Maritime Miniature Horse Network

20/11/2023

Thrush is one of those equine conditions that most of us can do better at preventing and treating. Improving our horse’s footing, regular hoof picking, and using the right products can greatly reduce the incidence and impact!

20/11/2023

Who’s been told “never hand feed a horse treats or they’ll bite you!” or some variation of that?

I’m pretty sure you have, unless this is your first day with horses. 😉

There is this idea that’s prevalent in the horse world, that the use of treats aren’t “real” training (spoiler alert: science disagrees) or that they’ll just teach your horse to bite (which is only true if you give them treats when they bite you).

Your Horse Won’t Bite You

Unless, of course, you accidently teach them to bite you. Food rewards are HIGHLY reinforcing, so whatever behaviour your horse just did they’re going to want to repeat. If you feed them when their nose is on you, or they’re lipping at you, then that behaviour is going to be repeated – with enthusiasm!

Instead, make the first thing you teach with food rewards is food manners – ie, standing calmly with nose not on you earns the food, and then with consistency that will be their default behaviour, not biting. In fact, I’ve had very good luck reducing mouthy behaviours by introducing training with food rewards.

But, why?

If you’ve been training your horse and getting the results you want, you’re probably wondering, why would I change anything? And you don’t have to. If you’re happy and your horse is happy.

But is your horse really happy? Are they engaged and keen and as interested in learning something new as you are in teaching it? Are they waiting at the gate wanting their turn, or are they hard to catch?

Since I switched to training using primarily positive reinforcement, I never have a hard to catch horse. In fact, the biggest challenge I have is convincing them to go back to the pasture with their friends when I’m done – they always want to play more!

Most horse training is done using pressure and release. That means that we apply an aversive stimulus – something the horse doesn’t enjoy – and remove it when they give the response we want. The removal of the pressure tells them they got the right answer.

Instead, we can mark the right answer by giving them a food reward – this way they’re working towards a reward, instead of away from pressure.

Instead of just avoiding, now we have a horse who is actively engaged and looking to solve the problem and learn in order to earn the reward.

Do I Have To Feed Them Forever?

If you train with pressure, the goal is to minimize the pressure as the horse advances in their training, but you never stop using pressure altogether and you can return to using more as needed.

It’s the same with food. As the horse advances in their training, you can build longer chains of behaviour and feed less frequently, but you don’t stop using food altogether and you can return to using more as needed.

But I don’t know why you’d want to stop feeding them altogether anyway. It’s fun for both horse and human to give a food reward! It doesn’t make sense to me that people are more willing to continue to use aversive tools, that aren’t fun for horse or human, than they are to continue to reinforce with food.

My Horse Can’t Eat Treats!

Food rewards don’t have to be horse treats filled with molasses and oats, and in fact in most cases treats are too high value for training anyway, regardless of dietary restrictions.

Food rewards are just that – food! Any food can be reinforcing, and often less exciting food means that the horse is better able to learn and focus, without being SO hyper about the cookies.

Hay pellets, complete feed, part of the horse’s usual ration … there are lots of options out there, even for horses with metabolic issues who have to watch their diet very carefully.

I Want My Horse To Work For Me, Not For Treats

Really? Even if you love your job, and your coworkers, I bet you don’t turn down your paycheck. Your horse is working for you, you’re just paying them for a job well done by adding food rewards!

Not only that, but the reason that food rewards are so effective is because food is a primary reinforcer – it’s highly rewarding to the horse and is accompanied by a nice little dopamine release in their brain. And that dopamine release and all the good feelings that go with it become strongly associated to the behaviours you teach using food, and to you.

So your horse will enjoy being with you, and performing the skills you teach them, just as much as they enjoy the food.

Change is Hard

Once upon a time, I remember saying, “Oh no, I feed my horses treats, but never as part of training.” My exposure to training with food rewards was poor examples, or horses early in the process, and I used that as evidence that it didn’t work.

But I’m so glad that I pushed through the cognitive dissonance, and continued to learn more about how horses learn and the value of training with food. Because I have never had so much fun with my horses as I do now, and that’s because they are having just as much fun as I am, active participants in everything we do.

