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Discussion on Cute but hairy--problem?
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Member:
heidim
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Posted on Friday, Apr 23, 2010 - 9:42 am:
Attached please find a photo of our newest herdmate, Peggy Sue. I promise she is not a baby buffalo. She was born last July, the the accidental result of a standard donkey mating with a mini mare. I bought her from a petting zoo owner, who in my estimation ran the equivalent of a critter mill--lots of different animals, shoddy facility, questionable feed. Assuming there's really a mule underneath, I'd like to know how to feed her. Our other horses have mostly shed out, but Peggy Sue is really hanging onto her long locks. Her previous owner says she never got a chance to shed her baby coat before growing her winter coat. As of now, very little comes off with brushing. The vet came out yesterday and guessed poor nutrition may be contributing to the slow shed out. He vaccinated her and suggested worming her again in a few months, since her previous owner wormed her just before I took her home three weeks ago. I asked about graining, and the vet wasn't so sure. I'm not either, given her size and pony heritage, but I always thought the young ones needed the extra nutrients. Could I maybe supplement our good hay with vitamins? Her dam was likely fed nothing more than grass hay and so I want to do what I can to make up for whatever she might have missed out on. 
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Member:
canter
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Posted on Friday, Apr 23, 2010 - 10:08 am:
Heidi, regardless of her breeding, she is just adorable! I can see why you felt compelled to rescue her...what a sweet little face she has!
Good luck with this cutie!
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Friday, Apr 23, 2010 - 11:20 am:
I would think grain made for young horses, but portioned according to her adult size and weight, would be good for her. We've had young donkies in the past and never had problems doing that. Of course, they got a lot of exercise also. If you haven't already, look up here on HA the proper feeding of foals and young horses. I think you'll just run into problems if you give her too much for her size. Dr. O, of course, may have to correct me; I'm just going by experience I've had.
She is about the cutest equine I've ever seen! Sure she's not part Scotch Terrier? 
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Friday, Apr 23, 2010 - 12:16 pm:
Are you sure she's equine?? Sure is cute!!
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Friday, Apr 23, 2010 - 1:30 pm:
She looks like Sam did with all his hair!! You may have to clip her for the summer so she doesn't over heat, hope you have a good clippers!
She is a cutey
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Member:
mysi
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Posted on Friday, Apr 23, 2010 - 1:53 pm:
That is the cutest little thing I have ever seen!!! I want one!
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Friday, Apr 23, 2010 - 2:56 pm:
What a shaggy cutie!
It would be interesting to be able to see her shape.
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Member:
cometrdr
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Posted on Friday, Apr 23, 2010 - 4:36 pm:
I want one too!!!! awe she is adorable - wanna see a pic when you have her all cleaned up. Yup Cute as a button.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Apr 23, 2010 - 5:25 pm:
Hello Heidi,
What is the body condition score under all that hair?
DrO
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Member:
juliem
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Posted on Friday, Apr 23, 2010 - 5:43 pm:
Wait for Dr. O to weigh in, but I never let my babies go longer than 30 days without worming until they are at least a year. And waaaay too cute!
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Member:
heidim
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Posted on Saturday, Apr 24, 2010 - 10:39 am:
Appreciate all the cuteness feedback! We couldn't agree more. Hard to tell fat from fur, Dr. O, but I'd have to rate Peggy Sue's body condition score as "3". Since we got her, she's been penned in a large foaling stall while we adjust our fencing for her. She's developed quite a belly, but I know that is partly due to her eating some of the straw bedding. A friend who owns minis suggested feeding no more than a flake of hay morning and night, so that's what we've been doing along with coat conditioning vitamins. When I brushed her yesterday, I notice some fuzzy inside hair coming off but the long outside stuff is still hanging tight.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Sunday, Apr 25, 2010 - 11:05 am:
Heidi, why would you limit the amount of forage to a very thin foal? I would feed such a foal free choice grass forage of a good quality at least until you achieve a 5. Remember that changes in type or amount should be made slowly. I too deworm foals either based on fecals or a monthly schedule.
DrO
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Member:
heidim
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Posted on Sunday, Apr 25, 2010 - 4:03 pm:
I'm glad you asked, Dr. O. I was limiting feeding because my hay is a good alfalfa blend. Is this too rich for a pony youngster used to all grass hay? Also, I'm thinking she should be getting a pelleted foal feed as well as the hay, seeing as she is less than two but, as you noted, change should be made slowly. I don't have access to the previous owner's hay. Maybe I should buy as close as I can to what she had and then slowly increase the fraction of my better hay? Then again, Peggy Sue seems to be handling the smaller amount of my hay. Does that mean more is okay? And is it a problem that her belly is ballooning while her rib bones are still easily felt? Also, I've understood minis are prone to founder. That and colic are the last problems I want to throw into the mix.
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Member:
heidim
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Posted on Sunday, Apr 25, 2010 - 4:04 pm:
One more thing worth mentioning. My vet says her energy level is good. How does that figure into the formula?
