Needs and Costs
What is needed to enjoy these wonderful pets.
To keep a couple of these lovely ponies you
would need a paddock with at least 1 acre of well kept grass land with a shelter or stable and clean fresh water must be available.
They are relatively cheap to keep, eating grass when available or good hay. (Ponies are much happier if they have a companion
so it is best to have two if possible).
Cost of keeping a couple of ponies.
The cost to keep a couple of miniature Shetland ponies
per week is as follows:- If not on good grass then one miniature pony would eat just one or two bails of hay per week at £2
- £4 per bale. The ponies would need to have their feet clipped three or four times a year which costs about £10
- £15 each time. They would need worming regularly at eight to twelve week intervals depending on the product. This
costs about £3 - £4 each time as a £12- £16 syringe will do four little ponies. (One syringe will
do four Shetland's or one four times). Veterinary costs are rare if you look after your ponies well.
So total
cost of keeping a Shetland Pony for a year is aproximately £140 - £200 excluding vet fees which are rare. This
is actually cheaper than keeping most dogs if you have a large garden or some grassland.
How we monitor the
pregnant mares
Always watch your mares 24 hours a day in the last month prior to foaling.
Shetlands
are much more prone to having some problems than larger horses.
We use CCTV to watch the mares in the stables and the barns.
We
have cameras in all the stables which are linked to all the TVs in the house.
Darren watches the ponies at foaling
time from early evening until the early hours of the morning.
When a foal is coming Darren tends to be there
to sort it out, sometimes two or three times a night.
I do not know how we keep it up but it is very rewarding
when we succeed and save foals that would have died had we not been there.
I estimate that I save about 60% of the foals
by being there and acting to save the foals as necessary.
With regard to foaling monitors, we have tried most and they
all have there faults which have cost lives, we now choose to use our eyes and cameras with the odd foaling alarm used as
a backup.
Actual foaling tips
The gestation time for a horse is approximately
11 months, or 340 days but in Shetlands it can be as early as 315 days, we have found that 326 days would be a good average.
It is best to be in attendance at the foaling’s because the mare may have a problem and you can frequently help them
and save the foal, mare, or both. We give our mares a tetanus injection one month before foaling. This also gives the foal
immunity which is important.
You need to have all the preparations made and ready to go about
2 weeks before the first birth is expected; you never know when it might happen early. Have a clean stable prepared with clean,
dry straw bedding. We bring the mares in about 2 week’s before giving birth so they are comfortable and settled. Sometimes
we let them run in the yard or paddock during the day when we can still watch them as many of them will give birth in daylight
hours.
We make up a birthing kit to carry us through the season. This consists of:
Tail wraps.
A small
bucket for warm water and Hibiscrub and a clean cloth to clean mare's vulva and bag.
Purple spray or Iodine spray
to put on the umbilical stump.
Micralax Enema to give to foal after birth if needed to help get rid of the meconium
or first stool.
Clean towels to dry off the foal.
Hibiscrub disinfectant to clean your hands and arms.
Lubrel
lubricant.
There are some signs to watch for signaling that a birth is imminent. The mare’s rear
end around the tail will go soft as the area starts to relax. The vulva will start to lengthen as the mare dilates. The mare's
teats will sometimes wax up 12 to 24 hours before foaling. A small bead of waxy milk will appear. The mare may stop eating,
be restless, getting up and down and rolling to get the foal in position. She may start to make a few sharp movements looking
around at her belly. She may sweat when very near to foaling. A bubble may appear from the vulva, or the water sac may break.
Any or all of these things might be noticed and should be taken as a sign of an imminent birth.
If you do
not have cameras and keep going to the stable to check on the mare then you will need to be whisper quiet as a mare can and
will stop foaling even with just one minute to go if she senses danger, this is why very few foaling’s are ever witnessed
without surveillance cameras.
When the mare lay's down and starts to get her contractions, this is when
you can move in with her to help. You need to be sure she is not lying against the wall so that it is easier for you to check
that everything is coming alright, minis are small enough to pull around to a better position.
We usually
help to pull the foal out once it is coming correctly and especially on a first timer, we have found in the past that the
mares sometimes rest while the foal is half way out and this is no good for the foal if there is prolonged pressure on the
chest or umbilical cord.
