Tell me about your very first mini

[Grace67]

Hi I'm new to the forum and to minis but not new to horses, have been riding and showing for many years but recent surgery and physical issues have given me a reality check that I need to scale down to smaller horses and different goals.

I've been searching for a few months now for my first mini and have some specific criteria that I think will best suit my needs and I'm having a tough time finding what I'm after.

I'm just curious to hear about others' experiences and how and where you came across your first mini as I feel like I'm looking for a bit of a needle in a haystack

 

[jyuukai]

I think we are much alike

I had a bad accident and it made some old horse injuries quite bad, and that's when I realized it was time to scale down! I wasn't having fun with horses anymore because I was having trouble handling them with such a bad back.

My first mini is my only mini currently. We put the first money down on her when she was 2 months old, took her home at 3ish months. She will be 3 in late April (two days after my birthday!) and I tell everyone, every day, how amazing she is. She is seriously the best horse I ever ever owned! I miss her when I dont see her and I guess she must miss me too because she runs to me as soon as she sees me

I've never been so bonded to a horse before, and I've been riding seriously since I was 8!

We found her through internet stalkage. I seriously just googled 'miniature horse breeders in north carolina' and came across her breeder. When she was born I stalked her pics. When her price went down I emailed THAT DAY about going to see her, and the rest was history. We were going to see some other horses that day, too, but I cancelled those appointments. I knew she was The One the moment I laid eyes on her <3

 

[MountainWoman]

I came to minis after a bad riding accident and the realization that old bones don't heal quickly. I didn't know much about them but once I met one in person, I fell in love with them. There is so much they can do besides being pasture ornaments and their big hearts and willing natures will enchant you. They are easy to work around and each one of them has distinctive personalities. Don't know what you're looking for but if you want to share, I'm sure people on the board can help.

 

[New mini]

I also came to minis after a riding accident and being older now. I started to drive and drove a Fjord and a smal lMorgan. I was comfortable with them but fell in love with minis. I wanted one that I could drive and looked at a few but found mine by way of the internet. A well know breeder. I made an appointment to go see him and drive him. My husband took one look at my face as I drove him and told the breeder that as far as I was concerned he was the one I wanted. I have had him since last Oct and trully love him. He has taught me a lot and we now respect each other in driving. He is very easy to handle and is in a barn of full size horses. Had some strange looks when I bought him to the barn but now he is the love of the barn. One college girl had to say goodbye to him before she left to go back to college.

 

[Grace67]

so nice to hear of others who have made the switch successfully and are happily enjoying their minis. "New Mini" I own a fjord and he's trained to drive but only as a team so I haven't made that attempt with him, he is my elder statesman and is taking to task teaching my son all about horses and riding at this point and he has a forever home with us. Even though I don't have much desire to ride anymore I do have a competitive spirit and would love to take up driving and perhaps some showing in-hand as well as my knees allow.

I don't know if its permissible to list what I'm looking for specifically but if someone wants to PM me I can give more details if that's okay. I'm curious to hear where you found your minis as I seem to be trying to turn over as many rocks as possible at this point.

 

[Matt73]

I got into minis after stopping riding and showing hunters and jumpers on the A Circuit. I hadn't ridden in 10 years. Then I met the love of my life and moved from downtown Toronto to a cash crop farm. I wanted horses but we didn't have the space (we have 1200 acres, but, unfortunately lol it's all for crops). Minis were the obvious alternative; just wanted horses/ponies in my life again....

I got two minis, fillies 6+ years ago. One ended up displaying a locking stifle, so the sellers agreed to do a trade for an older mare (how nice is that!). The other....I still have. Lexus. A gorgeous, very refined, sweet, silver black Egyptian King mare. She just turned seven on Feb. 22nd

. And she has blessed us with two stunning foals <3

Now I have Willow, Lex, and Lex's May 2011 colt. He will be gelded next week.... They are here for as long as I'm on the planet

 

[rbrown]

I begged for a horse for years, and my parents decided I could get a mini when I was 12. My mom contacted a breeder who also ran a small rescue, and I of course fell in love with the first horse I saw: a two year old, unregistered, 37" pinto mare. I don't recommend going home with the first horse you see without at least looking at other first, but young me had it in my head that if I passed this mare up, I would be horseless forever. Anyway, it worked out well (even though the first few months saw lots of tears and bruises... Kandy had a LOT of behavioral issues!) and she is my heart horse. I got lucky. I had no clue what I was looking for in a horse, and Kandy turned out to be a wonderful driving horse that I wouldn't trade for anything. If I had to buy a horse again, I would definitely go shopping with a good idea of what I need in my next horse. I personally would check out rescues first (there are always some hidden gems!), and talk to driving people in my area... I've noticed that there are a lot of minis up for sale or adoption in my area recently, so hope you're able to find the perfect mini for you!!

