Urgent help for very tiny rescue pony please

Box_Of_Frogs

Box_Of_Frogs

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I've just taken on a tiny rescued shetland gelding. Miniature doesn't even begin to describe him, he is labrador sized - 6hh and rug size 2ft 6in. We think he's about 2yrs old. A nearby county Animal Welfare Officer was driving around and spotted a bundle of rags at the side of the road. Thank god she got out to check. It was a tiny, almost dead pony collapsed in a heap. She scooped him up and put him on the back seat of her car and took him for emergency veterinary treatment. He's been at the yard the Council use for seized and abandoned/neglected horses and ponies since last November. Dunno what care he had there, if any, but he's still desperately thin - condition score about 1 to 1.5 - and hasn't got the normal shetland's waterproof outer guard hairs, only the fluffy undercoat. This may just be a result of his desperate state. He was transferred to my local horse and pony rescue 6 days ago and they urgently wanted 1-to1 care for him so they've trusted me with him.

I've done some early research and it seems very tiny horses and ponies can't be seen as simply small horses because there's a minimum size that all the organs etc will work properly the smaller and smaller the miniaturisation. I understand gut and liver function in particular can be trouble which is why I don't want to feed him oil. He has a bit of a parrot mouth that doesn't stop him grazing but might mean chewing problems, which in turn could be part of the explanation of why he isn't putting weight on. I'm desperate to know how to get more calories in him SAFELY. Vets out Monday for jabs and if they've got a tiny enough gag I'll get them to check his teeth. Even finding him rugs is a nightmare but amazingly he's a little sweetie with people. Bit mouthy like young geldings can be so I think he isn't older than 2. Hope his liking for people is exactly that and not an indication of an underlying problem coz I don't know if he's been deliberately bred that tiny or if he's a genetic accident.

Anyone got any experience at all of ponies this size? Any advice please? Can give e-mail for longer replies or copied documents. Thanks x (PS also in NL)
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If he is only two he will have growing to do - my mini is 8"2 and is 8. He only filled out in last year!

As for diet, micronised linseed is a good place to start - with stuff like fibre beet/speedi beet and a hay chop like hifi mollases free and lots of hay.



I would be treating him As any other horse - small but frequent meals, lots of forage based foods, no cereals or mollases, and no oils or additives.

I would also look at worming an possibly a course of pink powder to help his run cope with the change.
 
I have no experience of caring for tiny ponies but can ask a local mini breeder
I am a fan of grass nuts--soaked-- fed with Speedibeet to which you could add tiny amounts of micronised linseed and Yea-sacc for his gut. If the mouth is a problem he may manage short chop fed with the above as an extra to hay/haylage. Dog rugs may fit!!
 
Local breeder has come back very quickly

She queries the age--thinks it is prob a foal--9months old, you are seeing a foal coat
Queries gelding--late to drop
Thinks it may have been discarded for the parrot mouth--very cruel

Suggestions
Worst case scenario wont eat at all--syringe in mix of goats milk and Readibrek

Feed tiny amounts of milk pellets
http://www.equivite.com/Page_BodyBuilder.htm

She uses Spillers Youngstock Mix for hers but also recommends
Allen & Page Youngstock Fibre mix which you soak

She also grates carrots and apples to get moisture into feeds
 
Sure vet will advise but accurate weight needed for worming

!0% Panacur liqd-- dose is 1 ml per 13 kg bodyweight (= 7.5 mg fenbendazole/kg bodyweight).
Pony may weigh less than 50kg.
Very easy to overdose.
 
Milk pellets might help, but they do struggle to digest milk once the are no longer foals.
And I certainly wouldn't recommend feeding equivite body builder, of all the god awful ingredients this product really takes the biscuit, the stuff it contains lard!!!! Horses weren't designed to eat pig fat by any stretch of the imagination.

Give him as much hay as he can possible eat, adlib access ideally. Let him have access to a salt/mineral lick. Feed him little and often, at least 3 times a day.
 
Linseed as PF suggests. Also things like Fast Fibre may be helpful.

Lots of small feeds rather than a big one. I would maybe think about something like Uval or a milk replacer for foals.
 
Oh wow! Thank you all for such brilliant help. I honestly don't think he's a foal because of his teeth. He has a fluffy foal-type coat but his might be due to either inadequate nutrition or something genetic linked to his dwarfism. I've ordered turnout rug, stable rug, fleece from Dinkey rugs coz I think their 2'9" might just about be ok. If they're too big I've found a rug seller that would make them top size for me. Can't leave without a rug in rain as fluffy undercoat not waterproof and he's too thin anyway. Vets out Monday so might know more. I too wonder about him being gelded. Knowledgeable person says he has been but he is quite mouthy in play. Vets will know! I hadn't thought of linseed or Yea Sac. Haven't wormed him yet because I've already read that tinies can die if wrong dosage wormer given. Problem is my D&H weigh tape only starts at 67kg. He's about 4inches under that. Using that as a crude guide, I'd estimate him to be about 50kg. I don't think he'll grow any more except to fill out. His legs, body, head all in proportion already. Parrot mouth not noticeable unless you go looking for it. Already on 3 feeds a day and 3 hours on grass, ad lib haylage (good stuff from YO fields).