Be sure to get the sac off the foals head immediately so it can breathe.
When
possible let the foal lie for a minute or so with the umbilical cord attached as often blood is still being pumped into the
foal for a short period before the umbilical stump seal's ready for the detachment when mum get's up. If the cord
breaks to quickly and blood is flowing out of the foals umbilical stump you must put pressure on it quickly with your fingers
for a minute or so to allow the valve to close then spray the area with iodine.
Foals range in size at birth from 12”
to 28”, weighing from 12 to 29 lbs. After the foal is delivered, both mare and foal may rest for a few minutes. We usually
move the foal to be in front of the mare after a couple of minutes so she can lick it dry and start bonding with it, but only
do this if the umbilical cord has broken. If the cord is still intact leave them alone as long as they will lay there. When
the mare stands, the cord with come away from the foal cleanly, this is the time to spray the umbilical stump with the purple
spray or iodine spray. If the sac is still hanging from the mare tie it up in a knot to keep her from walking on it and to
help it come out of the mare clean. Never pull on it to get it out. If the mare hasn't passed it in about three or four
hours you will need to call the vet. Always check the afterbirth to be sure none was left in the mare, or save it for your
vet to check.
After all the business of birthing is over, then it is time to imprint the foal. We sit down in
the pen with the mare and foal. We rub the entire body, with a towel and our hands, this helps to desensitize the foal and
helps it to bond with us as well as its mum.
The foal will then soon stand on its own start to search
for the teat. We never interfere at this time as it can confuse the foal. We leave nature to happen. The foal needs to drink
the colostrum from the mare within ideally the first few hours so that it gets immunity to all the nasty bacteria and viruses.
If after maybe four hours the foal has not found the teat or has started sucking on the walls, you need to take action as
shown belo
Foal not suckling
Check the mare to see if she is still well
bagged up, if the foal has suckled you can usually tell because she will be more comfortable and the foal will be settled
for a while. If you think that the foal has not sucked yet then we milk some colostrum from the mare and give it to the foal
by a small 5ml syringe squirted into the foals mouth.
We give the foal as much as we can until it is happy and
settled then we leave the mare and foal for another two or three hours knowing that the foal has had its colostrum. We usually
find that this first un-natural feed will give the foal an amazing boost of energy so that it will usually be able to find
the teat after a short sleep.
If this does not work then we milk the mare a little and start lying on the
floor with our arm under the mare with a little syringe full of milk, one of us guides the foal to the syringe and when latched
on we guide the foal to the teat. It is tricky work but it does usually work. If it does not then you need to keep milking
the mare and feeding the foal by syringe. We have never had any success at getting a foal to suckle an artificial teat on
a bottle.
As the foal gets stronger it will eventually find the teat itself by the second day.
If
not then the foal may have a problem with it's sucking reflex or short tongue or it's swallowing reflex or something
else. Veterinary advice is needed now.
EMERGENCY Placenta
Previa or Red bag. EMERGENCY
In brief if you see a bloody liver coloured
bubble coming out of your foaling mare, be ready to slit it straight away and get the foal out as fast as you can because
it is suffocating.
In a normal foaling the first thing that you see is a fairly translucent bubble
usually with a front foot followed very closely by the other front foot and nose. If instead of seeing this cloudy clearish
bubble you see a red bag that looks like liver or velvety textured, that is the placenta which should have ruptured allowing
the amniotic sac to emerge from the vulva first.
This occurs usually only if the mare has been in hard labor
for a while and the placenta due to the terrific forces of contractions has separated from the uterus. Once that happens the
foal is no longer getting oxygen through the umbilical chord, but instead is starting to die or suffocate. This happens sometimes
if the foal is mal positioned and the straining of the mare finally separates it, or can be caused by the mare's being
fed with haylage infected with an endophyte (type of mold) that causes tough placenta and other foaling problems. It can also
be caused by some trauma to the mare such as being kicked very hard or some other disturbance to the cervical area.
When
you see a red bag, the first thing is to quickly open it and it is very difficult to do by hand, so use a sharp knife to slit
this bag. Don't worry about sanitation, just worry about speed. Then try to feel how the foal is presented and get it
out as quickly as possible.