If you'd like to learn more, I have an online course that will help you get started on the right foot: https://classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/register/introduction-positive-reinforcement/

14/11/2023

We all know there is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. But some things on the outside of your horse are good also for the inside of the horse himself!

Your horse’s whiskers, for example, are tactile hairs that play an important part in your equine friend’s sensory awareness system. Just to mention one thing, they help your horse gather information about their surroundings in the blind spot existing from their eye level to ground below the nose and out to about six feet—so the animal can sense things like the grass he grazes on and the hand that strokes his muzzle.

If you’d like to read more about how your horse sees the world, visit Equus Magazine’s website at https://equusmagazine.com/behavior/eye-eye-31022/

13/11/2023

So cute!

Perfect shoot ❤️❤️

13/11/2023

Something fun.

11/11/2023

POOR CALORIES - FEELING NEGLECTED 😢

All joking apart, I keep hearing horse owners being very concerned about sugar but forgetting calories (energy).

It is calories that you need to worry about if your horse is overweight, or underweight. Body fat is a storage of energy (calories) and too much means too many calories in the past, whereas too little (fat) means a shortage of calories in the past.

Sugar does contribute calories, as does fibre and oil in the diet, but a low sugar diet does not guarantee fat loss.

Let me say that again - a low sugar diet does not guarantee fat loss.

If that diet does not put the horse into a calorie deficit, then they will not lose body fat.

(Now, a low sugar, starch and fructan diet is important for horses with insulin dysregulation or EMS, but so is body fat loss and in fact, most horses with ID or EMS can cope with higher sugar diets if their body fat is low!)

When considering nutrition, we need to keep an eye on the entire diet and all the nutrients, not just get so focused on one that we lose sight of all the others.

Feel free to share
🍏🐴

08/11/2023

08/11/2023

Is confirmed to be in Nova Scotia.

The .gov means it's official. Federal government websites always use a .gov or .mil domain. Before sharing sensitive information online, make sure you're on a .gov or .mil site by inspecting your browser's address (or "location") bar.

06/11/2023

It's ok...

06/11/2023

Feed your horse according to his weight. You do have to be somewhat flexible to take into account pasture, supplement, etc., but doing so can help prevent health issues.
Weight tapes do not work well on miniature horses. Method #2 is the best method for them.

Knowing your horse's weight prior to the onset of winter is paramount for nutrition and medication management!

04/11/2023

FORAGE ALONE CAN MAKE YOUR HORSE TOO FAT ❗️

Grass (in summer and winter), all types of hay (including organic meadow hay) and haylage can all cause obesity.

Don't assume that all fat horses are overfed from a bucket. Some will happily eat double the normal intake of forage if fed ad lib (free choice).

Some of you already know this, but more and more horses and ponies who aren't fed much in a bucket are obese, and there a persistent myth that if you feed natural non-ryegrass hay, they will regulate and stay a healthy weight.

This is simply not true.

Some will overeat more after restriction; some will regulate if fed ad lib (but not many); some will literally eat themselves to death (yes, even on just hay).

Horses are all VERY different so be open minded and MONITOR your horse or pony regularly and carefully.

Monitor, monitor, monitor your horses and ponies to avoid and manage obesity.

Please help spread the word by sharing - thank you
🐴🍏

04/11/2023

FEEDING OLDER HORSES AND PONIES:

🐴 Pay particular attention to their overall health including monitoring signs of health, parasite control, dental care, footcare (especially when retired) and regular veterinary evaluations
🐴 Provide a suitable environment including adequate movement, careful choice of field companions, help with thermoregulation (shade, shelter, rugs & clipping if required)
🐴 Monitor their condition even more regularly than a younger horse with weekly condition scoring and weightaping/weighing. Old horses and ponies can drop weight/condition very fast
🐴 Replace long forage (hay, haylage) with more easily chewed alternatives if any signs of dental insufficiency e.g. weight loss (especially in winter), quidding and reduced consumption of forage
🐴 Use hay replacer chaffs in early stages, then ground fibrous feeds, soaked to a mash e.g. unmolassed sugar beet, high fibre nuts, grass/alfalfa pellets, specialist fibre mashes
🐴 Feed a good quality diet with adequate vitamins and minerals but do not overfeed energy i.e. maintain a slim body condition
🐴 Use supplements strategically, including those to support joints and digestive health when there are dental issues
🐴 For those with PPID (Cushing’s syndrome), ensure adequate good quality protein, feed elevated vitamins and minerals and add extra vitamin C

