rescued mini mares

[suemahree]

So I need some advice. I have rescued two mini mares that have not had a lot of attention, they are halter broke but the women i got them from had to use grain to catch then they were not happy. Gettinf hoofs done the day i get them due to no attention to feet. What are some suggestions of where i should start with these girls. They are both due to foal in early spring and i would like to install some manners and trust with them before then.

 

[Lil Eowyn]

Spend time with them as much as you can each day-- Groom them, talk to them, show them that you are kind. If they came from abusive owners, show them that not all humans are mean. I have never rescued a horse before, but I have dealt with a very skittish mare and gained her trust =) She couldn't load into a trailer or take dewormer or get her hooves trimmed. This summer I've been working with her and she is a WONDERFUL horse and I give lessons with her and such =)

And good luck =)

 

[Miniv]

Just from personal experience...... Keep them in an area where you can push them into a stall or smaller enclosure. Either treat them or feed them there. Make everything a positive experience. Teach them about being tied and give them an award. Brush them and start massaging their legs.......which leads to picking up each foot. It's a gradual process. Once you are able to pick up each foot, you can introduce the idea of picking out the hoof. Once they are okay with that, the next step is trimming.

Every step takes time rewarding - both with love/scritches and a tidbit. I bet in a few weeks you'll be amazed. Be sure to work with them individually.

Oh and while you are getting them used to being brushed, use that time to brush and stroke their bellies ....working down to their bags. Having them used to you touching that area is vital when they're close to foaling.

Kuddos to you for wanting the best for your little rescues.

 

[suemahree]

Thank you very much. I am going to hold off trimming feet until i work with them. I do not want them being afraid of me. I know a big horse would hold a grudge. I have them going in pasture with my goats then they have a separate stall together in the barn. Is it true they have a sweet tooth and love apples.

 

[chandab]

Thank you very much. I am going to hold off trimming feet until i work with them. I do not want them being afraid of me. I know a big horse would hold a grudge. I have them going in pasture with my goats then they have a separate stall together in the barn. Is it true they have a sweet tooth and love apples.

If you have previous experience with full-size horses, then you are well ahead of many with minis; they are still horses are should be treated as such.

Love of apples is individual, some do, some don't; if you want try it. Keep an eye on them out with the goats; goats are known to chew on manes and tails.

 

[kehranc]

also watch for the goat feed as certain pellets can be fatal to ALL horses...My mini was recently given a ahandful of goat pellets ( containing Rumensin ) and she almost died overnight.. After fitting and behaving exrememly drunk she made it through fine by the next afternoon.. Other than the food though they tend to make friends really easy..

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Good point- some, but not all , ruminant feeds are not good for horses- your feed merchant should know and there are a few on the market that are OK- the same is true in reverse- copper is no good for goats and most proprietary brands of horse feed have copper in them, so you need to be careful, both ways. The simplest thing would be to not pasture them together, really, and you will need to separate them soon, anyway, as you cannot risk them foaling with the goats around. The other thing is that they will need separate stalls after they have foaled, so it would be ideal if you could get that sorted now and stall them separately but where they can still see and talk to one another. This will also help with the handling, as they will not mill around hiding behind one another if they have their own stalls.

I would like to thank you, on their behalf, for doing this, it is a wonderful thing to do.

 

[sparklingjewelacres]

We are the recent owners of two minis. This is all new to us. We are working everyday with them to gain their trust. They are learning to let us work with their hooves and fortunately have had good care but were on the chubby side. We have goats and I want to strongly caution anyone who feeds their goats the medicated feed to either stop doing this as it will kill your horse or even your dog if they get into the goat feed by accident. There are better ways to help control the cocci that the medication of goat feed is used for.. It is not worth the risk to other animals to keep it.

Also.. Goats do infact need a lot of copper as they are browzers and only 10% of diet should be from graze. Goats need more copper than horses. Sheep can not handle the copper and can die from eating a goat or horse block. Our boers are doing very well with the mini horses. They are not ever together during feeding time as it causes too much conflict. The horses rule here even tho' they are not much bigger than the boers..

 

[rabbitsfizz]

That is interesting about the copper levels, thank you for that, I shall duly store the info for future usage!

 

[suemahree]

Thank you so much for the info on the feed. My husband already made the mistake of feeding goat feed to the horses, now i am worried. He was out with the trying to get them to come to him. He said only about a cup to 2 cups for the two of them and they didnt eat it all. They dont carry mini horse feed around here but they had easy keeper feed pellets. They have never had a lot of grain only to catch. I am separating the goats tomorrow then i can work at getting the girls in their stall. They have been only outside all their life and i dont want to work to fast with them. I hope they will be ok after the grain.

 

[kehranc]

Well hopefully they will be fine if they didnt aet the pellets or it was a small amount...My mini was fed the goat pellets accidently as I wasnt home and she needed to get her into the pen so she went to the bag and as it had a picture of horses, goats and cows on it she thought it was all the same... she now knows different and we keep all feed in seperate bins now... I also sent an email to the company stating that they shouldnt have the picture of all cattle on the front as this is what caused the confusion....anyway I hope your little ones are ok and I too hope you put them up on the narestare blog as its great to watch all these babies and also to get lots of helpful advice..

