saying hello

[bellaleo]

Hello my name is Bella. I just rescued/bought by frist mini horse. His name is Cupid. He was born on Feb 14( or so they tell me i may never know for sure) and will be three this valentins day. When I found him he was in a 10 by10 chain link dog kennel in the middle of a broken padock with no shelter not even a tarp in sevral inchs of mud and manure. It has been raining out hear so much that near by towns have been flooding. They had been feeding him but not handleing him.

I tryed for several days to get them to sell. They kept telling me that someone was offering more and would be coming the next day. Finlly i drove out there and was going to call the aspca if he was still there but he was gone and i gave up hope. The next day i got a call at work that he had excaped but was found and was mine. A kind nighbor gave the $200 they wonted and told me to pay him when i could. The next morring armed with a mini van we went to get him .

He now lives in a nice warm barn and we are buliding him a fenced in area. He is in pretty good shape despite what he went through. He has some rain rot and a little bit of thrush. Despite not haveing a halter sence he was a baby he walks pretty good on one. We take walks every day. Each day he is getting easeier to handle . I can call his name from a hundred feet away and out of sight and he winneys back at me. He is a sweet boy.

A few questions?

He weighs a little over 200lb. I am feeding him about 2lb of sweet feed and almost a flake of hay a day. Is this OK or shoud i up it?

Is it ok for him to be around cows? they are in the next stall could probley touch noses thats about it.

Is it ok for him to have a brown mineral block?

Thank Bella

Photo's coming soon . when i figure out how to downsize them ( sorry about spelling i dont have the program yet)

 

[Riverdance]

First, Welcom to te forum.

Second, congratulations on saving the poor boy.

you posted his picture on another topic. He is the one with the heart shape spot on his body?

He is very underweight based upon what I could see inthe picture. He should be getting 2 flakes of hay a day and at least 4 cups of grain a day if he was in good weight. Since he needs to put on weight, I would feed him a lunch of the same amount. 2 cups of grain and a flake of hay. Do this till you can no longer feel his back bone.

Most of all, good luck with him and give him lots and lots of loving.

 

[bellaleo]

thanks . i am trying to get a better photo but it keeps telling me the file is to large. how do i down size it.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Good for you!! Not only recognizing a situation, but acting on it!! Love to see photos! What a nice name.

I am not a fan of sweet feed--I don't think horses should eat corn. I like oats (I actually buy groats), a little alfalfa, and all the good hay he wants. A mineral block is great. And every person who replies will have a different feeding idea, so be prepared!

You will also get lots of good suggestions on treating thrush, but what has worked best for me is peroxide. I clean out the hoof good, then hold the hoof up flat and pour on the peroxide. Hold the foot up for a little while to give it time to fizz and seep down. Every other day or so until it's cleared up.

What a lucky horse that you found him. That welcoming whinney sure tugs on the heart strings.

Marsha

 

[bellaleo]

Coupe of days after coming home.

eating apples

view of heart on back

 

[Joanne]

With all that room to move, and it is dry land at that, he must think he is in heaven!

 

[TheCaseFamily00]

Welcome and congrats, he's a cutie! I'm so glad you are giving him a good home

.

 

[bellaleo]

Joanne- What would you call his marking. Pinto yes but what kind of pinto?

 

[Riverdance]

Joanne- What would you call his marking. Pinto yes but what kind of pinto?

He is a tobiano.

 

[Holly at WhiteTailsMinis]

Aww poor thing!

So glad you found him. Do you know if he has been wormed or vacc. at all??? Im glad to hear that he is in a much better place now. Oh and welcome to the forum!!!!

 

[bellaleo]

Joanne-thank you

Holly- i am guessing not sence he was a colt. he will be soon. i'm giving him a few days to get used to his new food. he will be seeing a vet for check up and vacc's by next paycheck.

Question? what shots can i get form a feed store to give to him?

witch wormer should i start out with?

