I got an adorable mini horse 2 years ago who has no tolerance for any wet or cold weather. Unless I blanket him to look like the kid from a Christmas Story, he shivers and shakes in weather all the other animals are completely comfy in. When it’s low 60s and rains… shivering. When it’s 30 degrees and he’s naked… shivering. It’s currently 25 degrees (real feel 18) and he’s in a 300 gram blanket with a hood and he’s shivering. I had to double blanket him up to 450 grams and now he’s fine. He’s got a gorgeous, thick coat, he’s 10 years old and a very healthy weight. A touch plump like a usual mini. They have free choice hay in nets and a 20 x 20 bedded down shelter he uses often. I can keep him from shivering by using blankets and free loose hay in the barn on cold nights, but I’m just curious if there is anything medical, and fixable?, that could cause him to be so sensitive to getting cold or wet. Mini horses are supposed to be so hardy, and I’ve never had a horse that needed blankets other than big storms or serious cold snaps. I asked my vet but she didn’t have any ideas, so checking in with the COTH hive. Im honestly considering boarding him out in a heated facility every winter, but as long as I keep him properly blanketed, he seems happy and healthy. It’s just bizarre. Any ideas on causes would be most appreciated because I’m in a constant state of running in and out to the barn to add and remove blanket layers with changing temps.
Sometimes Cushings makes it hard for a horse/ pony to regulate their temperature. I had an Arabian gelding many years ago that I am pretty sure had Cushings. He had two “colic” episodes that turned out not to be colic but hypothermia. He had a pretty heavy winter coat so I didn’t blanket him because I thought he was fine in an Alabama winter. Obviously he was not and after I started blanketing him he didn’t have any more episodes. I didn’t know about Prascend at the time. So maybe he has an early sign of Cushings?
Yes, check for Cushing’s. I have a mini exactly like yours and the cold intolerance started about 1-2 years before he was tested and found to be positive. He has a wardrobe of blankets, the best ones for keeping him comfy have the neck covering and really generous tail flaps, he’s very sensitive to breezes around his heiny.
While you’re testing for Cushings, check his thyroid hormone levels. Low thyroid hormones can lead to cold intolerance in humans and horses.
Is your mini the standard Thelwell-type body, or more like the Modern minis?
In either case, breeding could be the problem if he tests negative for Cushing’s.
Irresponsible Mini breeders sometimes ignore reason & breed for size, conformation or color. And rebreed mares who throw dwarves.
As long as he’s comfy blanketed, you’re doing what you can.
My own little Genetic Freak has no chestnuts or ergots.
Little patches of white hair where they would be, on his otherwise plain bay body.
Perfectly healthy, decently-conformed VSE otherwise 
I’ll have the vet out to test for Cushings just to be safe. He sheds beautifully and has a nice top line so she wasn’t concerned about it, but better safe than sorry. Mr. Moosie is actually a freakishly well built mini. He’s a larger one, and both my vet and farrier are always raving over how proportionate it he is for a mini. My farrier jokes if we pumped him up with an air pump to full size, he’d be a great riding horse! 
He looks like a shrunken horse, not like a disproportionate mini I usually see. He’s got a little bit of a hay belly, but otherwise he’s really quite fit. He’s the playmate of my 2 year old and the two of them gallop and wrestle constantly so I think that keeps him from looking like most plump minis, I’ve actually joked maybe I need to fatten him up like most minis and then he won’t shiver under all that fat! LOL I appreciate the input and will have the vet pull blood the next time she’s out. Until then, I’ll just continue bundling him up like I’m a helicopter mom sending her kid into a snowstorm… even though temps are moderate enough I don’t even need gloves. LOL My poor wimpy Mr. Moosie.
That is so interesting you have a mini with the same issue. He definitely needs a neck cover too, and he does best in the belly band blankets. I’m going to have him tested for sure and get a full panel to be safe. Did yours become better about tolerating the cold after treatment, or always cold intolerant now?
He got a little bit better, I think. He still needs to bundle up though. Belly band blankets make him happy, too.
Does anyone have a mini who has anhidrosis? Peanut (my cold intolerant one) didn’t sweat well for two summers before the Cushing’s diagnosis. He did respond to One AC and sweats now.
My Cushings pony had anhidrosis; intermittent though. I think she measured 44” so not mini sized. Unknown breeding.
