Thank heaven they don't have thumbs.

Safety

Weena the Queena

Equine Product Safety Engineer

This will be one of many posts regarding safety around the barnyard. More will be added as the horses figure out other ways to get themselves into trouble and as I remember past times they've gotten themselves into trouble. I'll generally need to post these in the daylight hours as too close to bedtime and I'm liable to have nightmares or lay awake wondering "What was that noise?! What did they do now???"

We started with one barn, added a second barn about 20 or so feet from the first, and have now enclosed that space between them and added two covered stalls and a covered hay area. As the space between the two barns did not accommodate our 12 foot gate panels, we improvised with chain link gates. This worked very nicely until we put a horse in them. I closed little Rowena in one, closed her gate, put a horse in the new stall next to her and before I got that gate closed the sounds of panic came from Rowena's stall. I looked, my heart stopped, my stomach lurched and my body levitated the 20 feet necessary to rescue Rowena who had managed to trap the back of her neck between the gate and the post.

The bottom of the chain link gate is curved. We'd hung it about 10 inches above the ground so it swings easily. Little Weena, in her never ending search for stray bits of hay had stuck her head out the bottom of the gate to try and reach some edible tidbit or other and when she pulled her head back, the slim part of her neck, right where it joins her head, went up into the slot created by the curved bottom of the gate. She was so panic stricken that it's a major miracle she didn't separate her head from her body or snap her neck.

We've since kept larger horses in that stall, but they too have slender necks that could fit into that slot. We'd also never noticed that several of our regular gate panels have that curved bottom. We've tied rope, chain, no-climb and bungee barriers across the curved neck catching gates, but every day I go out there I'm scared I'm going to find a horse that has managed to get past our flimsy precautions and killed itself. We're going to have to weld a bar from the bottom of those gates and across the open space the curves create in order to truly fix the problem.

Below are photos of the safe straight gates and the unsafe curved gates.

SAFE gate

(notice there is little space between gate and post)

Unsafe Gate

(note the wide space created by curve)

Time to do something affirmative

Godric at 5 months old

About Godric's behavior. We've been strapped for time and money for the past year and a half. I've spent most of that time tending my husband's needs since he's been so ill from the complications of his chemotherapy and Hodgkin Lymphoma. I can definitely tell the pre-diagnosis horses from the post-diagnosis horses. Yesterday, all of my pre-diagnosis horses stood sweetly for our new farrier, while the post-diagnosis horse was a total butthead. This has to change. It was embarrassing! I take pride in my horses, their looks, their conformation, their intelligence and, especially, their behavior.

Many breeders simply accept the fact that they're going to have to fight some of their horses to trim their feet or give shots. They feed their animals, take good care of them, try to better the breed through choosing the best stallions and mares, and hope for fabulous foals. But with their large herds they don't often give them personal attention. Their stock run in large pastures with little human interaction except at feeding time, for vaccination and the occasional hoof trim. People who own minis just as pasture pets, often bought those minis on a whim because they were cute babies and then lost interest because they didn't know how to teach those cute babies to behave themselves and they grew into fairly unpleasant adults. They feed twice a day and if the horses are lucky see the vet when needed and get trims. Their bad behavior becomes the Vet or Farrier's problem. Thus, minis have gained a nasty reputation for bad behavior.

I have always worked with my babies from the moment they're born. They grow up knowing how to lift their feet when asked. When they're tiny tots and have their very first baby hoof trim, they're not great, but give us 8 weeks to work on it and they're really pretty good about hoof trims. However, all training at our barn ceased when cancer crawled onto the property. I haven't had the time and when I've had the time I haven't had the energy. I'm going to have to find the energy because I'll be darned if A. my farrier and Vet have a harder time than they already do just because I haven't done my job, and B. I need to sell that pony and his ill behaved sister to help with medical costs and they'll have a better chance at a good life if I can get their behavioral issues under control.

We have a lot to overcome with both Godric and Poppy, so I'll put up periodic posts about their issues and the progress of their training. They were both good kids before the diagnosis, all we have to do is get them to remember those early lessons and build on them.

"Fatty Liver"/Hepatic Lipidosis/Hyperlipemia

"Fatty Liver"/Hepatic Lipidosis/Hyperlipemia, any of these words cause miniature horse breeders to shudder violently, break out in cold sweats and run out to their barns to check the horses. There is much information on the internet now concerning this devastating condition in equines, however it is often mixed with incorrect information. Many highly regarded sites say that this condition is "rare" in miniature horses, but every professional miniature horse trainer and breeder and Vets with vast experience with minis can tell you otherwise.

Miniature horses, ponies and donkeys are highly susceptible to Hepatic Lipidosis/Hyperlipemia and in layman's terms "Fatty Liver". The condition is NOT rare in small equines and, in fact, occurs much more often in miniatures than in large horses. The problem is, that Vets tend to treat minis just like large horses and, as a result, this condition often goes undiagnosed and it is assumed that the primary illness is what caused the animal's death. Large animal vets just don't generally have enough miniature horse patients to know how often this condition arises, unless they live in an area with several large miniature breeding and training farms. Thus, the reporting of this condition in miniature horses is low.