 

[suemahree]

I am happy to announce that Maggie and Bea came home Friday. They were pretty freaked out and would not come anywhere near me so they stayed out the first night, but Saturday morning they were glad to see me and the palomino Bea came right up to me. Maggie even today will not approach me unless i have my back to her then she will get close enough i can touch her nose. They had diarrhea Saturday so I have limited the feed pellets and today they are better. Was able to get them in their stalls last night with no issues, even with the goats around. Today they have been coming in and out of the barn. Next thing is feet. They need care really bad, poor things Bea throws her rear leg out when she walks and Maggie walks like her feet hurt. Going to schedule right after Christmas as i can not get anyone sooner now. Wish I would of got it done Friday now. I can not wait to get manes and tails brushed and looking pretty. I love them already.

 

[app crazy]

Not working with abused or neglected horses but having a animal shelter for several years I can tell you from experience that some of the dogs were brought in very neglected and scared the more loving contact you can give the faster they will return the love and eventually trust. No matter how old the dogs were they would trust the person that fed them and loved them the most. it does take time and sometimes their is a set back for some reason but it's usually only short lived just give them their space to warm up to you. Usually if one sees the other trust you eventually the shy one will say to herself the other one likes her I'll give it a try. Just remember don't push the subject it will happen and you will have 2 of the best mini's you ever owned. We had to catch a stray dog in a cage trap and we couldn't even get it out of the cage till we got back to the shelter and had to open it in the pen he was so scared. Within 2 days of my son sitting in the pen with him and giving him his food a little closer to him every day he eventually could hold his hand out and he would smell it. He became my sons closest dog and very protective of him. So trust can be gained it just takes time. Good luck not many people will take the time you are they would just pass those 2 by.

 

[Bonny]

I have one I am working with right now too. She only lets me come up on her right side, and then it still takes a few walks away. Once she lets me touch her I scratch or brush her favorite spots, give her a treat and leave. I do this many times a day at first so she doesnt feel overwhelmed and crowded. I will also sit around in her stall doing nothing so she sees I am no threat. I wish it didnt take so long to earn their trust, but some are faster than others.

I also will feed them their dinners in a bucket I am holding, touching them and petting as they eat. Some dont like this at all but Ive found most dont mind.

Best Wishes with yours

 

[suemahree]

Just a quick update on the girls to share. Bea has let me halter her and brush her out and comb her mane a few times. I think I have most of the dirt out and it is starting to sparkle and Maggie with a little coaxing today i was able to halter her and brush and comb her. I did each one separate feeding them their grain by hand. Their eyes have softened and are beginning to sparkle and we have been nose to nose sharing our breath. I feel we have made great progress in a week.

 

[Renolizzie]

That's so nice, Sue.

 

[Miniv]

My husband teases me when I tell him..."baby steps".....but then he sees ......And you are doing it! Enjoy each step.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Absolutely wonderful. Well done!

 

[suemahree]

Thank you everyone. I do have another question. After brushing the girls and touching them Bea feels somewhat ribby under her coat. I don't have the greatest hay but I have doubled their amount per day as.temps are below freezing and tonight-3. I am feeding Nutrena special care and I am wondering if I should increase it too. Bea is taller than Maggie and gets about 1.5 lbs per day and maggie gets about a pound maybe a crumb more. Maggie is the one in foal I think. Any other suggestions. They both act like they are starving. I have been hesitant about worming but should I do that now with it so cold have one heated water tank and then bucket water to the barn and both seem leary of drinking out of a bucket. I don't want to make them sick but i don't want ribs and back bones showing.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

You really are going the extra mile for these two, they will pay you back one day, you just wait!

I would keep up with the hay- even if it isn't the best it is hay that provides the warmth, as you know. As far as upping their feed goes, yes, I would, but do it slowly and wait to see results- I always use beet pulp- would not feed without it, and I have never had any problems with them eating it, but I do know some have. For this reason I would suggest giving it separately to start to make sure they will eat it, that way you won't waste any feed, which you could do if you just mix it in. Get the pellets if you can, they do need to be soaked a bit more but are better value as they swell up more- I soak in boiling water for half an hour and throw away the excess water- that gets rid of the extra sugars, you don't really want those.

I would definitely worm them both- initially with Panacur Guard five day, it is very very mild and will not harm them, also, doing it over five days, you sneak up on the worms and clear them slowly, instead of killing them all dead in one go, so, again, a nice mild way to do it. Fenbendazole (the chemical in Guard) does not get all the worms, however, and you will need to worm again in a couple of weeks, with Ivermectin - any generic Ivermectin will do- and you will need to address Tapeworms as well, especially if they do not pick up, for that you will need a wormer with Praziquantel in it, DO NOT USE QUEST or any Moxidectin based wormer, it is not safe for Minis.

In the mean time, you are doing great, do not worry too much, it does take a while to cover ribs and kudos to you for noticing that the fluff was covering ribs not fat- I know of many experienced Mini owners who think their large bellied animals are "fat", in fact it is the bane of my life, so well done.

Happy Christmas!