For more information, visit the online Equine Nutrition Learning Centre (link in comments)

Feel free to share
🐴🍏

04/11/2023

Great practical information courtesy of the horse doctors at Barrow Veterinary Service:

NORMAL: NOT JUST A SETTING ON THE DRYER!
If your horse seems a little "off," do you know what his "normal" is? One of the best ways you can determine if your horse is ill is to know his normal vitals—temperature, breaths per minute, heart rate, and capillary refill time. If they are outside the normal range, a call to your equine veterinarian is definitely warranted! Any refusal to eat a meal or to get up from a recumbent position is also a clue that you and your equine friend need assistance.

01/11/2023

Great visual.

30/10/2023

Happy Halloween!

30/10/2023

He is so cute.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=3539724826249824

28/10/2023

28/10/2023

A necessary part of horsekeeping that we often don't want to think about.

Today’s Senior Miniature Horse topic is making end of life decisions.

It isn’t a topic any of us want to think about. It’s absolutely the hardest part of horse ownership, but it’s one that we all must face, sooner or later.

While it’s not easy to think about the last day for your special equine friends, it will make the day, when it comes, less stressful if you put some thought into it ahead of time, knowing what to expect and what options are available to you, before you’re in the middle of a tragedy.

How do you know when the time is right?

First, think about qualify of life. Sometimes it’s a straightforward, if not easy, decision. A catastrophic injury, a severe colic or illness, with no chance of recovery, and it’s simply the last gift you can give to your horse, to make the decision to end their pain.

Other times, it isn’t that simple. There are a lot of social media posts that circulate around, telling us that it’s better to euthanize your horse too soon than a day too late, and I don’t think they're wrong, but that isn’t how I approach my herd. I won’t be euthanizing them just because they’re old, and have health concerns, and something bad might happen. If something bad happens, I’ll be there to make the decision and get them to the vet and end their pain, but I’m not going to do so a minute sooner if they otherwise have a good quality of life. They might have one bad day at the very end of a really great life, but I’ll be there by their side all the way.

That’s my choice, but I would never judge anyone for making a different one on behalf of their horse.

Euthanasia is never a bad choice for the horse – it’s only hard for those of us left behind, no matter how or when the decision is made.

What to Expect?

If it is that terrible day we all dread, if you’ve got the vet on the way to end your horse’s pain, what’s going to happen?

If you have questions, ask your vet. Most vets are very good about explaining and making sure you know what to expect. They also are happy to have you there with your horse, or not, as you are comfortable.

Personally, it’s the last thing I can do for my horse to be with them at the end, and I think a familiar presence is a comfort to them.

However, if you’re not able to be there, that’s okay too. Your vet will take good care of them, you need to take care of you.

First, the vet gives them an injection of sedation, which makes them sleepy. Their head hangs low, and they may look off balance. The next injection is the same they would use to put them to sleep for a simple surgery, such as a castration, and the horse will go down. Be careful, and let your vet handle the situation – no one needs to get hurt, and vets anesthetize horses all the time, so they’re experts at having them go down gently and safely. Once the horse is safely on the ground and unconscious, then the vet will administer the drug that will stop their heart, and they will monitor everything carefully to ensure that it is completely effective. While unexpected things can happen, it is nearly always very peaceful, and even horse owners who are worried about the process usually feel much better for having been there to see how peacefully the end came.

The next thing that can be a stressful decision on an already stressful day is what you’re going to do with the body of your horse. If it is legal and you have the means to bury them on your property, I know that is a preferred approach. However, in many cases that isn’t an option. Most areas have a rendering truck that will pick up animals for processing for a fee. Other options may include services that bury your horse, and you may be able to have them cremated, with the ashes returned to you in a beautiful wooden box. The prices of these services will vary widely depending on where you are and what’s available in your area, and it’s a good idea to look into them ahead of time. Having the knowledge of what’s available, what you’re comfortable with, and what cost you’re looking at ahead of time will made that terrible day a little less stressful. If you’re starting this research, begin by asking your equine vet – they’ll have options and services they recommend.