Miniature horses can NOT handle going off their feed for a day or two. They can begin to break down their fat reserves in less than 12 hours. The fat cells entering their blood stream can damage their liver and in worst cases can kill a miniature within 6 to 10 days. In the past 4 years I have had this condition threaten 3 of my minis. We'd have lost all 3 if this had gone undiagnosed. And let me tell you that twice I had to put up a real fight to have the proper blood tests done to check for increased lipids and decreased glucose levels. Both times the vets came back with "You were right. It's good you knew and were insistent about that."

Our first experience involved our first baby, Desi. He was only 6 months old when he developed a mild case of flu. He didn't feel like eating. I sat in his stall with him, tempting him with feed from my hand. He nibbled a bit but didn't really eat. His aches and fever from the flu had subsided within 24 hours but the anorexia remained. I knew I'd read something about this being a bad problem for minis and I called my vet. He gave me the typical large horse advice, "give him a little time. If he's not running a fever and he's drinking, give him a day or two. If you want you can give him a little B-12 and some molasses to see if that perks him up." Minis don't have a day or two to wait on this. However, the molasses and B-12 were good advice. When a mini goes off feed, there are three things you need to do. A. Make a mush of his feed and syringe feed him. Otherwise, his body will begin breaking down his fat reserves for the energy he needs. I keep my horses used to eating a little bit of a Complete Feed, just for this purpose. I know that if nothing else works to get them eating (and I'm sure colic is not the issue), I can soak a complete feed and syringe feed them. B. Keep his glucose levels up. When a mini goes off feed their glucose levels begin to drop, compounding their issues. C. If he's not getting enough food via syringe feeding, get him to a Vet and make that vet pay attention to you. Do not leave that horse at that vet until blood is drawn to check Lipid and Glucose levels. Don't be an ass about it, just be firm. Once in a blue moon we do actually know more than our Vets and if your vet is telling you this is not necessary after your mini hasn't eaten for 24 hours, this is one of those times.

I listened to my Vet for 3 days before my son and I loaded little Desi into the back of a U-Haul van (shhhh don't tell U-Haul!) and hauled him to Chaparral Animal Hospital. When we got there Dr. Elaine Carpenter listened to our concerns, knew all about "Fatty Liver" and immediately checked Desi's lipid, cholesterol and glucose levels. His lipid levels were high and had we waited another day Desi would have had little chance of survival. His glucose levels were slightly lowered and we were told the molasses had helped keep those up and might well have saved him. He was immediately started on enteral feedings and Heparin. He was still alert, friendly and curious and, other than being a little weak, didn't look obviously ill, but the devils were loose in his blood stream. All we could do was wait, worry and hope for the best. Thankfully, he began to improve after about two days at the vet and by day 6 was able to come home where we continued with the supportive feedings.

While we were checking out of the clinic, a lady came in who had just lost 6 of her beloved minis to this condition compounded by their primary diagnisis of salmonella. It wasn't the salmonella that had killed them, although it might have ended up doing that, it was the Hepatic Lipidosis that had caused their deaths. There is always a primary illness that precedes the secondary condition of Hepatic Lipidosis. The severity of that primary illness has as much to do with the horse being able to survive the fatty liver issue as does rapid response and treatment. Please do not get your hopes up. Even when you're quick, with home treatment and get them to a Vet who understands and treats for this condition, if the condition is secondary to a serious illness you can lose the horse.

We could have lost our fabulous smoky black stallion, Handsome, because a Vet at Chaparral wasn't listening to me. He'd become ill one evening, he walked away from his feed. I sat up with him all that night and got him to the vet first thing in the morning because I wasn't sure he didn't have a mild colic and, thus, did not want to syringe feed him. I didn't know this particular Vet at Chaparral, and I asked her if she'd check his lipids. She balked. I was exhausted from no sleep, but I wasn't gonna budge. I told her what we'd learned from Dr. Carpenter, but she didn't seem like she wanted to listen to me. I insisted. She drew blood and I went home. I called that afternoon to check on him, and found that the blood tests she ordered were not, in fact, checking his lipid, cholesterol and glucose levels. I told them I'd hold until I could talk to her. I insisted again. I asked her to please call Dr. Carpenter. Finally she did talk to Dr. Carpenter, did run the correct tests and the next day, by golly imagine this, she found that his lipids had begun to rise. She hadn't treated enough minis yet to know how fast the condition can affect them.

Our little mare Blondie was stricken by a systemic infection from the simple tiny puncture wound from her spring vaccinations last year. She went off her feed and would spit out her feed mush when I'd syringe it into her cheek. She was stumbling blindly within 6 hours. We rushed her to Durango explained the situation, and after some debate they checked her levels, they'd already begun to rise in that short a time! She responded to antibiotics for the infection within a few hours and had started eating and drinking so no further measures were needed thank goodness.

If your mini is overweight he has more fat cells to go into his bloodstream so this is yet another extremely important reason to keep your miniatures at a healthy body condition.

