Minis

[tnokie]

So how hard are the mini horses to care for? I have never had a horse but always loved the minis. Now in my area they are finally comming down in price to where I might be able to afford them. I would like to get mares and raise foals. Are they easier than the mini donkeys. Which would you prefer to raise?Any suggestions and or advise would be appreciated.

[Maura]

I have mini donkeys. My farriers have told me they are easier to deal with than mini horses. This may be because mini horses tend to be treated like lap dogs. Go to some shows and talk to people. This is how you create a network of owners, trainers, buyers, and farriers. You'll find out what foals are going to be more valuable, and various pitfalls. You'll probably want to get a cart so you can drive them.

[Tallabred]

I have shetlands. 10 hands high. VERY easy to take care of. They get fat on grass, they birth with no problems. I started with a stallion, Buddy-paint, as a teaser for my TB's, found him a girlfriend, Amy - pure white, they had a colt, Eddie - looks just like Daddy and has been raised with BOTH parents with no problem, Amy had a filly, Tina - looks just like Dad. Now Buddy has a buddy, Eddie and Amy has her two fillies for company(she came with one).

I LOVE my ponies - they make me smile EVERY day.

[SFM in KY]

DH had minis for many years. Started breeding/showing them years ago when he still lived in NH and had one stallion that was a regional champion at halter and in driving for a couple of years.

He still had three mares and two stallions when we met 12 years ago, but is down to just one mini mare now. In the 11 years we've been together, we only had two foals ... one we bred for a friend who wanted something for the 'backyard' ... and one that we bred to keep. She is the 'baby' that is still here ... the others are gone now of old age.

I've raised 'big horses' all my life and now sportponies ... mostly Connemara and Welsh crossed with warmbloods and very little personal experience with the minis. From things DH has said, a couple of things you need to watch for. They have more problems with teeth than many of the bigger horses, so may have to have teeth floated more often than most equines. They also seem to have more hoof problems that the bigger horses I'm used to ... DH was always trimming ... they seem to grow out quicker and have a tendency to grow crooked. One of the big problems with minis ... and in fact, any small pony ... is that they tend to be very easy keepers, put on weight quickly ... and have a tendency to founder quickly as well if left out on grass and allowed 'free choice' grazing.

If you are planning to raise foals to sell, you might do some checking around. The prices are going down to where they are affordable, certainly ... but it also means that the foals are more difficult to sell. In this area, there simply isn't much of a market at all for the small ponies and minis and unless you get into the fancy show bloodlines, where there is a somewhat better demand, you may find yourself with a LOT of minis pretty quickly. I know several people with minis that have breeding stock for sale in the $300 to $500 range and have a lot more foals than they want to keep that aren't sold.

I don't know anything about the mini donkeys, or donkeys in general, except they are absolutely adorable.

[arabian knight]

Originally Posted by tnokie

So how hard are the mini horses to care for? I have never had a horse but always loved the minis. Now in my area they are finally comming down in price to where I might be able to afford them. I would like to get mares and raise foals. Are they easier than the mini donkeys. Which would you prefer to raise?Any suggestions and or advise would be appreciated.

I have had both mini horses and mini donkeys, and also a small shetland 40",.
And that shetland would do anything I asked of him.



http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/09...ght/?start=all

[Sededl]

If youve never had horses, Id say spend alot of time around a barn, or stable, just learning the basics. Safe handling, feeding, training. Esp the health part of things.
horses, including ponys can be difficult spoiled and dangerous. Running out and buying one just because the price is low is an easy way to feel overwhelmed, esp if you havent had experience with horses. There is alot moreto it than just feeding them. A little knowledge goes a long way. Read everything you can get your hands on. Listen to those who have had horses, but question everything, they may not always be right. Their horses will show the fruit of their labor.

Good luck

Sededl

[GrannyCarol]

Around here you can get minis for about $100 for the foals to generally about $300-$500 for the adults. Not much profit in raising them! Even some lovely looking show minis are really cheap. If you decide to get a mini or two, I'd recommend NOT breeding them until you really research the market, get them for pets, learn how to care for them, learn the market and have a plan. It can still all go bad with the economy at any time, I don't think things are really improving countrywide any time soon. If you can easily afford a couple of somewhat expensive (to care for) pets, then fine, but don't hope for a profit in selling babies to help out, you'll probably lose money.