 

[chandab]

I My mom contacted a breeder who also ran a small rescue, and I of course fell in love with the first horse I saw: a two year old, unregistered, 37" pinto mare. I don't recommend going home with the first horse you see without at least looking at other first, but young me had it in my head that if I passed this mare up, I would be horseless forever.

Not how it worked with my first mini, as I already had owned horses about 20 years when I started with minis, but... My first horse ever, was found similar to yours; he was a 3 year old, green-broke, registered palomino half-Arabian gelding, it was definitely love at first site and I had him til he was 27 years old (I lost him two summers ago).

 

[WashingtonCowgirl]

I am an avid craigslister, and saw a post for a 9 year old mini stud who needed a home ASAP, so I bought him

lol Their brought him to my house the next day and he was the sweetest thing EVER. We had him in the house during a busy, loud party, took him carting on halloween night with trick or treaters running up to him, nothing phased him. I had to make the tough choice to sell him, but he is now a therapy pony for a blind autistic boy and they are inseperable. I absolutely will never have a full sized horse again lol

 

[MountainWoman]

Grace, I know you can post on the sale board. I've seen ads from people detailing exactly what they are searching for in a mini. But we'd love to hear what you are interested in doing with your mini. Driving? Showing? I think a great place to start your search is rescue because there are so many minis looking for homes for all kinds of reasons. Chance's Rescue has their own section on this board as well as a great web page.

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

When I went looking for a Miniature, it was because I needed a companion for my senior QH mare, and decided on a Mini because I didn't want to get into the responsibility of another full size horse. I went by word of mouth and bought a filly from a breeder/horse trader recommended by a friend. Canyon was 2 months old at the time, basically unregistered (had an application for World Class Miniature Horse Registry). She came to me at 3 months old, it took a lot of work to get her friendly and tame, but it was totally worth it! I still have Canyon today, I hardshipped her into AMHR before they closed the registry. She can be stubborn sometimes, but she is fun to train and will be with me forever! She is fun to train, loves kids and is perfect size for riding. She began my Miniature adventure, which grew and about a year after I bought Canyon I had 2 Minis mares and a stallion. Yes, I'm another one who is addicted to Miniatures!

I would get in touch with breeders in your area, even if they don't have what you are looking for, they might know others that are available. I search, and search when I am looking because more often now I have specific things I'm looking for and want. I look at websites, saleboards, and other equine sales sites. I would be patient and be sure to get what you really want.

 

[wpsellwood]

OMG Kim we are the same!! I went looking for a companion for my old retired pony horse from the racetrack. He was 24 and all alone and I didnt want to feed another large equine. Well you know it would of been cheaper!!!! We ended up getting a 12 yr gelding registered amha/amhr he was 29.5 inches tall and got him for my daughter also. He has been multi world champion in hunter, showmanship and obstacle, won hunter at National show. He is now 22 and the most loved horse in the barn. He just won world champion hunter last year

 

[Taylor Richelle]

Love all the stories! These little ones are amazing

We came into the mini world back in 05 after my mom had to put her Paint/draft cross down. It left my welsh pony without a friend. So it was either sell him ( I had already grown out of him anyway) or get him a friend. Well my dad went out and called someone him and my mom had met months earlier after getting hay. She bred minis and when she noticed my parents on the side of the road petting the minis she offered for them to come down and see the newborn colt that had just foaled. So they did. My mom couldn't stop talking about how cute he was and what a little brat he was!

Okay back to my dad calling, well when my dad called up the breeder to see if she had any for sale, she said a 5 month colt. So he bought him without even seeing him!!!! So he took me to visit him a week before he came home. I was in love and thought he was the cutest thing EVER! So later when mom called me from work to ask what he looked like I told her and she was all excited, turned out that 5 month colt was the same colt she had seen months earlier as a newborn. So it was meant to be I guess

So Josh came to live with us, and he still does. Through him I made a friendship with a fellow LB member and we have been best friends for almost 7 years! He opened up a new world to me. Now we have 3 minis and love them to bits!