I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing about the effects of anorexia on miniature horses. Mild colds, flu, stress, soreness, disease, a bad tooth, and an infinite number of other things can cause your mini to decide he doesn't feel like eating and, therefore, Hepatic Lipidosis/Hyperlipemia should be high on your list of concerns.

Here are some articles that explain the condition, if not always accurate on the effects on miniature horses:

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/22818.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7649775

http://wwwchem.csustan.edu/chem4400/sjbr/99boyce.htm

The Sibyls Incarnate

Around the 10th month of a mare's pregnancy I begin to suspect their psychic abilities. They can feel me watching so they put on a real show as if this is genuinely THE moment I've prepared for. They wait until they sense I am fully awake and my adrenalin is flowing freely, then they lie down. Not to give birth mind you, but rather to relax and have a long lovely nap complete with snoring.

They also know where the barn camera is aimed. We adjusted the cam so that it would view the area where two pregnant mares had habitually lain for the three weeks. The instant the camera was bolted in place they stopped laying in those spots. One chose her new bed in the one small area of her stall that the camera could not see. The other began snoozing in the shadows as close to the edge of camera range as possible. She, thankfully, has a very light mane and tail so I could see each end when watching the camera at night, I just couldn't tell which end was which.

If I am wide awake and staring at them, they will relax and nap. If I decide that they're resting comfortably and that I myself could rest comfortably for a few minutes, they will get up and begin raking their sides along the stall walls. If they wish an earlier than normal breakfast, all they have to do is lie down and have a good roll, look at their sides, then stretch out on the ground with their legs stiff. I race out the door, quietly approach their stalls and when they are certain that all the other horses know I'm there, they get up and waddle to their feeders looking very smug.

My books on raising horses all say that mares at this stage of pregnancy should have their whims catered to. I do. They know I will. They enjoy that knowledge.

Of Mice and Horse Owners

I love furry and feathered creatures. Thus, when we had to move our flooded out haystack and found 12 tiny baby cottontails, I was more than willing to drive halfway across Phoenix (quite literally) to meet a lady who rehabilitates cottontails, jackrabbits and squirrels. As I kneeled in the still damp earth, smelling the misfortune of those babies that had not survived the flood, I thought of all the times I'd cursed their parents for eating whatever I plant. With my shirt hem folded up like a kangaroo pouch I transported the squealing bunnies to a bird cage, loaded them in the car and spent what was going to be a pleasant Sunday evening on the farm, driving through city traffic.

I love people who love creatures, which is one of the many reasons I hold my neighbors in such high esteem. Most of the people on our street have horses. My nearest neighbors raise adorable dogs and everyone here owns an assortment of dogs, cats and horses.

One of our neighbors today informed me that he'd been having to buy hay, because he couldn't use what he had left just yet. Seems a quail had decided to build a nest on the top bail and until her babies were old enough to leave, he didn't want to disturb that section of the stack.

I love creatures. They rule my roost. I draw the line at creatures with more than four legs and creatures that can harm my family or the animals in our care. I draw that line with a heavy heart, but it's drawn in stone. Rattlers present a terrible threat so we dispatched 12 or more each year in the yard, some in the barn and around the haystack and dog kennels. I don't like killing them. It's not a point of pride and I sure don't feel like the "mighty hunter", they're simply too dangerous. Last year we put up a snake fence to attempt to deter the reptiles. It must be working fairly well. We have not found nearly as many in the barn and paddocks and I discovered other evidence.

I had lived with a mouse in my tack and feed shed for about seven months. One mouse was cute. He'd peer out at me from behind buckets, blinking his bright little eyes, waiting for me to leave his home. One mouse was cute. It was when he began to invite his friends that I started to have a problem.

At first it was still a small problem. I had two or three mice in the tack shed who ate the spilled feed. Then they decided they should stock up for the winter. They gnawed a hole in one of the bags and began carrying cheekfuls of Omolene to their larder in the corner. I didn't notice this until their stockpile had grown large enough (about a foot high and about a foot and a half long) to be seen behind all the stacked bags. After cleaning that mess up, I actually spent some time wondering if I should take action against them at this point. It wasn't until I raised a scoop full of feed at o'dark thirty one morning and felt tiny bare feet scrambling, panic stricken, over my arm that I decided to actually do something about the issue. I bought several large cans to put the feed bags in. Yes, friends. THAT was the sum total of my answer to the problem. I hoped that by depriving them of food, they'd just leave. I hoped in vain.

Depriving the mice of food in the shed only sent them foraging in the barn. The barn is a big place. They thrived. I'd go out at night and see one scurry under a tarp. As the nights passed, I'd see one scurry under the tarp, one hopping like mad across a stall looking for cover and even sat and watched as a couple of mice children (yes, part of my problem is that I think like that), making their first timid forays into the larger world from the safety of their hole under a stall mat. Still, at this point, I merely wondered if there were some larger action I should take. There was, but I didn't want to think about it.

It wasn't until I was researching Salmonella and it's dangers to horses that I found out that mice and birds are the culprits in most outbreaks. It was while I was weighing the options (live traps vs miserable death vs quick death) that I developed an inkling of the depth of my mouse problem.

