Mini!

[Amado]

We haven't brought him home yet, but this will be Rico's little buddy. (His name really is Buddy). No idea how old he is, but he's been out with horses and other minis. Rico will be home the first week of May.



The snow finally melted enough that I was able to get the pasture fencing fixed and hooked up to the barn, and the corral panels into a wierd configuration that still allows construction on the lower garage. Rico will have the big stall and paddock and funny round area, mini will have 12 x 12 stall and 12 x 12 paddock, and the both open onto the pasture (which is very soggy and still pretty full of snow!) Hopefully they will get along well and I will be able to let them both mill around a slightly bigger paddock area together at night.

[fergusnc]

Too. Freakin. Cute. :

The place looks great too!

[PaulaO]

I love minis. Where has Rico been?

[Moutaineer]

You will have a ton of fun with your mini. I love mine to death. His only job in life is to make me smile, and he executes that task perfectly.

(I am, however, really glad he doesn't have opposable thumbs. He is by far the brightest equine I have ever known. And he doesn't necessarily use that brain power for good. I hope your pasture has very good fencing.)

[Amado]

Rico has been at a friends - while our barn was being finished (and then the snow fell, and they were doing the siding and all those nails and screws got buried underneath, and luckily my friend has let him stay the winter). My friend also warned me about ponies - talked about how his pony taught his horses how to climb the snow piles in the winter, and how at 5am he heard the sound of trotting hooves going down the road outside - I have Horseguard electric fencing, (they will only be out to pasture during the day - inside metal panels at night). Keeping my fingers crossed that he is happy to stay put!

[StraightForward]

He is adorable, and your barn is looking great!

[Moutaineer]

I have Horseguard fencing too, and it's hot enough to keep the big boys respectful. Pip ignores it. He reckons the reward of grass is greater than the punishment from the fence.

Sorry.

His enclosure is quite big and fenced with electric goat fence. He gets free rein of the property a couple of hours a day when we are around to supervise.

[KathyK]

Buddy is adorable! It's all coming together nicely, eh?

[Amado]

We picked Buddy up on Saturday. He is the friendliest sweetest little equine - though he''s shown me a couple of "pony" moments (when I've headed back to the barn from one of our many walks in the front yard, where I was letting him eat some grass, and he really didn't want to go). He is a little lonely because rico isn't here yet, so I've been spending as much time as I can with him - he whinnies when I leave the barn! He's too fat, I have no idea what weight he should be, (or how heavy he actually is) so I weight taped him (which I'm sure is not accurate, his legs are so short) and I'm measuring daily hay in a muck bucket with a fish scale, and I will tape him again in a week and see if I'm on the right track. I know this is supposed to be Rico's companion - but holy cow, he's an awesome human companion. So gentle, and he's had some training - he doesn't lunge, but he knows how to trot along side, and back up and I've see a picture of him jumping in hand, and been told he long lines - and he stands so quietly to be brushed and have his feet picked out. He likes to stand right there - by my side, like he's a dog. It's too cute.






With my friend this afternoon. I trimmed a little of that goat beard - he really needs a bath but it's way too cold (notice there is still snow in the paddock and pasture!). Cool thing - he really LOVES to be brushed. His coat - it's so thick - (and so dusty!) So much hair in his mane!

[Srhorselady]

One of the better books on minis: Miniature Horses, a Veterinary Guide for Owners and Breeders. By Rebecca L Frankeny, VMD
Trafalgar Square Pub, 2003. It's older but there isn't a lot out there. The formula for calculating a mini's weight: BW in lbs =9.36 x girth in inches + 5.01 x body length in inches minus 348.53. This is from this book. BTW NEVER give Bute. Use Banamine instead. When dieting a mini be very careful, they are very susceptible to the fat lipid problem (like cats) so it must be done very slowly. Mine is now finally at a good weight, but I have to watch him like a hawk since they gain eating almost nothing. Mini hair is a fact of life and most need to be clipped in the Spring, but maybe not in Maine! Mine was clipped about 6 weeks ago for his comfort. Also keeps him from looking like a goat!

[Amado]

Thanks for the book suggestion - So what percentage of your mini's body weight do you feed him (hay) each day? What I can't figure out is what his "ideal" weight should be.

[Srhorselady]

Sparky is a 24 year old stallion, 34 inches at the withers with draft type conformation. He has Cushings, COPD, and had a bad choke a couple of years ago so he only gets to eat mush. (He hates it when I get it too soupy and flips his dish.). He no longer gets actual hay which he loves. He gets between 3 and 4 pounds of feed daily divided into 4 feedings. Each meal consists of 1/8 lb of Timothy pellets, 1/8 lb beet pulp pellets, and 3 - 4 alfalfa hay cubes all soaked into mush. He used to get slightly less than 1 lb Bermuda hay with a handful of alfalfa hay four times daily before the choke. His weight is better now than it was then. I base his feed on 25 - 30% of what I would feed a 1000 lb horse for maintenance. Vet estimated his weight at 270 lbs when he got his shots. Good luck with your cutie!

