Rescue . . . .

[cowboygirl45]

Earlier when I read how he put his head on your hubby, it brought tears to my eyes.
Reading your posts my feeling is

(you're not allowed to protest this comment)

YOU are AWESOME!

THANK YOU REO!!! I'm not sure I'm awesome; the villiage idiot does come to my mind though

!!! My husband says I walk around with a sign on my forehead that reads "sap! If you don't want it I'll take care of it!". I suppose that's the epitome of "me"

. Two years ago I took in a litter of 7 pups, because the guy who owned the female was going to throw the pups in the river. So, from about 20 hours old, I hand raised 7, lost one at 9 days old (THAT was a long night trying to keep that poor little soul alive), and in the end found "good" homes for all of them. My In-laws took the runt female, so I get to see her every day, and she has a very happy home on the ranch (we run 350 cow/calf pairs).

Like I said, the villiage idiot. When ever there's an animal in need, people just know to call me

. If my husband would have had any idea, he probably would have tucked tail and ran, but I'm sure glad he didnt LOL!!!

I am really glad that in my search for information about dwarfism, I came accross this forum. I have had so much fun chatting with all of these amazing "horse crazy" (and I say that with every ounce of affection I have!) people! THANKS AGAIN FOR EVERYONE'S SUPPORT!!!

 

[Maxi'sMinis]

Wow you have one lucky little guy. I am very impressed with your knowledge and level headed attitude toward your horses. Cuz couldn't have found a better friend. You are doing a great job with your critters and obviously the man up stairs knows he has a great resource in you to bring you these animals that need help. I have the feeling you are bitten by the can't have just one mini thing. I bet you end up with more some time down the road. They are the most awesome little critters.

Good luck with Cuz and a heap of blessings to you for taking him in.

REO so glad to see you posting again.

 

[ShaunaL]

Thank you so much for taking this little guy in! He sounds like a doll too. I am very impressed with how you are approaching the whole thing and regardless of the outcome I know it will be in his best interest. Looking forward to updates (with PICTURES!)

 

[Reijel's Mom]

With your background, you may want to contact Chances Miniature Horse rescue to see if you can become a foster for them in the future - they are always looking for great folks to help them out, and since you seem to find yourself in rescue situations anyway (I get it, me too!) you may as well have the support and resources of a group, you can actually help lots more that way

.Just a thought, and good luck with your little man!

 

[DreamStoneRanch]

Hi, I think that is wonderful you took the little guy in. My heart goes out to you and him. He is probably a strong survivor!

Please keep us up 2 date on how he progress with his health.

I hope those peeps never have an animal EVER!!!

Sending U all the Luck I can,

Desiree

 

[cowboygirl45]

With your background, you may want to contact Chances Miniature Horse rescue to see if you can become a foster for them in the future - they are always looking for great folks to help them out, and since you seem to find yourself in rescue situations anyway (I get it, me too!) you may as well have the support and resources of a group, you can actually help lots more that way

.Just a thought, and good luck with your little man!

Okay, I think my little "degree of addiction" status is incorrect, I've posted all of 4 or 5 times, and I'm HOOKED

(I'm not even going to try to break this habbit, I'll just wave the white flag LOL)

I just checked out Chances Website, and I may just contact them. I'm going to try to make a long story short again; my husband and I own and operate a fencing company in the Salmon River Valley of Idaho. Our lives changed drastically this Spring when my Father-in-law was killed in a dirt bike meets mule deer doe accident. Since then, we've been making the necessarry arangements to move the one mile back "onto" the ranch. We'll still have to keep the fencing company runniing as well. Once we're there, in about 3 more weeks (we're at the end of remodelling a 100 year old log home), then I will have a TON more room for my "kids" (horses). In that case it would be reasonable to become affiliated with a group of that nature or any other rescue organization. I can only imagine how rewarding rescue work would be!!! Most of the horses that I've re-homed have come from "rough" situations, but not terrible, except of course for Cuz.

And, an update on Cuz!!! As soon as I close this web browser, I'm running into town (30 miles ugh, we're in the sticks!) to pick him up. He went through gelding very well, and has been recovering all day. I'm excited to see him again!!!

You guys are all so amazing for all of the support you so readily give out! You're a great bunch of folks and I feel privileged to be a small part of this forum! I hope in the future I can also help someone else out with kind words and encouragement!

 

[Connie P]

cowboygirl45, we would love to have you! We definitely need foster homes in your area!