I went to the barn and there was a mouse in the middle of the floor, scavenging through some fallen hay. He didn't seem bothered by my presence and I worked around him. Then I noticed several hopping through the stalls, sifting the dirt for fallen bits of grain. Then I noticed a LOT of rustling coming from the tarp. As I was feeding I was shocked to see several mice racing along the fence panels in the stalls. This could not continue. There must have been fifteen to twenty mice out there. I could almost see the trails of Salmonella bacteria being left behind them. For the health of the horses in my care, I had to act.

When John called from work that night I told him the problem, he stopped on the way home and picked up the old fashioned, kill them quickly, mouse traps. He bought twenty of them. He began laying them out when he got home. Before he'd gotten ten laid out he'd already murdered several mice. We were both amazed and depressed at the success of the traps. He literally could not bait them and set them out fast enough. Within two hours there were 15 corpses and we began to realize that the problem was worse than I'd suspected.

Within 48 hours the corpse count had risen to 53 and there were still faint rustlings coming from the tarp. It was sad. They all thought they'd found paradise and there we were sending them there. The traps are here to stay. I had to disinfect the entire barn area. All because of one cute mouse.

Two years ago we didn't have a mouse problem. We had a lethal snake problem. I suppose the upside to this depressing tale is that the hardware cloth we wrapped around the entire perimeter fence is helping. It's an age old story. Remove the predators and the prey over populates. If anyone ever had any doubts about the truth of that, they're invited to see the phenomenon in action right here.

Proper Barn Attire Required

A few weeks ago I happened across an advertisement for a boarding stable which went so far as to give dress code requirements. I snorted and moved on to other web surfing.

You see, I own and care for a barn. No, wait, make that two barns. Two barns filled with miniature horses who easily create as much manure as their larger cousins. People ask me "But what do you do with MINIATURE horses." The correct answer is "I drive them, teach them tricks, train them, play with them. I can do anything with minis that others can do with big horses, except ride them." The realistic answer is "I feed the front, clean up behind, and keep their hallway cleaner than my own."

Do I wear "proper barn attire"? Oh, you betcha. In the morning I go out to feed in my pajamas and cowboy boots. Used to go barefoot or in sneakers until we found a snake in the barn. Now it's boots. An hour or so later, I'm dressed up... in shorts, a tank top and nasty sneakers with my usually unbrushed hair tied back in a pony tail. That's when I begin cleaning the percheron sized collection of poop out of the stalls.

After two stalls on a lovely Aridzona morning, I have to jump in the pool to soak my clothes (I do take the nasty sneakers off first), in order to have the strength and courage to clean another two stalls, after which it's time for another dousing in the pool. At that point it's too hot to consider cleaning the other 4 stalls, so I haul out the leaf blower and blow the accumulated dirt and hay out of the barn aisle.

After that, it's time to ditch the tank top and shorts and go for the swim suit and sunscreen and another dip in the pool. I then refill the water buckets, set up the misting fan for the comfort of the current mother and child (the child whose birth I assisted while wearing my wet swimsuit and flip flops) and put away my tools. Resisting the urge to point that misting fan at myself for the remainder of the day, I take another dunk in the pool. Thus ends the morning routine. The evening routine utilizes the same wardrobe choices only in reverse order, beginning with the wet swim suit and ending with pajamas and boots for snake patrol.

Several times a week, I have to spread all that poop around the paddocks. Those days I'm a real dish. Barn attire then includes the wet swimsuit, wet tank top, cowboy boots, cowboy hat and sunscreen as I drive the lawn tractor with scraper around the paddocks. Just call me princess.

I, only half jokingly, told a non-horsey friend that I was considering just painting my fingernails black since I could never keep dirt out from under them anyway. She said "That's just a little gross Jean." I started to explain to her that she didn't truly understand the definition of gross, but knew I'd only get a glazed stare. For the true definition of gross, see equine placental membrane and products of deworming.

Halter training

I am not a professional trainer. My son and I train our own cart ponies, but I am no pro. I do, however know great tips which I have learned from others more knowledgeable than myself and tricks I've learned just from being around my horses.

When our first foal, Desi the problem child, was born we had no experience with foals. I'd worked with adult horses most of my life so I knew the best way to teach him to wear a halter would be what many people know as either "approach and retreat" or "pressure and release". Horses do not like pressure. The trick is to get them to understand that pressure is relieved when they give a correct response. When you have a frightened or unsure animal, teach him to accept the things that scare him by A. approaching him with the scary object a bit at a time and remove it before his fears overcome him. Each time you bring what scares him a little closer and remove it before his fear makes him move away from it. If he moves away from it, move with him until he stops and then take the scary object away. Finally, rub him with the scary thing until he stands still and is relaxed, then take the object away. This teaches him that if he stands still you will relieve the pressure of having the scary object nearby. and B. letting him follow the scary object as if it is actually running away from him. Heck, it must not be that dangerous if he can chase it away right? In these two ways you can teach your mini to accept just about anything. He learns to trust you and you learn the signs your horse gives you when he is worried, fearful and when he relaxes. This knowledge is invaluable to both of you for the rest of his life. He has to be able to trust you as his herd leader, and you have to be able to read the subtleties of his body language before he tramples you or jerks the lead rope out of your hand and heads off cross country without you.