Worth mentioning, is that many people like to braid and cut their horse’s tail, or part of it, to have as a keepsake. Many horse hair jewelry designers are happy to use your horse’s tail to create a beautiful memorial piece. It’s a great way to keep your horse’s memory close.

Moving On

Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about grieving for your Miniature Horse. If someone tells you something insensitive like, “You’re still upset about that? It’s just a horse!” just remember that they have never been lucky enough to love a horse and they truly don’t understand.

Don’t rush into anything either – I have friends who have lost horses who meant a lot to them, and well meaning people want to make it all better for them by giving them a new horse to love. If you’re not ready for that, just say so, and that’s okay. If you need more time before you’re ready to invest your heart again, take it.

If you can, get back to the barn, get some horse time in, get to that first activity you usually did with your horse as soon as you feel you can, even if you’re just volunteering, or helping with a friends horse. It’s going to be really hard, and sad, and you’re going to miss your horse like crazy, but trust me, waiting will only make it worse. Remember what you love about the activity, give yourself permission to be sad, and do it in honour of the friend you lost.

Be kind to yourself, and remember the good times with your horse. It might be hard to believe, at first, but one day, you’ll think of them and be more likely to smile than to cry.

While it’s a terrible thing to lose a horse, it’s the price we pay for the joy having them in our lives, and I think we’d all agree that it’s worth it.

Pictured is me with my heart horse, Image, who I lost two and a half years ago now, and still miss every single day.

27/10/2023

https://www.ivccarriage.com/blogs/ivc-carriage/showmanship-for-the-driving-horse?fbclid=IwAR3HGkmJLK6rvR_mAsIpORYcBOJn8SluYwGpg_zcVO4GPPgzN4xIqxRAA6o

A horse driver needs to control EVERY move of their horse when it is being handled. You need to be the leader at all times. Teach your horse Backyard Showmanship, and you will have a respectful, obedient horse while giving yourself a practical format for teaching good groundwork.

27/10/2023

Today’s Senior Miniature Horse Week Topic is blanketing.

It’s a hot topic this time of year anyway, as there are ongoing debates anywhere horse people gather on the internet about the pros and cons of blanketing.
Senior horses are one of the demographics that are more likely to need to be blanketed in bad weather and cold temperatures.

If your senior horse is underweight, you’ll want to consider a blanket for sure. By helping them stay warm, you’ll let them use the calories they consume for weight gain, or maintaining their condition, instead of keeping warm.

If your senior horse has any arthritis or other aches and pains, keeping them warm can help them stay more comfortable.

And some senior horses who have no other heath issues, just don’t seem to handle the cold as well as they did when they were younger, and do better with a winter blanket.

When you do choose to blanket your senior horse, it then becomes your responsibility to regulate their comfort. In my area, that means taking the blankets off after the chinook hits and raises the temperature to above freezing for a few days, and then getting them back on before the next cold snap. In some places, it might mean blanketing at night and taking it off during the day. In others, only blanketing during the worst winter storms, or using rain sheets in wet climates.

And it’s important, even in situations where they’ll pretty much wear the blanket all winter long, that you do check under the blanket regularly to monitor their body condition and health. Elderly horses with Cushings are prone to skin infections, which could be exacerbated underneath a blanket, and I’ve heard sad stories of old horses who got very thin underneath winter blankets and their well meaning owners didn’t realize in time.

Not every senior horse needs to be blanketed, but the odds are much higher than in the Miniature Horse population in general, and it’s one more way you can help your horse continue to thrive in his old age.

26/10/2023

Today’s topic for Senior Miniature Horse Week is Dental Care.

While all horses should have their teeth maintained by a qualified veterinarian, it becomes particularly important as they age. Horse’s teeth continue to erupt throughout their lives, as they are ground down by chewing their food. Since their upper jaw is slightly wider than their lower jaw, they wind up with sharp points on the outside of their upper molars, and inside of their lower molars. Routine “floating” of the teeth, by filing off the sharp points, keeps their mouth comfortable, and prevents painful ulceration of their cheeks and tongue from rubbing on the sharp points.