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Member:
juliem
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Posted on Sunday, Apr 25, 2010 - 5:02 pm:
If she's less than two, the big belly may be due to a worm load and/or sand. Unless you have clean fecals from your vet (can't tell by looking--you need a microscope), she should be wormed as per Dr. O's formula for worming debilitated horses and then every thirty days until she's one year, again, unless you have clean fecals. If you don't want to run fecal tests, given her age and poor background, I think you need to be following a more agressive worming program--again, Dr. O's article. Wormers aren't always completely effective in youngsters and they harbot LOTS of parasites. If she is thin (unusual for mini anythings!) your best bet is to get her on free choice grass hay and then add a pelleted feed formulated for foals. If she's handling your hay fine, increase it gradually. If you're unsure about grain, I'd just add a pelleted ration balancer that adds vitamins and minerals and you feed a very small amount. Probably a cup a day for her size. I've brought a number of weanlings in poor condition to slick and shiney with this basic care. I doubt you can tell much from her "energy level" especially based on a one time view. She also may have a belly full of sand if she's been on sandy ground. Even well fed babies will eat and lick the ground. Introduce the product for clearing sand by leaving a few pellets at a time in the bottom of her feeder among the alfalfa leaves. Increase daily as she accepts them until she's getting the recommended dose. In my experience, sand in the gut will make them hold onto the haircoat as well as appear to have a pot belly. Of course, keep her off a sandy enviornment.
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Member:
heidim
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Posted on Monday, Apr 26, 2010 - 3:13 pm:
That's good info. I do believe she may have some worm problems, as she came with the tail rubbed off a the top and some (I mean some) bloating of her belly. However, that belly has grown much more since she's been eating the straw in her stall as well as our better alfalfa hay. In essence, I see her having gained a "jay/straw belly" in the few weeks she's been here. Granted, straw is no good as a feed, but neither do I want her to bind up or founder on my richer alfalfa hay. As Dr. O suggests, I need to ease her onto my hay, which says to me to slowly increase the good hay, add some pelleted feed (as you suggested Julie), and just let her eat the straw until she's thoroughly adjusted to this new regimen. I'm also planning to worm her with pyrantel pamoate after 30 days. I'm not against the fecal, but my vet discouraged me last year from this approach on another horse as he felt it wasn't that accurate (more a "yes" or "no" answer rather than an analysis). Or I was I asked for the wrong test, Dr. O?
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Member:
heidim
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Posted on Monday, Apr 26, 2010 - 3:15 pm:
I will do as Dr. O's article suggests and limit and stage the amount of wormer. I learned this the hard way about 20 years ago when I accidently killed a lovely infested Shetland with ivermectin.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Apr 27, 2010 - 4:18 pm:
I think a legume may prove to be too much energy for a burro and does not need so high a protein level so I would stick with a grass hay Heidi. A good grass hay while growing but you will find as she matures she will probably need something stemmier to keep her condition good.
DrO
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Member:
sodmonst
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Posted on Sunday, May 2, 2010 - 6:06 pm:
OMG she's overloaded with cute!
My experience matches DrO's statement. Our little burros became obese on about 8 oz of alfalfa pellets a day! (They acted so pitiful when the horses got their concentrate, that we were giving them a handful of pellets).
They got fat soooo easily. From what you describe, she's probably not had much to eat at all. I'll bet you'll be amazed at what worming and good grass hay will do for her. Now we don't feed them their own hay, they steal grass hay from the horse feeders. They are still too fat, but not as bad a they were.
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Member:
heidim
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Posted on Monday, May 3, 2010 - 12:43 pm:
Peggy Sue's been doing little bucks lately on the end of the leadline, so she must be feeling better. Maybe a little too much better. I will take her off the pellets and keep her on the vitamins and move to grass hay.
Update: She is starting to shed more. I will provide pics a little later. Dying to see what she looks like underneath.
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Member:
heidim
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Posted on Friday, Jul 23, 2010 - 9:30 pm:
Well, Peggy Sue shed out...finally. Some of you asked to see the critter beneath all that hair. Well, here she is. The first is a pic from May. You can see her head starting to emerge (you'd think I was talking about her being born or something):
This next shot is from this week:
Note the matted wisps still clinging to her belly. Her middle was full of them all through June and July. I tried to brush them out, but they stuck like they were sewed on. I opted to let nature take its course.
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Member:
juliem
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Posted on Friday, Jul 23, 2010 - 10:30 pm:
Amazing--it is a mini!
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Friday, Jul 23, 2010 - 11:37 pm:
Love the little whisps of hair! What a cutie and so different looking without the hair! Of course, hard to beat that teddy bear look!
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Member:
frances
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 24, 2010 - 11:12 am:
Oh, the new look is lovely!
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Member:
theresab
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 24, 2010 - 11:50 am:
She's adorable, I can't decide which picture is cuter.
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Member:
canter
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 24, 2010 - 8:12 pm:
cute as a button, with or without all the hair!
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Member:
heidim
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 25, 2010 - 2:42 pm:
I think she's pretty cute, too. Thanks for your comments.
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