Overweight Mini?

[Bleenie]

I e-mailed about this pretty girl and got a couple pictures back. We really like her, she looks Very similar to the mini we had years ago. I've never been big into horses(not like i am with chickens anyway!), I know a thin horse when i see one but not so good about telling if one is overweight..... I don't wanna get into something that's going to have problems so I wanted to ask here, maybe get some input from more knowledgeable folks. She looks pretty rotund to me and her back looks really straight but maybe this is just a mini thing? she's also only 3yrs old.

Does this little mare look overweight?

current diet is a single flake of hay(local i assumed) & i think they said 1cup of wet cob every day.

 

[norseofcourse]

Yes but not terribly overweight - it's hard to tell with pictures, but I think I see a crease down her spine, and she does look well padded. The Henneke body condition scoring system would be useful, once you can get your hands on her. I would guess her at a 7 right now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henneke_horse_body_condition_scoring_system

Personally her weight wouldn't put me off her, if otherwise her health and conformation are good and her temperament is what you're looking for. But I would get her to a healthy weight - minis shouldn't be overweight any more than 'big' horses should.

Is she out on any pasture at all? Or just the hay and cob? How much area does she have to move around and exercise in; does she have a buddy to help keep her active? Is she dragging that lead rope around - is she hard to catch? Or does someone have the other end and they let it get down around her legs accidentally or on purpose?

If I got her, I'd decrease the grain by half, then in a week cut it out altogether. If someday she needs it (her calorie needs can't be met with just hay and/or pasture), you can always add it back. I drive my mini but he still does well on just hay and pasture.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Bunnylady]

Excuse me a moment while I wipe the drool off of my keyboard. I love silver bays!

Ok, better now.


Weight on a mini is frequently hard to judge from a picture, because the little beasts are so short. The photographer is usually shooting at a downward angle, which makes the body look big and the legs look short(er). Minis come in a variety of body types, from leggy and refined to really solid and drafty looking. This gal's legs look like she has a fair amount of bone; I'd guess she's of the more solid body type. You might be able to take some weight off of her, but she'd never resemble the almost deer-like creatures that you see on some websites.

Her diet as described sounds reasonable for a still-growing mini (like the "bigs," minis continue to grow until somewhere around age 5). Like norseofcourse said, if her conformation and temperament are good for whatever work you intend for her, I don't see her weight as a problem.

 

[goodhors]

She doesn't look obese, but I would want to lay my hands on her, see what is under
the hair. Minis are visually deceiving, so hands on is best.

My questions would be regarding how you plan to use her. I am seeing problems
with her conformation that I don't care for, if I was picking a horse. She might
be suitable for some uses, but is going to be less than superior in other uses
with that conformation. You don't give a height or what her finished height is
expected to be. Being too tiny, can make it real hard to use some minis for
anything.

I would take a really hard look at her legs and feet, to make sure she is not
distorted, has a fairly straight line of travel in flight of the legs, going and
coming at me, trotting. Is she wearing hooves unevenly? Signs of problems
above the hoof with uneven hoof wear. Both sides of each hoof should be
equal in length, not "correctively trimmed". You can do a bit of leg fixing in
the first couple months of age, but after that the corrective trimming is just
messing up the bony leg column, causing bad wear in the joints.

The other thing would be teeth. Minis have a LOT of teeth problems, which
can be EXPENSIVE to get taken care of. Teeth are large, like pony teeth, so
they often need some removed (surgery putting horse out) to let the others
fit in their mouths that don't have enough space for a whole set of teeth.
At 3yrs, she doesn't have her adult teeth yet, might be trouble ahead with that.

I would probably have the Vet to a pre-purchase exam, maybe x-rays of hooves,
teeth, see if there are any problems in there like founder or mis-aligned
adult teeth buds waiting to grow in. Vet can look in the mouth, see if what she
has now are poor or in good alignment.