If you get the foal out very quickly you may be able to save it, but if the
placenta has been separated too long the foal may be born dead. We have saved many foals by being fast and ready for problems.
Again only full camera surveillance works with someone watching all the time.
Sometimes a saved foal will still die
later if it was starved of oxygen for two long. Apparently retardation can progress quickly although at first they seem normal.
Some of them would fall asleep easily and stay asleep too long. This is sometimes called "Sleepy foal".
Red
bag foaling's are not so common, they can sometimes affect many ponies in many breeding studs in certain years so the
weather, grass and feed can all cause this problem occasionally.
Leg back
Note:
Do not panic, if you know what to do it is fairly easy to correct. If you have a leg and a nose coming ok, without bursting
the white bubble try to feel for the other leg. If it is not there then cut the bag and feel again with lubrel on your hand
and arm. Do not let the whole head come out without both the legs being in front of the nose or you will have a dead foal
and ruined mare. This can sometimes be difficult if the mare is pushing hard, you just have to get stuck in and push the foal
back in as hard as you can, sometimes you will then feel the foot pop forward. if it does then pull it forward to be infront
of the nose with the other leg but not equal to the other leg as the thick leg joints need to come staggered.
If
the foot does not come forward as you push the foals nose back into mums tummy then just keep pushing until your whole arm
is at full stretch inside the mare, usually the feet pop forward at this point, if they dont then there will now be enough
room in the tummy to hook your middle finger around a knee joint to pull the leg or legs forward. Once you are happy that
the feet are in front of the nose pull your arm out and let the mare push the foal out if she still has the energy.
If
it has been a long time messing about you may need to try to pull the foal out yourself by gripping the front legs inside
the mare and pulling it out as she contracts. Sometimes a foaling rope can help but we have rarely had to use it.
Head back
As
with leg back you will feel to see if everything is coming ok. If you ever feel two ears or whatever you feel feels wrong,
I have learned to just push the foal right back in again. This may not be correct as i am not a vet but it usually works for
me. One the foal is back in the larger tummy area it is easier to manipulate the foal until you find the feet and the nose.
I
once had a foaling where I could not make out what I was feeling, everything was a blob, we called the vet and to my suprise
he put his arm in and pulled the foal straight out. I was ammazed. He later told me that the fetal sac was around the foal
and when he put his arm in he knew straight away what this was by experience and pierced the sac with his carefully sharpened
fingernail which he keeps during foaling season. The foal was born dead and the vet said that it had died prematurely which
is why it ended up in a tangled ball.
Delivering the Breach
Presentation Foal
We
have only once had this problem and we lost the foal at that time.
I have found a web site which explains
this situation well. Please click on the link below.
http://www.scottcreek.com/BreechFoal.htm
Ideally to ensure the well being
of your ponies you need to have good, weed and ragwort free grass. Ideally horses also like clover and mixed herbs in the
grass but if possible not buttercups.
A cheap way to clear most weeds is to use a product called Agretox 50 to spray the land with
a sprayer on a tractor or to use Grazon 90 if using a back pack sprayer. Well managed grass land can produce much more good
grass eating than badly managed land. We have found that the regular use of 25.5.5. fertilizer applied twice during the growing
season works miracle's. It is important to make sure that the land has a pH of 5.6 to 5.9 as grass grows better at this
level.
It is also best to get your soil tested for mineral deficiency, we
did this and found that our soil was lacking magnesium which horses need. We have solved this problem by the use of a relatively
cheap product called Grass track which costs about £12 a bag which is enough for an acre of land per year.
The regular use of a chain harrow or tine harrow are recommenced as they bruise the
grass and loosen the surface of the soil making the grass get more dense which then helps to suppress the weeds. If weeds
are a major problem in mid summer then it is best to cut them using a topper. If you only have a few acres of land then a
local farmer will usually perform these tasks for you for an appropriate fee which is usually much less than you think.
If you are the sort of person that would like your life to be fulfilled with
something special maybe like owning a pony or foal then try it.
Some very useful information to help
you on buying a good Shetland pony.
1. Beware when buying a pony if you or the owner cannot quietly
walk up to it in the middle of a field and put a head collar on it.