[eggzackly]

I agree. Maybe start with a trained, well mannered gelding. Enjoy him for a while and watch the market, (dreamhorse.com, EquineNow.com, Horsetrader.com EquineHits.com,) all those sorts of sites, and watch for trends over time, not the occasional super high or super low. Check winner stats and press releases to learn what wins and shows well. If you want yours to be worth more than most, go for good looking, good dispositions, athletic ability and soundness. Double registered also helps, i.e. Pinto, AMHR, American Sport Pony.

[Rogo]

Years ago, I got a 6 year old, 33 inch mini donkey gelding. He'd had no training, but he'd been loved on.

The town I lived in had a big do every year and asked if I'd give little tykes rides -- taking place in 2 weeks. I looked at the little guy, said well, you're not a mini horse, so I think we can do it! And we did. He gave 84 rides in 4 hours.

The only problem I had was he wouldn't take breaks to eat/drink/rest. He LOVED the kids! So, he ate/drank/rested when we were thru.

This little donkey also went to hospitals, going into all the rooms. If patients were bedridden, he placed his head on their belly so they could pet him. His doing, not mine.

He also went to assisted living places, schools, etc. and was in nativity plays at Christmas time. (He walked next to "Mary.")

He gave rides to little kids at birthday parties, church functions, and a builder hired us to give rides when he had a grand opening of a subdivision he had built.

Wasn't easy to park my big rig at some of the places, so I took the back seat out of my CrewCab, put in a thick rubber mat, and told the donkey to "load." He jumped right in and that's how he traveled.

I never withheld feed/water before any event, yet he never pottied in a building, including my house. He lived outside with the rest of my stock, roaming free on the acreage. I have no pens/corrals/stalls.

Many of you have seen this photo, just one more talent of the little donk:

[bergere]

The market for mini's is flooded, average quality mini's for the most part are being given away.
Even National champions are going for pretty cheap.
Only ones I see bringing in any money are adult miniature horse's that are well trained to cart, doing VSE or the like.

Would also recommend getting a older mellow gelding or two and go from there.
Along with working at a breeders or barn to learn the in's and out of Horse's in general.
As a spoiled mini can be as dangerous as a full grown horse if allowed to have ill manners.

Mini mare's can have more complications that large horses, like Red bag and so on during foaling.

Miniatures can get over weight fast, on green grass or too rich of food, they can founder. They need the same care as big horses, ie worming, vaccines, hoof trims(every 8 weeks), shelter and so on.

[mountainwmn]

I think everyone has said all there is to say. Minis are more difficult than horses because they founder on grass so easily, they tend to have more foaling troubles, they tend to have more birth defects, and they don't bring much money. They cost just as much for farrier, dentist, and vet as horses. But they are so adorable and cute that I think it's probably worth the trouble. And it can be easier to sell the babies than full size horse foals just because of the cuteness. And they don't eat much. And there isn't as much manure to clean up. Now i want one too.

[arabian knight]

Originally Posted by bergere

The market for mini's is flooded, average quality mini's for the most part are being given away.
Even National champions are going for pretty cheap.
Only ones I see bringing in any money are adult miniature horse's that are well trained to cart, doing VSE or the like.

Would also recommend getting a older mellow gelding or two and go from there.
Along with working at a breeders or barn to learn the in's and out of Horse's in general.
As a spoiled mini can be as dangerous as a full grown horse if allowed to have ill manners.

Mini mare's can have more complications that large horses, like Red bag and so on during foaling.

Miniatures can get over weight fast, on green grass or too rich of food, they can founder. They need the same care as big horses, ie worming, vaccines, hoof trims(every 8 weeks), shelter and so on.

That is for sure As I sold a 3 year bigger mini 37 inch not registered for 100 bucks. He was not gelded though if he had been I am sue I would have gotten more then 200 for him.
This is the one I sold a few months ago.

[CheerfulMom4]

I love my minis!! You do have to be careful not to overfeed them. I have also read a lot of horror stories about foaling when it comes to minis.

One thing someone should have warned me about. In November of last year by husband traded wood and got me my mare. She was supposed to be the "only" and was going to live with my goats. Yesterday I bought my 3rd and am looking for one more.

My kids want to show them in 4H. I have 3 kids 4H age, they all really want to drive eventually. They will be in a lot of the same classes for driving which means they each need a cart. Then of course I need a trailer to get them there..you can see where this is going.