When we halter trained Desi, he was already our little buddy and trusted us implicitly. We had been by his mother's side when he was born. I had my hands on him rubbing him before he was even fully out of his mother. I sat on the ground in their stall and let him come to me. I'm tellin' ya, the little man and I were close. He was two weeks old when I brought his little halter to him and his only reaction was to trot over to see what "granny" brought him to play with. I let him play with it. He chewed on it, tugged on it and stomped on it a couple of times just to show it who was boss. I scratched his itchy spots with it. The halter was his friend.

In the course of playing with the halter, I rubbed his face and ears with it, put the nose loop over his nose, removed it and moved on to rub his neck. I put the nose loop over his nose several times, always following that with more rubs on the neck with the halter. I put the loop over his nose, the strap behind his ear, held it there for a second or two, removed it and rubbed him with the halter. After about 20 minutes I put the halter on him buckled it and rubbed his neck and scratched his mane while he tried to figure out if he could lift his head with this thing he suddenly had on his face. He pawed at it a couple of times but as soon as he was relaxed and enjoying the heck out of the attention he was getting I took the halter off.

We'd play his halter game several times a day for a day or two and let him follow us around wearing it. When we were done with him we would take it off. NEVER leave the halter on your horse, especially not a foal. Halter buckles can easily get hung in fencing when the horse is rubbing it's head. A foal can hang his tiny hooves in a halter that is even slightly loose. As you progress in the training of your horse, the halter means he must pay attention, no halter means he's done a good job and is being rewarded with time off. You don't want to go out and find your horse has strangled himself or broken his neck because his halter buckle got tangled in his fencing.

Yeah yeah, I know "He's easier for me to catch if his halter is on!!" Teach him to catch you. Even if I could run, I couldn't get away from most of my miniature horses. I'm the best entertainment they have. I'm their mini-horse version of PBS. I do cool stuff, I'm fascinating, and I scratch their itchy spots. I bought a little ranch horse several years ago that had been used as nothing more than a ranch tool his entire life. He had no clue that people were interesting. He was just caught, saddled up and ridden out to work. He was an extremely trustworthy mount, well trained, well behaved and had his needs cared for, but he did everything with a fairly dejected air of submission. Haltering him was an exercise in frustration. I'd go to his stall and he'd put his nose in the furthest corner. He never ever offered to kick or muscle past me, he'd just calmly step away. Once I'd finally get the lead rope laying across his neck he'd stand still as a stone for the halter. It was just getting close enough to get the lead rope there that was the pain in my neck. A friend of mine in California came for a visit and, as she is excellent with horses, she came out to see my new prize. She taught me a trick that I have used on every horse since. She calls it "The Jellybean Game".

You don't need jellybeans really to play this game. You can use rocks on the ground, a piece of a stick, you can even use a good book. You put your horse in a round pen or small enclosure where he can stand at least 12 to 15 feet away from you. Far enough that he's more or less "free" but close enough so that he has to notice you. Then, you sit inside this enclosure and pointedly ignore your horse. My friend counts jellybeans. I play with rocks, scratch in the dirt with a stick, or read quietly. Horses are incredibly curious. If you play that curiosity right, you can teach them almost anything. She and I sat in the dirt of a round pen and ignored my ranch horse. Within 5 minutes he was standing within 4 feed of us, craning his neck to see what we were doing that was more interesting than him. 5 more minutes passed and his nose was in the middle of our business. We'd reach up and rub his legs and chest from time to time and go back to ignoring him. Within 20 minutes that day, without handing him treats, chasing him down, following him around in frustration, we taught that little horse that people are actually kinda interesting. From then on, I'd open his stall door and he'd amble over for a neck scratch and his halter.

This same thing works for minis. You'll find that if you even go out to fix his fencing, or clean out his water bucket, you're so darned fascinating he's going to come over to supervise. Patience is your task to learn. If you have to catch your horse in a large pasture or paddock, you will need to wait him out at first. Make enough noise while pretending to be doing something that doesn't involve him that you capture his attention but not so much that you frighten him away. It may take some time if all you have is a 200 plus foot pasture, but eventually he will come. Try different activities to capture his attention. Don't just grab him and halter him when he finally ambles over to see what you're doing. Scratch his itchy spots, pull up some grass and offer it to him, and pay only enough attention to him to keep his interest and keep him close while you pretend to be interested in some very important chore, rock, jellybean or book. When you have him coming to you easily, then put the halter on him. This process may take a day or two with an adult mini who has a larger world view, but to a weanling you ARE his world so this will take a very short time.

Yes, there are other ways to do this by working the horse (applying pressure) until he is facing and paying attention to you and "hooked on" to you, but I have a hard time walking so it stands to reason that I should make a horse with 4 good legs do the walking while I just sit and become more fascinating with each passing minute.

General Feeding Info.