2. Beware when buying a pony from an
auction, ask the seller lots of questions to try to make sure that you know what you are buying. Ask for recommendations from
someone else who knows the pony. There are many breeders that now "farm" these ponies and then round them up at
sale time, fit a headcoller and sell them cheap. The unsuspecting buyers of these terrified ponies or foals think that they
have a bargain until they let them out in a field and then cannot catch them again.
3. If small size is important to you
then never accept a ponies height, even when written on a passport or sales list. Always take your own measurements from the
highest point of the withers at about the 9th - 11th vertebrae to the floor using a measuring tape or stick. You may sometimes
find that most ponies are not as small as the owners say they are.
4. Always check the passport markings
against the ponies to make sure that it is the right pony (All ponies should have a Shetland Pony Stud Book Society or (SPSBS)
passport). This is now more important than ever with DNA testing now being so common. Please check out our links to the SPSBS
for lots of other information abort the breed and the showing of these wonderful ponies.
5.
A discerning breeding-buyer should buy for good conformation and good bloodlines firstly, colour is or should be of secondary
consideration having acquired the correct quality bloodline. However if coloured ponies are your preferred interest because
they sell for more money then please be aware that it is very difficult to breed good quality well marked coloured ponies
and so there are much less of them around which is why they cost more.
6. We have found that most good owners
and breeders will have their ponies inoculated for Tetanus every two years and this will show in there passports. If owners
are prepared to pay the small cost for this it usually means that the have loved and cared for their pony properly. The best
owners and breeders will sometimes go much further by regular worming and even regular flue and strangles jabs.
7.
Be prepared to pay a little more for something special, at the end of the day you really do get what you pay for if you follow
these rules.
8. Follow your instinct, if you like the people that you are dealing with and get
there trust then go with it.
Over the years we have learned a lot about keeping and caring for Shetland
ponies. We have read many books and sought all the information that is available on the internet.
Surprisingly
we have found that there is actually very little information that is relevant to Shetland's.
Worming Advice
The most common problem in horses these days
is caused by the Small Redworm (Cyathostomin). This small worm is now the most common cause of gastro problems in miniature
horses which end up resulting with Hyperlipeamia which is very serious and life threatening. All miniature breeders need to
be aware of the fact that these worms are the most common problem worm around and that they need to be controlled effectively
and regularly.
The best way to control most types of worms these days is to use Equest horse wormer to rid your
horses of most normal worm infestations, twice a year and then use the Equest Pramox wormer twice each year to control all
the usual worms but to include the tape worms which most other wormers do not control.
These wormers are the most effective available
but they need to be administered carefully as they can easily kill a pony if they are given in a higher dose than they should
be. Please use a weigh tape to assess your ponies weight and then dose accordingly. An equest wormer may cost £10 or
so but it may do five miniatures so it only costs £2 for each.
Please do not try to cheat with cheaper wormers
as they just do not work any more, if you cannot afford £2 per pony four times a year for wormer then you should not
be owning and breeding these special tiny horses.
Smaller Horses Are
Different To Larger Horses
We
have found by experience that shetlands suffer different problems and sometimes more serious problems than
larger horses.
For example hyperlipeamia is a common and serious problem with miniature ponies which is where the liver clogs up with fat.
This problem does not seem to occur in larger horses and so very little study has gone into the condition. For more information
see Hyperlipeamia below.
Shetlands are Rarely
Poorly
In
general Shetland's are rarely ill if they are kept well, but owners need to be aware of the main problems that can occur
from time to time.
Zooepidemicus
The most common problem that can occur in
young miniatures is something called zooepidemicus, it usually affects foals and sometimes older ponies and the symptoms are
usually just a snotty nose but can also make the pony feel a bit down for a few days. The best treatment for this is nothing
but time which is usually three months. This is quite contagious and will usually go through most of the foals that are in
the same field. It can also give symptoms similar to strangles. If it does no treatment is necessary as this is not a serious
condition. Here is a detailed piece about the condition by Ben Moves MA VetMB MRCVS.
MINIATURE "COUGHING" HORSES
This is the story of a small group of adolescent friends and an embarrassing social disease.
Not uncommon.
In fact, almost normal in their age group but nonetheless very debilitating on their performance in the Show ring. They had
a cough and the snots.