But horses do have a finite amount of tooth, and it isn’t uncommon for their teeth to wear out before the rest of the horse. If a tooth is lost, or “expires” and runs out of tooth to continue erupting, then the opposing tooth can overgrow, causing a “step” which can bind and cause issues with chewing, or even impact the opposite jaw if left unchecked. Minor misalignments can become major, with large sharp points causing pain. Diastemas, or spaces between teeth, can result in feed packing and further damage to teeth. EOTRH is a painful degenerative dental condition, which is not uncommon in elderly horses.

All that is to say, routine dental care can become much less routine as your horse ages, and staying on top of any issues on a regular basis will help your horse continue to have some teeth to work with for as long as possible.

My senior horses, depending on what is going on with their teeth, may need to be seen as often as every four months (if there is an issue they’re working to resolve, like an overgrown tooth), and six to twelve months is a common time frame.

Signs that your senior horse may need dental care might include weight loss, difficulty chewing, “quidding” (spitting out cuds of chewed hay), packing feed in their cheeks so they look like a chipmunk, or just because they haven’t had their mouths looked at by a vet recently.

I know the old saying is “no foot, no horse” but I think someone should be developing denture technology for elderly horses, because it really does seem to be the part the gives up on them first. Luckily, we do have feeding options to help them continue to thrive even when they don’t have much left to chew with – we’ll talk more about feeding our senior friends tomorrow!

24/10/2023

Excellent information about cushings disease.

23/10/2023

🥕 QUICK CARROT FACT 🥕

It's carrot time of year again!

Carrots are a useful succulent for horses on winter mostly-dry diets e.g. hay and bucket feed, with limited grass intake.

Carrots are LOW IN SUGAR on a fresh basis at around 5%. Compare this to a typical sugar content of hay of 8%:

🥕 1 medium carrot (60g) = 3g sugar
🟨 1 small bale slice of typical meadow hay (1kg) = 81g sugar

Owners often consider carrots to be high in sugar but that's on a dry matter basis i.e. if you dry the carrot. Most of a fresh carrot is water - around 80% - and this means its sugar content is diluted.

Some vets recommend not to feed carrots to overweight, laminitic or EMS horses or ponies, but this is due to the risk of the owner over-feeding carrots (the risk of 1 becomes, 2, becomes 3, becomes half a bucketful) NOT the sugar content of a single carrot.

Please share to help me spread the truth about feeding carrots! 🥕🐴🍏

23/10/2023

Wow

🍁When farriers carve pumpkins 🍁
Photo and work of Schneider

・・・

19/10/2023

Thinking of getting a miniature horse? Please read this. They need just as much, if not more care than a larger horse. They are definitely worth it!

If you’re new to Miniature Horses, or are thinking about adding some to your family, there is definitely a learning curve involved. Even if you have lots of full sized horse experience, there are still a few things that you need to know.

Body Condition Scoring

The thing everyone talks about is feeding, and it can be tricky to get it right, but getting well meaning advice from every direction can just make things harder, as every horse is an individual. What works well for someone else might not be what your horse needs.

So here’s my number one tip – learn to body condition score your horse. The Henneke method of BCS is pretty standard, and allows you and your vet or other professionals to speak the same language regarding your horse’s weight. Remember that you CAN NOT visually determine body condition on a Miniature Horse in full winter coat. You have to put your hands on them and feel for fat cover over their ribs, backbone and hips. After a lifetime spent with Miniature Horses, my ability to see through the hair is probably as good as anyone’s, and I still make a point of regularly taking off my gloves and feeling through the winter coats of my horses.

This is way more useful than being told what to feed or how much of it, as you’ll be able to make changes based on what YOUR horse needs to maintain a healthy weight.

Young Horses Need Extra Care

It’s natural to want to add a “baby” to your family, as they’re so cute! But in addition to taking on the responsibility of training that baby to be a good citizen and deal with the routine handling of a domestic horse without stress, young, growing horses do require a lot more careful management than adult horses do.

Foals do most of their growing in their first year, so they need a LOT of nutrition to grow healthy and strong: free choice hay or pasture, a good complete feed balanced for growing horses, enough protein in their diet to grow strong muscles and bones, and momma’s milk until they’re at least 6 months of age. And checking their body condition diligently through their first winter especially, as too many people learn upon clipping in the spring that their wooly little baby was actually skin and bones under the hair.