My Vet and I were discussing the body condition of my minis and what it has taken to get them to the correct weights and keep them there. As miniature horses are notoriously "easy keepers" it is easy to over feed them. Feed bags offer charts that show what to feed according to a horse's weight. If I fed my miniatures according to their weight or the bag instructions they'd be blimps. I feed according to their body condition using their weight only as a very rough guideline for newly acquired minis in good body condition already.

This is a link to the Henneke Body Scoring System. Check your minis with this chart to see whether you need to be feeding more, less or even just a different type of feed/hay: http://www.habitatforhorses.org/rescues/bodyscoring.html

Most of the miniature horses I have purchased have come to me over weight. We bought a bred mare several years ago. The owner had left her with the stallion all year so we didn't know when she was due to foal. She was immense when she arrived and looked as if she was due at any moment. We prepared a foaling stall for her, aimed the barn cam at her and began watching, checking, waiting. 7 months later she produced a fabulous colt. By the time she delivered she was as wide as any full sized horse because she was so obese! It has taken two years to get her safely down to the correct body condition.

When a new miniature horse arrives at the farm, it arrives with the feed it is used to eating. I live in desert Arizona. We don't have grass pastures for the horses here. We rely on baled hay to supply the roughage their systems need. Many people feed their horses here alfalfa hay. It is cheap and readily available. However, most horses do not need the high energy/protein that alfalfa provides. Horses such as minis, without access to pasture, do better on with a grass hay such as bermuda or a bermuda/alfalfa mix where YOU do the mixing. Grass/alfalfa "mix" bales sold in feed stores in Arizona are about 80 to 90 percent alfalfa.

There are certainly uses for alfalfa with miniature horses. Minis being prepped for shows in which they will be driven or jumped could use alfalfa mixed in with their grass hay for the extra protein boost, as these horses are generally given rigorous workouts for an hour or two daily. Pregnant mares need the extra protein and calcium from a bit of alfalfa added to their grass hay. Weanlings as well can benefit from adding alfalfa to their ration of grass as their growing bones and ligaments need the extra nutrition. I have, at no time, found it necessary to feed straight alfalfa to a miniature horse. Rather, I have found straight alfalfa to be detrimental to my minis.

Feeding my pregnant mare straight alfalfa during the mare's first 6 months produced fat mare and a foal with a severely turned in ankle. His ankle did straighten after several weeks once the tendon relaxed. Conversely, feeding only SafeChoice feed and grass hay produced foals with tendons so lax that they were walking on the backs of their heels for several weeks. This past breeding season I fed the mares SafeChoice, and mixed their hay at about 20 percent alfalfa to 80 percent grass. The foals were positively perfect, the mares stayed in fabulous fit and they produced milk abundantly.

I laughed and told my Vet that my horses gain weight just watching the hay arrive in the back of the pickup truck. I use alfalfa as a supplement during pregnancy and as part of my preparations should they go off feed for some reason during the winter. Alfalfa is not evil, it is simply overdone. A handful of alfalfa with their normal ration of grain and grass during the winter, encourages the horses to drink well and gets them used to a good tasting food to tempt them if they lose their appetites. The calcium it provides to developing equine fetuses strengthens their bones and tendons. Too much and you risk laminitis in adult horses and contracted tendons in newborns. Unless your miniature horse is doing the work of a racing thoroughbred, use alfalfa sparingly.

Switching a newly purchased horse that has been eating lush green pasture grass over to eating our baled bermuda, is one of the hardest tasks I face. If they're used to eating baled alfalfa, the change takes time but it's much easier. It's not like the previous owner can send part of their pasture along with the horse to help me with a gradual switch. This is the only time I've had colic issues with my horses (pardon me while I knock on my huge wooden headboard). I soak beet pulp, mix a bit of that in with about 1/4 their usual amount of grain, and give them a couple of handfuls of grass hay. Then, I wait for them to pass manure. I do this every couple of hours. They wonder what circle of hell their former owner consigned them to and I kick myself for not finding a good horse from a desert climate. Within 4 to 5 days they're doing well and eating 4 short meals a day and I'm exhausted from getting up at night to give them their handful sized meals. But, I'd rather spend that 4 days waking up several times a night to feed them than stay up walking and watching a horse with the colic or loading it up for an expensive vet clinic visit or emergency surgery.

Do your horse, and likely yourself, a favor and feed him at the same time at least twice daily. I know, I know, I've had this conversation with friends before. However, the facts show that horses are more prone to ulcers, bad habits, bad behavior, gas colic, choke (from bolting the food that arrives late), and myriad other issues if they don't know when their next meal is coming. Think of it this way. If you're bedridden and totally dependent upon someone bringing your meals to your bed. You're hungry, they're perpetually late. Your stomach acids are going nuts waiting for food to digest. You are miserable. Don't do that to your horse. If he's on pasture, it's not so bad. He has snacks. But if he's relying on you to bring the whole meal don't do that to him. Adjust his feeding schedule to fit yours and if you can't be there to feed him on time, make sure someone else is.