Yearling horses and ponies often develop a cough. This can be accompanied by the complete range
of symptoms from frequent coughing, inappetance, high temperatures, clear and runny nasal discharges to green thick nasal
discharges and so on. Some untreated conditions can become very serious and should always be seen by a vet.
The causes
of Upper Respiratory Tract Disease in yearlings are many. As a rule of thumb, clear runny nasal discharge, off food for a
day and then coughing is often caused by a virus.
The most common URTI virus is Equine Herpes Virus, type 1 or 4. In
fact, investigations have shown that up to 85% of 2 year olds have scroconverted (i.e. been exposed and developed an immune
response to Respiratory Equine Herpes). Unfortunately, the immunity is short-lived. Vaccination to EHV 1 & 4 is available
from your vet. It is not required for showing (unlike influenza vaccination) and boosters are required every 6 months.
Influenza is another URTI and can be severe. It is less common due to vaccination. Vaccines are frequently updated to try
and keep up with virus mutation.
There are other URTI equine viruses including Rhinovirus of which there are several
types. These infections tend to be less severe although this is not always the case.
Viral infections are often followed
up by secondary 'opportunist' bacterial infections. Although horses and ponies can fight these bugs themselves with
rest, antibiotics often help and may be necessary in some cases. Obviously, but rarely, pneumonia can be a complication.
Our little group of valuable showing miniature yearlings, however, had green snotty noses, not running, just crusty. When
they started coughing they had a day or so of being 'off colour1 but certainly carried on eating. Within a few days they
had the full blown disease.
Not very dramatic. Coughing, several bouts a day. And the snots. On examination
the yearlings also had a very characteristic sign: the sub-mandular lymph nodes were swollen. The glands just inside the back
of the lower jaw on both sides (normally marble sized) were egg-sized and sore to squeeze.
They didn't start at
once. First there was one, and then a week or so later another developed the symptoms. Attempts at isolation just prolonged
the onset of eventual infection. After a month the whole yearling group had it. No other age group was affected.
The
symptoms were never that bad. Just a cough, snots and swollen glands under the jaw. Powdered antibiotics and Ventipulmin (an
oral bronchodilator) seemed to help for a while, but the symptoms didn't really go away.
After a month and when
it had become obvious there was group involvement I investigated more carefully. I took a nasal swab of the most recent case.
It isolated beta haemolytic Streptococcus zooepidemicus. A common bacterium that often lives in horses' and ponies'
upper respiratory tracts but can cause disease, especially in young stock - especially in yearlings.
The most common
treatment in most horse industries e.g. racing, is to leave the horses alone
and allow the disease to run its course.
This can take time. Up to three months, or more........
But SHOWING MINIATURES don't have the time. They should
be showing. Some say that horses take so long to recover from the symptoms because they are so mild that the immune system
takes longer to realise that it has a problem.
I admitted two of the group to our clinic. One was the most chronically
(longest) infected, the other the most recent. I x-rayed their chests. They reminded me of my previous days in small animal
practice - but the x-rays were normal. Unfortunately, I didn't have a fibre optic endoscope small enough, so I took a
blind tracheal wash using a mare catheter and sterile tubing. All the lab grew was beta haemolytic Streptococcus zooepidemicus.
I spoke to the Animal Health Trust. I spoke to a specialist vet in the USA. We opted to treat the group with intra muscular
cetifur (Excenell) daily for 7 days. The symptoms had disappeared by
day 4 ........... BUT a week after
we finished treatment back they came, COUGHS, SNOTS
and SWOLLEN GLANDS.
Now, none of the glands abscessated. This
can happen with this bacterium although it cannot cause true Strangles like Streptococcus equi. However, it did hide from
the antibiotics in a similar way by living inside lymph node cells.
Other treatments were tried, including immune support
and homeopathy. These may well have helped. But at the end of the day, the best and only treatment was time. All the symptoms
went after three months. Almost to the day.
Gastrointestinal
Tract
The
most common serious problems that seem to affect the miniature ponies more so than larger horses, especially ponies under
31" are with the gastrointestinal tract. These problems when they occur are very hard to cure because the treatment and
drugs that are available can often cause liver failure by Hyperlipeamia before getting on top of the actual problem. The stomach
of a horse is very different to that of a cow, cows can eat or be fed all sorts of bad and moldy hay, straw, haylage and silage
without hardly ever having any problems. The stomach of a horse is very different and much more susceptible to problems which
are often caused by poor quality hay, haylage and silage.