[Mainer]

My mini had absolutely NO idea he was a mini
Except of course when he could escape UNDER the fence!!!
Here is a picture the day we brought him home ..... and then 6 years later.........

[Amado]

Ok, so I initially figured somewhere between 4 and 5 pounds of hay a day, (I'm not
feeding any grain) split into multiple feedings. My hay is second cutting grass, fine little pieces, a few leafy things mixed in, which means it hasn't been sprayed, which makes me happy. (Means the compost I get from the manure pile will be safe in the gardens) He does not seem to have any trouble eating the hay, which is a good sign. But today I will use the equation to see if I can get a better measurement on his weight. I'm also walking him several times a day, and plan on working him lightly but regularly once I figure out what he knows. (He was shown at some mini shows in the past) I still don't know how old he is. I will have to do a trace clip at some point, I think. We get pretty hot up here in our short summer. (Though his previous owner did not clip because the long hair is better protection against the awful bugs we have in northern Maine)

[Amado]

Mainer, that second photo is adorable!!

[PaulaO]

Oooh, I want to squish Buddy! He's too cute.

[Mainer]

I never clipped Dakota - he got nice and fluffy for the winter and then always shed out for the summer.

[Amado]

Omgosh, Dakota's TAIL! So gorgeous!

Best weight estimate for Buddy based on that equation is about 325 pounds. Hard to say if I got accurate measurements, SO much hair. I didn't stick him for height (he was a little afraid of the tape). But he is somewhere between 32 and 36 inches tall. I'm guessing he needs to lose at least 50 pounds. I guess all I can do is keep weighing his hay and taping his girth and see if we are going the right direction.

Worked with him on the lunge/lead - it's tough - because he wants to be right there tucked under my arm, like a heeling dog - worked on lots of turning to the right (away from me) to try to get him to move his shoulders over, and stay a little farther to my right. It's hard when they are so little! Have done so much in hand work with Rico, but I forget what it's like to start over. I'm out of practice with the beginning stuff. Trying to get him to lunge away from me made me too dizzy, I had to quit!

[Mainer]

I know Dakota was a B grade mini - meaning he was between 34" and 38". I never really measured him but I am guessing he was right around 34". He was definitely an easy keeper - no grain just a ration balancer and hay. He did longe but would rather trot next to you - just like your Buddy.

[Srhorselady]

Minis are just soooo cute! I'd post a picture of Sparky if I could figure out how I'm not very techy. Sparky is a silver dapple, slate gray body and platinum mane and tail. He is considered a large mini. His previous owner (a friend who died) drove home in a CDE as well as a Mini drill team. He was in the Rose Parade one year. Since he's been with me (many years now) he just hangs out and enjoys harrassing the 16.3 hand geldings. He does lunge, with a line and freely, also over cavaletti. He will also walk out to the road (about 1/4 mile) with me to get the paper. But occasionally he does remind me that he is a stallion, especially if someone is riding by on the road. BTW definitely no grain needed. Vitamin/minerals as needed plus grass hay. Mine gets a little alfalfa as an ulcer preventative, but watching the weight gain is the major issue.

[Amado]

I do like the alfalfa buffer - we don't really have much of that around here - hay is difficult up here, the best stuff comes from Canada - a place that bales it, then sticks it in this massive barn with huge fans that blow up from the floor) - so different from out west, where it was irrigated and it dried so fast, and was packed tight into 75 pound bright green bales - this hay has to be baled really loosely - 25 - 35 pounds. (Guess the good thing is they are easy to lift!)

[Amado]

[Amado]

Well, the amount I was feeding him daily was too much, I guess, (he taped bigger when I got back from my trip to Seattle than he did before I left ). So I've decreased the hay to 4 pounds a day (which may still be too much, we'll see) I also trimmed up his goat beard and neck a little more(that's why he's braided) - he's afraid of the clippers so yesterday I was just satisfied with him letting me touch them to his neck, then I used scissors. He's so freaking cute. And SMART. He gets about a tablespoon of supplement, and when the pellets get stuck in the edge of the little round plastic feeder, he so very carefully picks the feeder up with his teeth, and give it a little tip and sets it down again. Upright. (Rico just knocks his over) I haven't turned him out on pasture yet, it's been super wet here (the pasture is a mudpit) But with help, I've gotten them both out into the arena, Rico lunging and little Buddy running along side his handler. I ❤️ him. Rico is completely attached. Gets VERY worried if he thinks Buddy is going to leave him.





My husband set up a wireless security camera for me - like the ones they have in the stores (Dericam, it was not expensive - about $139 on Amazon) - it swivels, and so you can bring up pre-set positions - I can check them both on my ipad from inside the house before we go to bed. Also, you can view them online from someplace else too (he hasn't set that up yet) Infra-red (I think) so you can see them in the dark - which is what these photos were:

[Canyon]

Buddy cleans up very nicely!

I'm glad your boys are getting along so well.

[Moutaineer]

I see you got a matched set as well

Looking good!