The big clues to a healthy horse are that he eats, drinks, passes manure and urinates. When any of these are off, you have a problem. You cannot know how much your horse is drinking if you have an automatic watering system. I'm sorry, I know, "they're so convenient!" If a horse is not drinking well, it cannot digest well. Horses are notorious for not drinking well in winter. If your horse isn't drinking enough he's not going to be able to digest his food well. This is why more colics happen during the winter months. If you knew your horse was not drinking enough, you could give him electrolytes to encourage him to drink more and thus avoid big trouble. Yup. It's a pain in the butt keeping water buckets clean and filled. But it's better for the animal. It's difficult for a miniature horse to dump a 20 gallon tub of water so, to me, this is more reliable than automatic watering systems that can, and often do, break down due to the corrosion of their parts. A horse can dehydrate in a matter of hours. Studies have shown that horses drink better when they can drink in a head down position. The benefits of the manual water bucket fill and clean system far outweigh the convenience of the automatic watering systems. Might not be what you want to hear or what you want to believe, but there it is.

After raising multiple foals and trying all kinds of feed and hay. I say with perfect confidence that the absolute best thing you can feed your weanlings is Purina Equine Junior. No, I do not work for, with or know anyone with that company. I've seen photos of big bellied weanlings for sale, owned big bellied weanlings and talked to vets about the big weanling belly. With Equine Junior, my weanlings no longer get this big belly. Even though Equine Junior is a complete feed, I still give them grass hay along with it and only feed to body condition, not according to bag instructions. They grow straight, strong, stay active and progress beautifully. Once again, should your weanling get the flu or a cold and go off their feed, Equine junior can be soaked, spooned into a syringe and squirted slowly, a little at a time, into their cheek until they feel more like eating again. I keep them on Equine Junior until they are 2 years old.

In summation, feed according to the body condition of your horse. If you can see rib, add grain in small increments until he begins to pick weight up gradually. If he's too fat, cut back in small increments until he gradually loses down to a healthy weight. Gradual increases or decreases in feed help you to figure out how much to feed to maintain optimum body condition. Feed at least twice daily (if they don't have pasture, 3 times daily is better, 4 is fabulous if you can manage it) and feed at regular times of the day. Use alfalfa more like a supplement than a meal. Know how much your horse drinks. Feed your weanlings a good supportive feed designed for the growth and digestive needs of a growing foal.

Spring Vaccinations

Since I am finally getting the horses through the aftermath of their spring vaccinations, I figured I'd talk about that today while it's fresh in my mind.

Spring vaccinations here in Arizona consist of Tetanus, West Nile and Eastern and Western Equine Encephalomyelitis. I tend to vaccinate the horses for what can kill them. These diseases can. Before anyone adds a comment regarding rumors about the West Nile Vacc. causing issues, please just go preach to a different choir about that. See my first post where I mention my Aunt's credentials. She raised champion arabs for 30 years. She has seen horses die from West Nile Virus. She never failed to vaccinate her arabs and never once lost a foal due to those vaccinations. Every last one of my veterinarians, vaccinate their mares and the mares in their care. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for my hooved ladies. Okay, that's out of the way, let us get on with this post.

Typically, my horses come through their Fall shots okay. They might be a bit lazy, but generally they're fine. Spring shots are a little harder on them. I don't know what it is in the vaccines that tend to make them feel bad. I do know how a tetanus shot makes my arm muscle feel. For a couple of days I don't even want to raise my arm to do so much as turn a doorknob. The spring vaccinations are generally given as an all in one shot in a neck muscle. If I had a tetanus shot in my neck, I don't know that I could lift my head off my pillow for a week. Thus, I'm sure the horses are good and sore. Often, that's enough to make some minis, especially those that stress easily, go off their feed. The EEE/WEE vaccination can make them feel droopy or run a mild fever.

As I will explain in a follow up post, it is essential that your miniature horse eat and drink. Quite often the first sign you notice that your horse is feeling bad is that it shows no interest in it's food. The horse may come to the food bin at feeding time, it may even nibble, but a sick horse will not eat with it's normal gusto. Sometimes they'll nibble at their feed then go lie down. Or they'll sift through their hay as if they're looking for the one particularly juicy leaf they want and no other will do. TIP: Don't feed, water and leave. Always make sure your horse is actually eating well before you leave them.

Last year I had one horse get violently ill after her spring shots. A day at the vet, with the horse on fluids and undergoing a ton of blood work and finally a test showed a very slight elevation of the white count. She was put on anti-biotics and two hours later she started improving, within 5 hours she was eating a bit. The shot (not the vaccination) but just the tiny puncture of the shot had caused an infection that, combined with the general malaise following the vaccinations, caused her little system to shut down within 10 hours. She went down so fast that if we had not taken her to the vet when we did, she'd have been dead within hours.

You will not be able to prevent all infections. You will not be able to prevent a mild reaction from a vaccination. What you can do is prepare for the things you cannot prevent. Because minis cannot be allowed to miss meals the way larger horse breeds can, you can be prepared for the day your mini steps back from it's feed bin too soon and you can also KNOW YOUR HORSES' NORMAL BEHAVIOR.