So here's the plan:

Speedibeet + micronised Linseed + Hi Fi apple (loves it) + Fast Fibre + Yea Sac + tablespoon of Lo Cal for vits and mins + salt lick. He's eating much better now, droppings if anything bit hard. 3 meals a day. Ad lib haylage. Few hours out on pasture. Some of that he's already getting so not too much change all at once. Thank you all again, will post updates until everything back to normal x
 
Box_Of_Frogs said:
Oh wow! Thank you all for such brilliant help. I honestly don't think he's a foal because of his teeth. He has a fluffy foal-type coat but his might be due to either inadequate nutrition or something genetic linked to his dwarfism. I've ordered turnout rug, stable rug, fleece from Dinkey rugs coz I think their 2'9" might just about be ok. If they're too big I've found a rug seller that would make them top size for me. Can't leave without a rug in rain as fluffy undercoat not waterproof and he's too thin anyway. Vets out Monday so might know more. I too wonder about him being gelded. Knowledgeable person says he has been but he is quite mouthy in play. Vets will know! I hadn't thought of linseed or Yea Sac. Haven't wormed him yet because I've already read that tinies can die if wrong dosage wormer given. Problem is my D&H weigh tape only starts at 67kg. He's about 4inches under that. Using that as a crude guide, I'd estimate him to be about 50kg. I don't think he'll grow any more except to fill out. His legs, body, head all in proportion already. Parrot mouth not noticeable unless you go looking for it. Already on 3 feeds a day and 3 hours on grass, ad lib haylage (good stuff from YO fields).

So here's the plan:

Speedibeet + micronised Linseed + Hi Fi apple (loves it) + Fast Fibre + Yea Sac + tablespoon of Lo Cal for vits and mins + salt lick. He's eating much better now, droppings if anything bit hard. 3 meals a day. Ad lib haylage. Few hours out on pasture. Some of that he's already getting so not too much change all at once. Thank you all again, will post updates until everything back to normal x
Click to expand...

keep an eye on the haylage he might go very runny if he isnt used to it :) my boy does if he eats to much

well if its any help my donkey is 10hh and she gets half a syringe of wormer and when its double does wormer she gets a whole one..

I would say 1/4- 1/2 syringe would be fine for the little fella
 
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Not good pic coz it lacks scale but this is Rockin' Robbie. Vets out today and they confirm he is 6.3hh and between 3 and 4 yrs old so no more growing, just filling out (I hope). Bloods taken in case there's something going on internally that might explain why he hasn't gained enough weight in the 3 months at another yard after his initial rescue. Heart, lungs, limbs, eyes ok. Teeth rasped, which he hated. Oral dose of Event given. He was exhausted by all the tests but it had to be done. He's perkier again today and has had a couple of thunders round the paddock, kicking and farting, which is good. Can't worm him as my weigh tape doesn't go down low enough - all I know is he's way way way under the lowest marker on the tape which is 67kg. Once blood results known I can worm him on Panacur Guard and start him on oil in his feed. A zillion thanks to everyone who replied - I've got some good links now and even better guidance. Will post again in a few days - my camera was playing up today!

Robbie2.jpg
 
I wouldn't bank on him not growing!! M&m a mature later and ime Shetlands take forever to stop growing!!

Good luck with him, I cant see pic properly as on my mobile.

I'm not sure how small robinsons rugs go but their rugs are good too (petite ponies range) - cheap so don't matter if they get trashed - make sure everything is out of reach - this is how they get trashed - not by wearing them!!!!! Tyres round water buckets, nothing in stealin distance!
 
Ha ha Popularfb - yes, he's already got his leg caught in his feed bowl handle! I've had to cut them off - handles, not his legs! Friend's hubby started the job with his stanley knife but didn't realise how tough the handles on new feed bowls are and the knife slipped and he almost sliced his fingertip off! I had to do some first aid with gamgee and vetwrap! Robbie is one of those ponies that paws the bowl as he eats. Not sure if he could reach it if I put the bowl in a tyre? He is also happily grazing on the OTHER side of the electric tape that keeps my 7.2hh and 8hh shetlands in the right place. Not connected yet but in the spring I'll have to run a 3rd strand right down low! Results of his blood tests back today, except testosterone test which will take a bit longer. No signs of current infection but he has had something fairly recently. No liver problems. Slight anaemia but apparently the "normal" for anaemia is what is normal for racing fit TBs so vets aren't that worried. Something iffy about heart but again vets advise could be normal for Robbie, though it might fit with low grade anaemia. No other endocrinology oddities. Can't remember everything they said but it's still unanswered why he hasn't put on weight in the 3 months he was at the other yard where the council sent seized and abandoned horses and ponies. Plan is to weigh him on the vet's horse scales Friday, worm him (this will apparently set him back a little which worries me) then count 2 weeks from the 5th day of Panacur Guard and take him back for weighing and a re-exam, possibly more bloods if still not putting on weight. On a positive note I attacked his mane today with my solo comb. Already looks more loved!
 
Did they test for tapes when you had bloods taken? I would probably prefer a blood test and worm count as that would be the most likely cause in theory.

I meant water buckets in tyres my mini
Likes to sit in his water buckets!

I have also banned haynets as he seems to think they are like one of those climbing nets on assault courses!
 
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