exist too? I would think so, but I'm not familiar with mini breeding.

Yes.

2.) What other defects (besides dwarfism) can happen to minis that could be potentially fatal?

Minis can have the same health problems as full size horses. But, there are some undesirable (but probably not fatal) conformational flaws that are rampant in minis due to the fact that almost "everyone" who has a mini breeds minis -- and a lot of these people don't really know a lot about horses when they start and haven't selected quality animals to breed (my opinion -- maybe not popular but a valid point of view)... I think if you look around, you will see a huge range of quality being offered for sale. I think there are a lot more conformational issues in minis per capita than in most other breeds. Not fatal, but has an impact on usefulness / function and quality of life.

3.) What is a good stall size for minis?

I have nine 8x12 stalls and one 8x8 stall. I find the size to be fine, but personally wouldn't like to have to use the 8x8 stall for foaling.

4.) Are the 'arab' style face clips still 'in' or was it a small fad?

Yes, but it's optional.

5.) What type of fencing have you found to be affordable, and safe?

Our fencing is cattle panels on oak posts every 8', and I like it a lot.

6.) Alf-Alfa is rich for full grown horses, so if you have a mini mare who is pregnant and you can't feed it grass hay because of fescue, how much (or should I say, how little) should you feed a mini?

You can find grass hay that is fescue free. We feed orchard grass hay and sometimes timothy if it is very soft. We are very careful when it comes to hay for our minis and only feed leafy hay, nothing coarse.

 

[Viki]

As far as fencing...it's not the cheapest but the safest. Horse fence or sometimes called Non Climbable fence or Field Fence. Safe for the horses and keeps out dogs! Sometimes cheaper isnt cheaper in the long run. I consider dogs the number 1 threat to our little horses. I've even put wire over gates. It's not pretty, but sure keeps dogs out!

Viki

 

[Cathy_H]

What is a good stall size for minis?

I always answer this question with, "it depends upon how much time your mini is going to be spending in that stall." In the past we had several small stalls (5 X 7) but our horses were fed in the stalls then turned back out in big dry lots. They spent most of their time in the dry lot areas which is covered and has run in shelters..... During show season they spent more time in the barn but they were put in the bigger stalls ( 10 X 12 ).... We now have fewer horses so we took out the dividers & made bigger stalls but our horses still spend most of their time in the dry lots.................................... In a nutshell it depends upon how long they are going to stay in the stalls and if they are going to be exercised daily or turned out for free exercise. Keep in mind that in the winter time they will need bigger stalls if they are not going to be turned out for daily exercise ( my opinion ).