 

[Holly at WhiteTailsMinis]

Im not sure what kinda vaccinations they would have at the feed store? Im sure the vet. would be able to help you out better. And the wormer, we gave Jeffers Ivermectin for this time of season.

Have you read any of the information on minis here on LB? There is alot of good resources.

 

[REO]

Welcome to the forum! And congrats on your new boy!

Have you seen the drop down menu with the other forums here? And there are info pages too.

Please don't use Quest wormer on him. (not on minis) But other kinds are fine!

Cupid looks like a real lover!

 

[krissy3]

Hi, and what a cool thing you did for him. He looks a lot better then I thought , and very very cute.You have made his dream come true, what a great place, he must be in shock, all these wonderful things all at once. I wont give you advice on feeding because like someone said , you will get everyone telling you to do something different , and it gets a bit confusing. About cows though... we live in a farming village and have cows on the other side of our pasture fence... my horses love to sniff and say hello, so I dont think it will be a problem, there are no physical risks, other than if the cow gets out and there is a fight...but that wont happen.Enjoy him , it sure looks like he is enjoying you. Its a good feeling to give an animal a 2nd chance in life isnt it..

I love that feeling.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Pattern, Tobiano base with Sabino and Splash, on Chestnut base colour...Tobianos do not carry face white, so he is not Tobiano on it's own.

Yes, he is undernourished, and yes, he does need worming, but he is no way at deaths door, so it can wait until he has settled into his new routine.

Beet Pulp is brilliant as filler and to put on weight, can't sing it's praises enough.

I do not use sweet feed any more, it is just too expensive and if I wanted to put more sugar into my horses I would not drain off the Beet Pulp water ( I do not in winter, any way).

Beet Pulp, good Oats (or Barley) good hay, free choice, a farrier, a dentist, wormed and gelded, sorry, missed on whether or not he was gelded, and you will not know him.

For choice he should have other horses as company, he is going to be very lonely without any, but if you do not have that choice he will make do with the cows. I would not put him in with them, though.

You have done a very good thing here, and I know he will appreciate it as much as he is able, but remember that even rescued, grateful, colts can get very naughty if you let them, and make sure you stay on top of his manners.

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

He's CUTE!! Great on rescuing him!!

I would give him more hay and a complete feed, like Equine Senior. You can't overfeed hay- it won't hurt him at all. Like Rabbit said, add some beet pulp, too! Three meals per day, or even more would be best.

Cows won't hurt him by touching noses.

A brown mineral block is good, just make sure he doesn't just stand there all day at it.

Lucy

 

[Mona]

Hi Bella. WELCOME to the forum, and CONGRATULATIONS on your new boy! May you enjoy MANY years together!

 

[bellaleo]

Thank you so much everyone for all your good advice.

He is doing better day by day. I was able to clean all four hoofs for the frist time today. Never had trouble with the front two but the back took some time. I started clicker training today. Started with a tennis ball on a stick for a target. Had it down pat in no time. For treats he loved hard gronoloa bars and dried apples. Turned his nose up at a peanut butter cracker. I will be making him some home made treats soon. I dont like the ones form the feed store. They gave me some samples. Looked great tasted good but turned to powder when chewed and gunked up his mouth.I would love some recipes if anyone has some.

 

[thegrandzapper]

what a cutie, congrats on your new addition, a lucky boy

velma

 

[mizbeth]

I agree with the others. He looks pretty good and not too underweight. Looks like someone took good care of him though, his feet look good and so does his body coat. It appears he has been clipped at some point fairly recently, perhaps late this summer?

I don't feed sweet feed anymore either, but do feed Strategy a good pelleted feed. It is high in protein and also fat and this should help him. Not sure I would feed him four pounds of pelleted or sweet feed a day though. I would bring his weight up slowly so it does not go to his crest. Lots of good coastal (type) hay and small amounts of alfalfa two - three times a day should work.

Good luck with him and have fun.

B