 

[cowboygirl45]

[SIZE=14pt]I finally got some pictures of Cuz. I suppose I should explain his name too LOL, my24 yr old little brother is staying with us (helping us remodel) and he has fallen in love with "Cuz". Any how, he hadn't come to us with a name, so the first night we did some brain storming. My little brother came up with Cuz, because he says he looks like Cousin It (from the Adams Family)

. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Any way, Cuz looks a little better today. He was sore yesterday after gelding, and we've spent the last few days slowly attacking the manure that's caked on him. At this point "most" of him is more yellow/brownish than black, so we're making progress! I put a blanky on him to help him start shedding out some, hoping that it will help get the worst manure chunks off. You can still see where the other people had left a too small halter on him. I just hope it doesn't grow back in white when he grows his Spring coat. Regardless, he seems very happy today, and I turned him out with my 13 year old QH mare who "only" hurts flies LOL! She's an amazing mare, and I felt I could trust her. I staid close at hand, never more than 25 feet away until I was sure, and then I let him have their fun. They both ran up and down the pasture, and Cuz's stifle only locked twice while he was frolicking

. The bottom pictures are of the mare I turned out with Cuz (the second one is of Mounted Shooting, just in case you're wondering). I thought you might enjoy them! I hope all is well with everyone!!![/SIZE]

 

[DreamStoneRanch]

TOO CUTE! thanks 4 sharing. I am careful on blanketing my miniature. They usually have plenty of hair and can sweat under the blankets which can make them sick. Just a thought. Cuz is a handsome fella.

By the way love the swim picture. I must say that is my favorite thing to do is swim my on my horses too!

 

[cowboygirl45]

I am careful on blanketing my miniature. They usually have plenty of hair and can sweat under the blankets which can make them sick. Just a thought. Cuz is a handsome fella.

I've been checking him a few times a day. I put it on him yesterday when I brought him home from the vet, just in case he didn't have his temp all the way up yet from the anesthesia. He's been warm, but not too hot or sweating as of yet, but I'll keep a close eye on him. He does have a heck of a thick coat, so I'll be careful

. Thanks for the heads-up though!

Take Care!!!

 

[qtrrae]

Thanks for the pictures - it is nice to be able to put a picture in your mind when people talk about a horse.

Cuz looks content and (my personal opinion) he does not look dwarfy, to me.

I LOVE the swim picture - "years" ago when I was a kid we always took our horses in the lake to swim - it was so much fun and I think they enjoyed it as much as we did - brings back some great memories!!

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

Thanks for the pictures - it is nice to be able to put a picture in your mind when people talk about a horse.Cuz looks content and (my personal opinion) he does not look dwarfy, to me.

Ditto here, too. Can you post a non-blanketed pic? We don't care if he's a mess, honest! We're tickled you saved him!

Lucy

 

[Bunnylady]

I'm with the previous poster, I don't see anything about Cuz that says "dwarf" to me. I'm certainly no expert, but the pics don't show anything, nor have you described anything, that can't have another explanation. Problem stifles are disgustingly common in minis; they are usually the result of poor choices in breeding animals, not dwarfism. The relative inactivity from his previous lack of space is bound to play a role as well. How is his bite? His head looks perfectly normal in the pics.

Of course, you have your hands on him, and I don't; so I don't know what you "see" that I can't. Minis in their "winter woolies" can be deceptive. Check out the "before and after clipping" threads in the Picture Forum to see some examples of just how much these little beggers can be transfigured and transformed!

Now, here's the tricky question. Does your Vet have any experience with minis, or specifically, mini dwarfs? I'm delicately trying to suggest that he may not know what he's looking at.

A lot of people in the "big horse" world are unreasonably prejudiced against minis, and Vets are as susceptible to this as anyone else. Particularly in "cowboy country," they are seen as useless, a waste of pasture and feed, so of course there's gotta be something wrong with them. Without further information, I still say that Cuz looks like "just a mini" to me, not a dwarf.

Oh, I just had a thought. Has anyone told you not to use Quest wormer on minis yet?

 

[cowboygirl45]

Oh, I just had a thought. Has anyone told you not to use Quest wormer on minis yet?

WHY NOT???!!! I have not wormed him yet, I decided it would be better, considering his last home (eating out of his own feces), that I put him on a daily wormer. Just the way you put it, it sounds serious. What's the deal. THANK YOU for letting me know!