 

[Tremor]

We didn't have a first mini per say. Instead we bought three mares and then bought the rest of the herd. Lol.

I will however post about our first baby!

Name: Baby (so creative!)

DOB: March 3rd, 2006

She was our only live foal in 2006, therefore she was SPOILED. We kept her until she turned three and had to cut back. She was sold and we now have two of her full sibilings; Pete and Ale.

This picture pretty much summed up our relationship:

No kidding. Still do this. Lay in the grass, dirt, poo, and just hang out with the horses. After about 7 years of doing this my horses pretty much expect it from me.

 

[littlehoof]

I am also new to minis, I bought my first mini 2 yrs ago. It was also because of a injury, a back injury leaving me unable to ride. I have had full size horses all my life up tell last fall. My first mare was suppose to be registered, come to find out her parents weren't registered. I would say be careful, shop around and make sure you have papers in hand. I soooo love them, I know have 5, 4mares and 1 gelding who was my first, he is only registered WCMHA but I love him to pieces, I hope to be showing with him this summer. I have been creepy here for some time, so I thought it was time to say HELLO from Canada.

 

[Grace67]

great stories! Thank you to everyone for sharing. I'm out on the west coast and it seems there aren't many mini breeders local to me and those that are local don't seem to have what I'm looking for right now. I have posted on the sales board a time or two and had a few leads but it seems that many are located across the country and the rising shipping costs end up being nearly as much as the horse, I'd rather take that extra money and invest it in training and lessons for the horse and myself.

I've always wanted to drive, especially driven dressage, maybe some cones, possibly some cross country but at an extremely low level. I'm more about the journey than the destination. Anyway I've been looking for an AMHR registered gelding, 34" or taller and of stout build with solid conformation and good movement, preferably an experienced driving horse especially with outside driving experience. Temperament is at the top of the list. I need something very quiet and steady, excellent ground and stall manners as my 8 year old son is often at the barn with me and helps out too. I'm not partial to any particular color, temperament, training and soundness are much more important. My mantra is safe, sane and sound. I might even be tempted by a solid Shetland if its on the lazy side.

I've also started looking for a second gelding for my son to do some in hand showing with at 4H and local open shows, he'd like to do showmanship and obstacles. Similar criteria to the first horse but driving isn't essential, must be super safe with kids even though he has been raised around horses and is quite the little horseman, he's still my only son

I hope its okay to post my "wish" list and please feel free to PM me if you know of anything that might work well for us. Ideally I'd love to find something that we can go check out in person but it seems that our options are much greater if we expand our search so lots of phone calls, videos and pictures are necessary.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

About 35 years ago I bought Rabbit's mother Kitty, so I suppose she was my very first. I had Arabs at the time, and was still riding, but that slowly stopped as my illness progressed. Kitty was an Arabian in everything except size ( until she started to expand the waistline, that is!) two years after I bought her Rabbit came along- he was the first real Miniature that I bred.

Still with me, still going, if not strong, then at least determined.

I have never used my Minis as a companion to big horses and actively encourage people not to do this.

 

[Never2Mini]

I am new to the wonderful world of Mini's. I had regular horses for years. Did trail rides, local shows and 4H with the kids. Well one kid went off to college other will be headed that way soon being a JR. I lost 2 of my regular horses within a month of each other. Broke my heart. I have never been the same. After that it seemed I just rode less. Price of feed kept getting higher but I couldn't see myself without equines. That is when I started looking at Mini's. I still have one TWH gelding for riding and now 4 Sweet Mini's. My first was a little sorrel colt Kickapoos Apache Renegade aka Renegade or Ren for short. I found him whiling surfing online. I knew I just had to have him even though He was over 2 hours away. We brought him home in are mini van. He was 5 months old. He rode with his head in my lap. I was in Love !

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

I have never used my Minis as a companion to big horses and actively encourage people not to do this.

I should be clear, I bought my Mini as a companion, but she was never housed with the full size horse! I do not recommend they be kept together, but fenced next to each other they can provide companionship without being in danger- with common sense not if the full size can reach over the fence and grab the Mini, etc.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I was trying hard to be diplomatic, Kim, so it was nothing personal, and I would not wish for the thread to get sidetracked!

I do think that some people, maybe people that are not terribly horsey, might think that this is a good idea, though?

As we have seen it does, sometimes, work OK.

And, sometimes, tragically, it does not......