Haylage Is Bad For
Small Horses
We
know many people who feed haylage, we used to ourselves a few years ago, the ponies love it, but often it contains toxic mould
and bacteria which the ponies livers cannot deal with for long. We also found that haylage causes placenta previa or red bag
during foaling. We would recommend never to feed haylage to pregnant mares especially or any miniature ponies on a regular
basis with one exception, if you have a pony that has gone off its food, try some fresh haylage for a short time until the
pony is eating well again.
Colts and Stallions
Are More Resilient
We
have found that stallions and colts seem to be much more resilient to illnesses than there female counterparts even when being
born, If you are going to loose a foal it always seems to be a filly. It would be interesting to hear from other breeders
if they have had any cases of illness with their colts or stallions.
Salt Licks and Naff
Blood Liquid
One
of the most important things that we believe will keep ponies healthy is making sure that they have regular access to a salt
lick, real chunks of rock salt are the best but there are plenty of salt blocks available.
We have also found that giving
a ten day cures of Naff Blood Liquid to a pony that is a bit down and not eating properly seems to work well. It is a quick
and tasty way of getting the correct balance of vitamins and minerals into the pony. We have also tried the Red Cell liquid
but the ponies do not like the taste of that.
Strangles
Strangles is a very common condition in many
horses large or small, it is usually diagnosed by finding an abscess or swelling under the throat, it can be very serious
in larger horses but does not seem to be so bad in the miniatures as we have never known anyone who has lost a miniature pony
with strangles. If you know different please let us know. It is very contagious and so ponies diagnosed with this need to
be isolated until the abscesses burst and then kept isolated for another six weeks. Most ponies are not infectious after this
time but a few can continue to be carriers for up to six months. Here is a piece by
Hyperlipeamia
Hyperlipeamia is the most common serious problem
illness in miniature Shetland ponies. It is caused by various things indirectly which then affect the liver, diarrea, gastro
problems, foaling stress, any type of stress, poor food, eating dead leaves, eating frosty grass, salmonella, being too fat,
being given steroids, being given most drugs, being given butte (No miniatures should ever be given butte for more than one
or two doses). The list is endless but the result is that these tiny horses have a very specific problem which is directly
related to their smallness, they have a very small liver which cannot tolerate any large changes in their blood..
When
they feel poorly and stop feeding for a while their bodies switch to using body fat instead just like other animals and humans,
however in miniature horses this change happens to drastically. The fat goes into the blood so fast that the ponies liver
gets clogged up fast and when that happens it fails quickly.
The first warning signs of hyperlipeamia are
on finding a pony that is down in the mouth, lackluster, no spirit, not eating properly, messing about with their food but
not eating. In the later stages the pony will not eat at all even when being force fed, often they will not drink although
some drink well. Usually these ponies do not respond to any treatment although we have found that getting a vet to infuse
glucose mix into the pony can reverse the fatty blood quickly when it has been caused by a quick stress ie: foaling.
In
the later stages of hyperlipeamia the pony will not want any food or water, it will be grinding its teeth and trying to eat
dirt of the floor, it will sometimes try to drown itself in a water trough, all in all it is very distressing to see a pony
at this stage. It is best to have the pony put to sleep before this stage but it is very difficult when the pony is still
maybe walking around. If you see the pony pulling its front feet up to its belly it is obviously in great pain, this is the
time to call in the angels if not before.
Our best advice would be that on finding a pony that is not wanting to feed
in the stable, to put it out on grass even in the winter but to also supplement its feed, put another couple of healthy ponies
with it because this will encourage it to keep eating grass.
We have recently had a bad period where we
had several poorly ponies, who seemed to be getting the same symptoms of Hyperlipeamia but we seem to have pulled them through
by throwing them back out into the cold field,s and supplementing there feed morning and afternoon with Spillers Mare and
Young Stock Mix, 1 scoop per pony morning and night. We have used Dodson & Horell Mare & Young stock mix for years
but this year none of the foals wanted to eat it. This is interesting, please comment if you have any further views.
