Miniature Horse Diseases

The most notable characteristic of a miniature horse is its size. Under 38-inches tall, the mini acts and thinks like a full-size equine. Descended from the Shetland pony and a few other breeds, miniatures were bred to their present size with selective breeding. Like their larger counterparts, the miniature horses face some painful and deadly diseases. The small size of miniatures increase the risk and severity of many diseases.

  1. Lamintis

    • Laminitis is an inflamed laminae within the hoof, which causes severe pain for the equine. Several issues impact the probability of laminitis occurring in horses. For miniatures, overfeeding causes most of the incidences. Miniatures are often overfed, because of their tiny size. They need about a pound of food for every 100 lbs. Miniatures usually weigh 100 to 250 lbs. when fully grown. Laminitis usually affects older miniatures though the young are not immune. Seek the advice of your veterinarian for feed allowance and introduce grass slowly into your mini's diet to prevent the onset of laminitis.

    dystocia

    • Miniatures need help during birth. Dystocia, a fancy name for difficult births, occurs more often in miniatures, because of their size. This means miniature mares need human assistance and often veterinary assistance during the birthing process. Placental separation may occur--miniatures have a higher risk of placental separation--suffocating the mini marvel before it exits the womb.

    Teeth

    • The small size of the equines often causes teeth to protrude from mouths and not quite sit correctly. Miniatures should see an equine dentist regularly in the first few years to correct and prevent deformities.

    Colic

    • Colic occurs in equines of all sizes. Miniatures face higher risk of impaction colic, where foodstuffs get compacted in the intestines. Symptoms of colic include biting at belly, squatting like a dog, thrashing on the ground, pale gums, no or little gut sounds and in advanced cases, death.

    Limb Deformities

    • These mini-equines can have limb deformities present at birth. Exact causes of the deformities depends on the individual equine. However, many result from poorly formed ligaments, tendons, and immature bones. Radiographs determine whether immature bones caused the deformity.

    Equine hyperlipidemia

    • Obese equines can get hyperlipidemia, and miniature horses are well known for the disease. The disease affects the liver. Horses with the disease lose their appetite and exhibit other symptoms such as loss of coordination, abdominal pain, head pressing, circling, diarrhea and convulsions. Ultimately, the horse dies from it.