The absolute best thing you can do is spend time just watching the habits of your horse. You will notice he likes to stand in certain places. You'll notice his standing posture. You'll notice the way in which he plays, how often and where he rests, the speed and posture of his walk, when/where and how much he urinates and passes manure. One day you may go out to his paddock and he's standing bunched up in a corner where he usually finds nothing of interest, shifting his weight from one hoof to the other. That's a different behavior all of a sudden and you should watch him more closely. He may be standing there because he's feeling bad. He could be bunched up with a stomach ache or shifting his weight because he's feeling achy.

Our vet gave the horses their vaccinations Wednesday morning. By Wednesday afternoon, I had 4 standing in their stalls rather than being outside in the breeze. 4 of them were standing with their heads low and pressed into a corner in their stalls. NOT THEIR NORMAL BEHAVIOR. They could have been just resting in the shade, however, because I watch them, I knew that ordinarily they'd be out in the paddock, plastered to the ground, basking in the sunshine for their naps. I began checking temps and "gut sounds" (a healthy horse digestive system growls and gurgles. Press your ear to the sides of his belly and you'll hear what I'm talking about.)

Early last fall I PREPARED the minis in case any of them got the flu or a bad cold over the winter by getting them used to several different feeds. Your horse must be prepared well in advance of illness. You do not want to just race to the feed store when he gets sick and buy several feeds to see if he'll eat them. Horses don't do quick feed changes well and will colic. When a horse is sick and doesn't feel like eating one thing, you can sometimes tempt him with some other delicacy, as long as you know for sure that the source of his appetite loss is not a digestive issue like colic. If he still won't eat, and you are certain that colic is not the problem, you'll need to syringe feed him.

For such an emergency you will need to use one of the "complete feeds". I use Purina Equine Senior. I can soak it to a mush, spoon it into a large syringe and carefully squirt it into a horse's cheek. Because it is a "complete" feed, it has the roughage his digestive tract needs to keep working, as well as the vitamins and minerals he needs. An added benefit to Equine Senior is that it has molasses. The added sugar keeps the animal's glucose level up.

Luckily for me, the minis were still used to eating a bit of Equine Senior mixed in with their regular feed. Thus, when EIGHT of my 10 freshly vaccinated horses said "I don't feel good... I don't wanna eat nuthin'". I gave them each a cup of Equine Senior. They said "Well, okay, I'll try to eat that. It's my favorite." Eating the Senior feed helped them have an appetite for their hay. It took them the better part of 8 hours to eat the hay it generally takes them two hours to consume, but they ate. Every 3 hours I'd give them another half cup of the Senior feed.

Thankfully, they all kept drinking, but I was prepared if they didn't. I always keep a few snack sized containers of applesauce, liquid or chewable B-12, and electrolytes on hand. The applesauce just tastes good and is sugared, it's also soothing to their throats, B-12 helps them feel better and perks them up, electrolytes help keep them drinking.

It's Saturday and finally all of them were pawing, nickering and pacing by their feed bins tonight, telling me I wasn't moving fast enough with their supper. Back to normal!

About this blog

I have owned or been around horses much of my life. My Aunt was the first woman to graduate from Auburn University's School of Veterinary Medicine in large animal medicine, and was the first woman President of the American Veterinary Medicine Association. Before I had horses, I worshipped horse related TV shows, read horse books, studied horse pictures, pretended everything from my bicycle, to the kitchen stool, to the limbs of a tree were horses. I dreamed of the day that I would have a barn filled with horses of different colors. I had horses of my own, rode horses of others and spent as much time as possible in their company, but not until I was in my late 40's did I have that barn filled with horses of many colors and they were much smaller than the horses of my childhood dream.

I am handicapped and spend most of my time in a wheelchair or on crutches. Never-the-less, I rode for several years until I realized that should my wonderful little trail horse so much as stumble on a rock, I'd likely be in the hospital for weeks. It was time to step out of the saddle, but I could not imagine a life without horses. I decided to downsize.

I'd heard about miniature horses from horse loving friends, but I didn't know anything about them. I didn't see how anything so small could be much fun and after a lifetime of joy in riding, just couldn't see the real pleasure in sitting in a pony cart. I spent several months Googling small horse breeds. I really loved the look of Haflingers, but mainly because I had hiding in the back of my mind the thought that if I hated driving, Haflingers were still large enough to ride. I'd actually settled on Haflingers when I forced myself to step back and remember WHY I was trading down in the first place. I finally chose miniatures horses for the simple reason that I would never be tempted to ride them! Old and faithful dreams die hard, even when you know they aren't healthy for you.

I bought my first 3 miniature horses 5 years ago and have never had the time nor the desire to regret that decision. Even though I had spent months researching miniatures, nothing prepared me for the reality of life with small equines. Over the past 5 years I have sat up for hours on end with sick horses, sat up for hours on end waiting and worrying over impending births, trained, groomed, read, been frustrated at the lack of information or the abundance of incorrect information, fought the massive amounts of shedding hair everywhere, smooched silky noses, assisted births, watched mares teach their foals, watched foals teach their mommas, cussed and laughed joyfully at my too small to ride horses.

With this blog, I hope to be able to teach you what I have learned and will be learning.