2008
Winter has been a bad year for Shetland breeders, please email me with your experiences this winter so that we can all find
the best ways to look after our tiny equines in the future. Our vet has told us that he has put many shetland's to sleep
this winter in our area due to Hyperlipeamia.
Horses Live On Protein
Not Grass
Our
Vet asked me what do horses live on, I said grass and hay etc. he said no, they live on protein which is produced in the processing
of the food that they eat, this is recovered from their colon at the end of the stomach process. It is all about bacteria
in the gut and the colon of the ponies being in balance. If something goes wrong with this balance it often causes diorrea
We asked him if there is any product that could help to add back the damaged bacteria to correct the balance. He told us of
a few but then told us that the best way to get the correct bacteria back into the pony is to feed it some of another healthy
horses droppings. This is what new born foals do, they eat mums droppings. It seems bad but our vet explained that the ponies
droppings are just processes grass or hay which includes the important bacteria just like Actimel for humans..
When
a pony wont eat we have found a good way to help them, we get a 20mm syringe and cut the whole end off so that it is just
a plunger, we wrap some tape around the first inch of the plunger so that it does not get stuck at the end. Then we mix a
very simple mix of oats-so -simple or readybreak with grass nuts and lots of sugar and some boiling water. When cool the mash
is semi solid and sticky. We then go to "force" feed the pony. We pull the whole plunger out off the syringe and
then keep stabbing the syringe into the paste until it is nearly full, then we put the plunger back in and carefully insert
it up into the poorly ponies mouth and then press the plunger. Hey-Presto the sticky mush gets chewed on and swallowed. Sometimes
we help it down with a squirt of sugar water.
Sometimes we add droppings to this easily by just plunging
the syringe into some fresh dropping. We then add sugar water to help the pony to accept the food.
Please
do not be afraid to try adding bacteria back into your poorer ponies from better ones when they become poorer than the rest.
It is only like humans drinking actimel.
There is also another very important lesson for breeders
here and that is to not clear up mums droppings to quickly when she has foaled as the foal needs this bacteria to make her
gut work.
I hope that this information has been useful. Please email
me with any further useful information or comments if you disagree, I am not an expert and so will amend any information if
we all learn better ways.
I hope that you enjoyed this page, if you wish to continue on this interesting
journey to see our Facebook Page.
Eye Ulcers
Eye ulcers
can occurs occasionally in horses, the first symptoms are the forming of a white area somewhere on the eye, this is dead or
damaged tissue. Horses eyes are very good at healing. As the eye starts to heal lots of new blood cells will form to bring
oxygen to the damaged area, this is called NeoVascularization. At this stage the eye can look very bad, being very blood shot
and milky. It is best to treat the eye twice a day with Chloromycetin 1% Ophthalmic Ointment. The ulcers will usually clear
up after a few weeks sometimes leaving a little blemish.
Tobiano Information "Breeding Coloured Ponies"
Can coloured foals be guaranteed? Yes
they can, we are currently breeding guaranteed to breed colour to a plain coloured stallion or
mare. This is all dependent on genes. Homozygous (TT):
This means that the
pony carries 2 copies of the Tobiano or colour gene. When bred, this pony will always pass on the colour gene to its offspring. Heterozygous (nT): The pony is a Tobiano or colour carrier, but only carries one copy of the
gene. Therefore 50%
of the time it will produce coloured foals, and 50% of the time it will not. Negative: (nn) the horse does not carry the Tobiano or colour gene, and cannot ever produce coloured
offspring.
All this may sound complicated but it
is easy to get a pony tested for the right gene. If your pony has the very special
gene then you can guarantee that you will get a coloured foal 50% of the time. If your pony tests for 2 copies
of this gene then it is very special and will always breed coloured ponies. Coloured
horses and ponies, often referred to as Piebald, Skewbald, or Tri-coloured have long been amongst the most desirable of
all equine specimens. Despite their rising popularity, little thought has been given to the genetics involved in creating
their unique appearance. This article briefly explains the Tobiano gene and the testing available for this common coat colour pattern.
The Tobiano gene is
a dominant gene expressing in both horses that are heterozygous and homozygous for Tobiano. The gene is associated with
the loss of pigmentation, leading to a horse with large white markings in certain defined areas. These markings can include some or all of the
following: White oval-shaped patches crossing over the back. White
Legs, extending from the hocks and knees down. Neck, face, and front of forelegs
are generally unaffected.
