To those who have minis and full-sized horses

[rabbitsfizz]

You MIGHT be just fine letting minis run with big horses...
And you might be fine giving your mini Quest wormer...

You might be just fine with red maple trees or other toxic plants in their turnout...

You might be just fine if you never vaccinate them...

You might be just fine leaving sharp, rusty junk in your pasture...

You might be just fine suddenly switching them to a completely different diet...

But I doubt you would take these risks.

With all the dangers that might befall your horses, WHY IN THE WORLD would you NOT protect them from danger when you can?

OK, going to use a "shortcut" we use on another Forum I go on...

QFT&AA

"Quoted for truth and absolute accuracy!!!"

No more to be said as far as I am concerned!!

 

[HGFarm]

I also totally agree with Susanne, and the saying that 'things are fine, until they're not' and yes, I have known of a couple of fatalities from others and would NEVER turn minis out with full sized or much bigger horses. One fatality was over the fence- the big horse could reach the mini over the fence, and broke her neck in 'play'. So turning them out together? No way Jose!

 

[anoki]

I find it interesting that no one else brought up this side of the situation....

those little hooves on minis, can do serious injury to the BIG horses if kicked in the wrong spot at the wrong time. My vet has told me about horses with permanent tendon & other leg injuries from being kicked by a mini.

So it's not just about the little ones getting injured from the biggies, though that is the most obvious reason

~kathryn

 

[minimoesmom]

I find it interesting that no one else brought up this side of the situation....those little hooves on minis, can do serious injury to the BIG horses if kicked in the wrong spot at the wrong time. My vet has told me about horses with permanent tendon & other leg injuries from being kicked by a mini.

So it's not just about the little ones getting injured from the biggies, though that is the most obvious reason

~kathryn

oops!!

I have my mini's separated from my Appy's, but Chester (a mini) aka Houdini, tends to get out of the mini pasture and into the big horses pasture, and follows the mares around. I think he's in LOVE with the girls, even though he's a gelding. He likes to annoy them, they tolerate him and he's been fine with them so far. I don't purposely put them together, but sometimes they end up that way.

 

[WolfLady]

I agree with a lot of what has been said, esp. that you have to know and i mean really know your pets before you mix and match. I have dogs i can put with any animal here (calves goats minis any)and have others i wouldn't trust as far as i can throw myself

that said is great to see them interact but always leave the lil ones a way out or constant supervision.

 

[HGFarm]

Knowing your pets is not going to prevent an accident from happening. It takes one second, one time, to change things forever.....

They may get along great- and then in play, someone is in the wrong spot at the right time and that's it.... that is the whole point folks are trying to get across. It happens even when it is not 'intentional' on the part of the horse doing the damage.

 

[GlacierRidge]

I haven't read all the replies....but I'll tell ya our situation. At the time, we had, among others, a mini gelding and a 9 month old QH colt. the mini and the colt were buddies, and were kept together. The mini kept him in line, that's for sure! But.....once the colt hit about 2, he started playing too rough. I just couldn't keep them together anymore. Now they had a blast, of course, but that colt, now a large 2 year old, was way too big and too rough to be playing like he was, and I knew if I let it continue, the mini would get hurt. I have a 16 hand mare, too, that I know would tear the stuffing out of the minis if given the chance. But, I have a 22 year old Arab who has been turned out with them. It all depends on the horse. We have 3 big horses, 2 mini geldings, and 3 mini donkeys. The only horse I will turn out with the minis is my older Arab mare. She doesn't bother them at all. In fact she and one of the mini geldings are best buddies. But the other two big ones cannot be trusted with them. In fact, they bully my older mare around too, so they are in a pasture by themselves, just the two of them.

Angie

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Sorry to be a stickler on this , but, no, it does not depend on the horse.

If your horse has ever kicked at anything it can and might kill a Mini it is turned out with.

If it has never kicked at anything it is probably dead anyway, so really would not be a problem.

Sure we can't guard them from everything, that does not mean we do not bind the hooks on our water buckets, take halters off before leaving the horse, make sure the gate is closed.

And never turn full sized animals out with Miniatures.

If you can stand to find the Mini dead, as a few on here actually have....well, OK then....