 

[cowboygirl45]

Now, here's the tricky question. Does your Vet have any experience with minis, or specifically, mini dwarfs? I'm delicately trying to suggest that he may not know what he's looking at.

A lot of people in the "big horse" world are unreasonably prejudiced against minis, and Vets are as susceptible to this as anyone else. Particularly in "cowboy country," they are seen as useless, a waste of pasture and feed, so of course there's gotta be something wrong with them. Without further information, I still say that Cuz looks like "just a mini" to me, not a dwarf.

No, no one around here has much experience with mini's. The vet that I've been taking him to, is a really great lady though, and she doesn't care if all he'll ever be is a pasture pet. To her he's worth saving just because. She's an animal lover through and through! So, we're good there.

I'm also really agreeing with you guys, that he probably isn't showing dwarfism. When I initially started reasearching dwarfism, some of the more commong traits that I read about tended to be deformed legs and large joints. I guess I was making assumptions, but the more I'm around him, the more I'm wondering if it may just be conformational or nutritional, or just from being penned up for so long. He's LOVING his daily turnout, and buzzes around here a million miles an hour. He's also being housed in a nice BIG pen, and he's been laying down a lot. Whether he's uncomfortable from gelding or just enjoying not having to lay in his own feces, I'm not sure. What I do know is he LOVES his good clean straw pile

, every time I turn around he's curled up in it.

I'll get pictures up soon of him without his blanky. He's looking pretty good! We've been slowly working on cleaning him up, so I'm not "too" emberassed to let you see those pictures. I took his blanket off yesterday, he was a little damp under it, so he must have been getting too warm. It's also been good and warm around here again; we're not bringing new born calves in since it's been so warm so he was uncomfortable in all that hair and blanket

.

Okay, I'll quit yacking your ears off. Thanks for the info guys I REALLY appreciate it!

 

[chandab]

Oh, I just had a thought. Has anyone told you not to use Quest wormer on minis yet?

WHY NOT???!!! I have not wormed him yet, I decided it would be better, considering his last home (eating out of his own feces), that I put him on a daily wormer. Just the way you put it, it sounds serious. What's the deal. THANK YOU for letting me know!

The active ingredient Moxidectin (so don't use any wormer with moxidectin in it) has a very low overdose level and there is something about the way its absorbed by the body that doesn't work well with miniatures (if you do a search on this forum, you'll find lots of information about Quest). People have lost their minis after using Quest, there are other much safer wormers to use. [There is a search function at the top of the page; its great for searching anything you want to know about minis.]

 

[REO]

I was going to mention not using Quest.

At the bottom of each page here, on the right side is a drop down menu. Have you been to that and read through the "best of" forum? There are other forums here at LB to read through.

In many ways minis are just like big horses, but there are some differences in their care.

There are instances where vets learned about something about horse health because of minis!

 

[maplegum]

Firstly, thanks for taking this little guy in and giving him a great home. It sounds as if he has already won you over!

I also don't see any dwarf characteristics in him. I feel sad to see how tight his halter might have been to leave those deep marks across his face. Poor little man.

I'll be looking forward to reading all of your updates, and please, we love photos here so you must post more!

 

[RhineStone]

but these little guys seem to me like a brand new baby - too breakable LOL!

We have rescued horses in the past, and as big of a crock as it is (that you have to rescue them b/c the owners are clueless or lazy in the instance that we had, i.e there was hay but they didn't bother feeding it, argh!), there is some sense of satisfaction from the process.

I caution you on the idea that minis are fragile. I think this gets owners into trouble. I repeat, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BREAK YOUR HORSE!

They are 300-400 lbs. of flesh and bone! Yes, they are smaller than a big horse, but don't compare them to newborn calves. They are still a horse, and need to be treated as such, not a dog or a baby critter. I realize that you were referring to trimming it's hooves and not necessarily behavior issues, but many minis end up "spoiled", bratty, and dangerous to be around because some people are "afraid" they will hurt them, and therefore refrain from disciplining them. (Not saying that you will do that, but I have seen owners that have, and maybe someone else reading is also dealing with this.) A well-schooled mini is a joy to be around. One that has been able to "get their way" all the time is a pain!

My minis have no idea that they are small! They think they are warmbloods!

God bless you for saving this horse. Good luck!

 

[Thinking small]

he is adorable! and such a lucky horse to have found you!

You mentioned concern on his hair growing back white where the halter was on too tight, try Vaseline my mother swears by this, she used it often over the years on her Q-horse and never had any issue with hair coming back white from injuries.