Miniature Stud......

[drdoolittle]

Hi all! I haven't been on here in quite some time, but was hoping for some input. I'm going to be getting a miniature stud horse soon, and was wondering what experiences others have had with studs as pets.
This guy is 3 1/3 years old, 34", broke to drive and the owner says he comes right to you, has never bitten, kicked out (except when running around for fun), never chases anyone or tries to corner anyone. They say he's been nothing but gentle, even with goats.

I've never owned a stud before, only geldings and mares. I don't have any other horses, but will be getting 2 pygmy wethers back from a friend and am hoping the 3 of them will bond and become a "herd".

At first, I felt that this would be a great situation, but I'm getting a bit nervous as the time to get him gets closer. I know that if things weren't working, the owner will NOT take him back. They sold all their other animals and want him to go within the next couple weeks----I'm sure they don't want to feed him through the winter. I feel so sad for the horse because he's living all alone and just seems sad.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I don't have any answers for you, but wanted to welcome you back to BYH!

 

[promiseacres]

Get him gelded asap. Then it's a win win.
A stud by himself may or may not be a problem. He is young so probably may not know he's a stud yet. But then he may pester the goats. Hard to say. If he is just a pet no reason not to geld him.

 

[drdoolittle]

Get him gelded asap. Then it's a win win.
A stud by himself may or may not be a problem. He is young so probably may not know he's a stud yet. But then he may pester the goats. Hard to say. If he is just a pet no reason not to geld him.

I was thinking that......just curious, how does a vet go about gelding? Any idea on how much they charge?

 

[promiseacres]

Had one done this spring, at the farm for about $160
& a few years ago at clinic for $110. Both minis.

 

[secuono]

300 to geld a year ago.
6mo or so to mellow.
Possible to keep him intact, but you may want to go visit horse farms with hot horses to learn how to handle them.

 

[lovinglife]

Yes have him gelded, even though he is a mini you will all be much happier. Good luck! I love minis, have fun with him.

 

[StarSpangledNubians]

Definitely have him gelded. 2 years ago I got a stud. He was almost 2 years old. He was the exact same size. They said the exact same things, other than he wasn't broke to drive. I had 2 thoroughbreds that he bonded with and I had no problems for the first 3 months. I took the 2 to a trainer and he went crazy! He started would neigh non stop, running up and down the field, kicking me, the goats, got my dog when he wasn't looking. He would grab the goats by the neck and swing them in the air, ripped all the skin off of 3 of their necks. I got him gelded and within about 2 months he started to calm down a bit. He did still have a problem with nipping occasionally, but other then that he was great! My only concern would be that you don't have any other horses, and with minis they can be "temperamental" and he may get bored and take it out on the goats. I did keep mine alone for a year with just the goat, but he did have scuffles with them weekly, but especially when it rained. And this was over a year after he was gleded. Just trying to give what happened in my situation, not trying to scare you off from him. He could be totally different, and you won't know until you get him. Mine was very, very sweet and so great with kids, and people.

 

[Mini Horses]

Well, having raised them for over 30 years, I'd concur with all the others have said. As you can see, the personality of the individual can vary greatly.

I concur, no reason NOT to geld. They will calm when the hormones dwindle. If he has not been used and/or around mares, you will not normally have as many aggression issues with other animals. Mine have and are often with my goats. None of mine create problems.

Now, I do have 3 stallions here. I stopped breeding over 15 years ago. The three are NOT pastured together...yes, they will fight one another. The old one, 34, is next to mares all the time. The two younger...one with my 2 bucks, other next to some goats....all behave admirably so long as not co-mingled with each other. Handling training when young is PARAMOUNT for stallions. Mine have been good.

Take him, handle him, geld him -- everyone will be happy. Can he be left as stallion? Of course. But if you ever bring a mare or gelding on the place, he will generally become the controlling animal most intact are.

 

[drdoolittle]

Well, my worries were for NOTHING. I had been texting back and forth with the owner for over a week----I had already told owner that I wanted the horse and we had come to an agreement that he would deliver the horse to us next Saturday (I don't own a trailer, and although the owner would have been VERY HAPPY to bring the horse to me much sooner, I had to finish the pen for 2 of my pot belly pigs so they wouldn't be running with the horse and I have an all-day rummage sale at the town hall tomorrow.)

Well, I felt a little trepidation about the horse being penned/housed with 2 pygmy wethers and questioned the owner again two nights ago about how the horse was with their goats, if they were penned/housed together. He at first evaded the question by stating, "The goats came and went as they pleased. They were free-range goats, lol!" When I asked again how the horse was towards the goats, he became angry and answered, "He was never mean to them!!!!"

So overnight I worried more and more about what the horse is truly like......the next morning I texted the owner and explained my worries about having the horse brought to my place and turning out to be the devil. I told the owner I STILL wanted to buy the horse, but asked if I could go to their place on Sunday to meet the horse and make sure he was everything the owner said he was (TEMPERAMENT-WISE). I made it VERY CLEAR that as long as the horse behaved as the owner said that I was committed to buying him.

The owner became angry, saying I wasted enough of his time-----NO time was wasted, I did ask many questions over a weeks time, but had already made it clear I wanted the horse after the owner answered my initial questions. He basically told me off and stated that he had a COMMITTED BUYER coming to get the horse tomorrow.

I'm very, very sad, angry, upset and a bit depressed now. I know I should be glad that I most likely dodged a bullet, but it's awful to get your hopes up just to have things go south so quickly.

I also feel if the owner was being honest about the horse's temperament, he would have been fine with me meeting the horse on Sunday. I could have just had him bring the horse on Sunday, but I wanted an entire weekend to make sure the horse was settled in and to spend time with him.

But now he's not coming at all, and although I'm 51, I just want to bawl my eyes out.