A Tobiano horse
will display one or more of these traits, although the extent of these Tobiano markings can vary. A ‘Minimally expressed’
Tobiano horse is coloured, but the pigment loss (the white areas) is often much less noticeable than what is commonly seen on a Tobiano horse. Inheritance from Parents In
the simplest terms, a foal randomly inherits half of its genetic makeup from the dam and half from the sire.
The principles
of how the Tobiano gene is passed from parent to offspring apply to any other gene or genetic
trait. A horse that does not carry a Tobiano gene is Tobiano negative.
In science, we give this a code and refer to a Tobiano negative simply as ‘nn’. An nn horse displays no Tobiano
markings and will not pass the Tobiano gene on to its foals. A horse that carries a single Tobiano gene is referred to as ‘Tobiano heterozygous’ –the
word heterozygous in reference to genes means ‘two different genes’. Tobiano heterozygous horses are referred
to as ‘nT’. An nT horse displays Tobiano markings and will statistically pass the Tobiano gene on
to 50% of its foals. A horse that carries TWO Tobiano genes is
referred to as ‘Tobiano homozygous’ –the word homozygous in reference to genes means ‘two of the
same’. Tobiano homozygous horses are referred to as ‘TT’. A TT horse not only
displays Tobiano markings, but will pass the gene to 100% of its foals.
So, a Tobiano horse can carry either one or two Tobiano genes. The number of Tobiano
genes the dam and sire carry will ultimately determine whether its offspring can potentially be heterozygous or homozygous for Tobiano. The following points simplify
how carrying one or two copies of a certain gene affect the inheritance of that gene to the offspring. The offspring inherits 50% of its genetic makeup from the dam and 50% from the
sire. If a horse has two copies of a certain gene (homozygous),
it is guaranteed to pass one copy on to its offspring. If a horse has one copy of a certain gene (heterozygous), it is 50/50 as to whether or not it will pass
the gene on to its offspring. Here is an example
of the above points, using the Tobiano gene as mentioned before The
offspring in the chart above is heterozygous, 50% of the time it will pass on the Tobiano gene to its own
offspring and 50% of the time it will not. With some basic information
of the Tobiano pattern and the genetics involved explained above, the following is a description
of the possible results obtained via genetic testing: Tobiano Negative
(nn): Solid, non-Tobiano horse. Tobiano Heterozygous (nT): Positive
for the Tobiano gene and will produce both coloured foals and solid foals on a 50% likelihood
basis for each. Tobiano Homozygous (TT): Will always produce coloured
foals regardless of the mate. By utilising Animal Genetics’
testing services, you have the ability to predict the ratio of Tobiano foals you can expect, as well as other equine genetic
tests. Animal Genetics has developed a program to assist horse breeders in predicting possible
offspring coat colours. The ‘Coat Colour Calculator’ can be reached by following the link below: DNA Tests Available At present,
genetic testing for the Tobiano pattern is carried out by testing for a mutation found in the KIT gene, which is closely
linked to the Tobiano gene. Currently, there is not a direct test for the Tobiano gene, but the outstanding accuracy of this
test makes it more than a viable option for any serious enthusiast or breeder.
If you wish to carry out the genetic test with Animal Genetics UK and determine
if your coloured horse is
homozygous or heterozygous, you can download the submission form through their web-site: Hair
Sample Collection Collect sample by pulling (not cutting) 30-40 mane or tail
hairs with roots attached. It is important that you pull the hairs and confirm that the actual root of the hair is being
collected. The root contains the genetic material of your horse that is needed for DNA testing. Therefore, cut hairs do
not provide an adequate sample. Place the collected hairs of each horse in a separate zip-lock bag labelling the bags accordingly
with the horse’s name or identification number. Complete a submission form for each sample and send the form along with hair sample(s) and payment
to Animal Genetics.
Please note, that
because this is an ‘indirect’ genetic test for Tobiano, there is a small percentage of Tobiano horses which
we have found to test as ‘Negative’ using this technique. This has occurred in less than a dozen horses, from 3,000 tests. Animal Genetics also offers a number of other Equine genetic
tests, some of which are relevant to Tobiano horses.