Babies in their first year need frequent deworming, targeted to get rid of ascarids. Ascarids can grow up to three feet long in just 3 months – imagine that in the intestine of a tiny foal!

Babies need frequent hoof trims by a knowledgeable farrier to set them up to have strong and healthy feet and legs for the rest of their lives.

And it is not appropriate to have a baby as an only horse - they need other horses around to continue to learn important horse life skills and feel comfortable in a herd. An individual foal will result in behavioural problems.

Health Concerns

In general, Miniature Horses require the same care as full sized horses and have all the same health concerns. They need to be checked for parasite load by F***l Egg Count and be dewormed as necessary. (Don’t use Quest dewormer unless under the direct supervision and recommendation of your veterinarian – it’s difficult to dose for Miniature Horses and easy to have a dangerous overdose. There are other, safer options!) They need regular vaccinations against disease – and vaccines aren’t dosed by weight, so they get the same as a full sized horse.

The biggest health concern that I think everyone should know about is hyperlipidemia. If your horse doesn’t eat for a prolonged time, regardless of the reason, their body believes they are starving and dumps their fat stores into their blood stream. But they dump so much fat into the bloodstream that they can’t use it, and it’s filtered out by the liver and kidneys, which get all clogged up with fat. Unless it’s caught early in the process and treated aggressively, their organs will shut down.

If your Miniature Horse (or small pony, or donkey) ever doesn’t want to eat their food, it’s an emergency. Get them to a vet ASAP and be sure to mention that they’re prone to hyperlipidemia so they can draw blood and check right away. I’ve heard far too many stories of people who lost their horse because they didn’t know that not eating was an emergency and were too late getting them to the vet, or because the vet didn’t have a lot of experience with Miniature Horses and didn’t know how prone they are to becoming hyperlipemic.

Hoof Care

Next to feeding concerns and not being aware of body condition under a winter coat, the second most challenging issue newcomers find is hoof care.

Miniature Horses need regular hoof trimming by qualified, knowledgeable farrier, or if you’re going to do it yourself, then you need to spend some time learning what they need. For context, I did take a farrier course in college, and am familiar with trimming, but don’t feel qualified to do my own, especially any with special needs, performance horses, or young, growing horses, so I have an excellent farrier that takes care of my herd.

Letting their feet become overgrown can lead to all sorts of issues that can affect their soundness and quality of life. Some require very frequent trims, either due to health issues (laminitis or founder) or just because they grow more quickly. Once again, treating each horse as an individual is key.

Fencing

Miniature Horses are small. If you’re bringing one home, you need to make sure your fences are appropriate. Too many Miniature Horses get a reputation as fence crawlers and escape artists because people expect the same fence designed to contain a 15hh horse is going to contain an 8hh horse, which it often won’t. Of course, some Miniature Horses ARE fence crawlers, but that’s just more reason to ensure that your fences are suitable prior to bringing home a Miniature Horse.

Trust Your Instincts and Experience

Too often people come from full sized horses and second guess everything they knew. But Miniature Horses ARE horses – just smaller. Nearly everything that worked for your full sized horses is true for Miniature Horses as well. Learn from everyone you can – that’s how we become better horsepeople – but don’t dismiss what you already know.

And if you’re brand new to horses, don’t ignore your instincts. Too often I hear from someone who went along with what a trainer told them, even though it seemed wrong to them, because they figured the trainer must know better. If your instinct is telling you that something is wrong for your horse, stop and do more research. You might know more than you think you do.

So Much Fun To Be Had!

Miniature Horses are cute, no doubt about it, and fun to have around for their gregarious personalities. But they love to have a job and there is no limit to what they can do. No matter your horse experience or interests, there is an activity out there that you and your Miniature Horse can enjoy together!

From competitive breed shows, to combined driving events, horse agility to trick training, therapy work to trail driving, the list is endless!

Have fun with your Miniature Horse!

More Resources:

Miniature Horses 101 Free Course https://classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/register/miniature-horses-101/

The Big Book of Miniature Horses
https://classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/big-book-miniature-horses/

Understanding Your Miniature Horse
https://classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/ebook/