I got a small pony/big mini for exactly the same reason… of course, she is an air fern. I can’t turn her out with my air fern PSG horse because sometimes, as a mare, she gets pissy and kicks… She goes out with my other horse, who is a rather hard keeper… so I have to buy lots of expensive forage based feed for her so she doesnt eat HIS ration leavings…
And yes, breaks boards rubbing.
ANd just as expensive as a horse.
Sure is a cutie tho.
I must be a very lucky mini owner.
Mine is 10 this year. He is a hard keeper as far as Minis go…he gets 3-4 hours of grass grazing a day when we have pasture and free choice 2nd cutting grass hay and a handful of alfalfa.
He has only escaped once and was captured the next day by neighbors about 3 miles away who tied him to a tree with a garden hose. 
My farrier loves him. He literally sits on the ground and trims him.
He even rode in my in laws mini van on multiple occasions for FFA events at local elementary schools.
No doubt, most minis are terrorists but mine is pretty laid back and kind. Did I mention he’s still a stud?
Omg, I love this!
I am trying to imagine how one ties a mini up with a garden hose, though.
Yeah they tied the hose to his halter and then tied it around a tree.
It was some creative engineering for sure but it worked in a pinch.
Did I mention he trotted home next to my car with my arm out the window?
I have three minis, if you count my donk as one. I like the donk, but adore my mini horses. I’ve had several over the years. Some are little demons but I love my three little geldings. Even my little mini mare with wry nose syndrome was pretty sweet for a little drama queen. I lost her to hyperlipidema which is a concern coupled with trying to restrict their diet. They really must eat; not necessarily grass, but do not withhold food. Just less carbs and sugar. They also can be prone to dental issues and one gelding had a real time kicking a sinus infection.
Other than that though, they are adorable, sweet, cute as the dickens and entertaining. Mine have their own paddock but I have put them in with a lonely youngster or adult for company. You do have to be careful about larger pasturemates. Young colts that like to roughhouse are not a good choice. The mini, to make up for the size difference will stand on their hindlegs and if pushed back and down by the bigger horse, can rupture their Achilles tendon.
I’ve not had any trouble keeping mine in. They are smart and so if your fencing is not great, they will exploit that. They love to rub their bums on my wire fencing. I could stop that with a hot wire along the inside of their fence appropriate to their size/height. My smallest who is just 29" can walk through the V-shaped pass through in the four board fencing and lets himself in an out of the pasture with my big geldings if I’ve given them the run of the barn area.
All of mine have great feet and don’t seem to require as frequent trimming, but yes, otherwise, their care is the same as a full sized horse. Feed costs are very low. My three get just handfuls twice a day; some hay but not much pasture.
I’ve had a couple of mini foals and picking up a baby horse is your arms is pret-ty awesome. My smallest gelding has also been to school on pet day and was a huge hit. I could easily turn him into a therapy mini and take him to hospitals and nursing homes. He’s that chill. They love visitors and my nieces and nephews have all loved coming out and petting the minis as small children. They do great at pulling carts; riding - eh, not so much. They may be horses, but the attitude really is all pony. My daughter had a few to ride when she was small and gutsy kids do quite well; passive or timid kids, not so much. My daughter was more the latter so it was frustrating. So she moved up to a bigger pony pretty quickly. I will probably always have a couple personally.
Hmm I guess we’ve been lucky with fencing (a mix of electric wire and board), my mare hasn’t broken containment yet! She goes out with an assortment of other horses and now they’ve all found their place in the herd’s pecking order, things are pretty predictable.
I’ll agree on the dry lot though, she’s been lucky to be at facilities that have been able to put her out in dry lots with hay in slow feeder nets and that’s been working to keep her from ballooning. As others have said though, farrier and vet costs the same as a full-size horse… the only cost savings seem to be feed and bedding (or board, if boarded out).
As for their 'tude, I think minis get a bad rep because nobody bothers to handle them or teach them manners because they’re so small and adorable. When I first got my mare, she’d never been stalled inside and was reluctant to have her feet handled. She’s since proven what a delight she is to be around … easy to catch, lead, groom, trailer, etc. … and she now stands for the farrier as good as gold. Definitely one of the better behaved equines on the property!
I never knew we had gotten so lucky with our Lexie girl!! I got my daughter a mini 8 years ago when she was a toddler, when my big mare was needing a companion. Best $200 on Craigslist ever! She’s been a joy and so easy. We’ve never had fencing problems. Now if a gate gets left unlatched, she’ll find it and go exploring. But regular fencing has been fine. She’s turned out in the big pasture and had a bout of minor laminitis 2 or 3 years after we got her. Now I just keep a grazing muzzle on in the summer and she’s not had a problem since. She’s never been obese. She costs me almost nothing. She only gets her feet trimmed every other time the big horses do and has been to the vet twice in 8 years. She isn’t aggressive with the big horses, but she doesn’t take crap from them either. She’s been out with a variety of big TBs I’ve cycled through. She’s no one’s best friend, but if someone gets left behind, she keeps them happy enough. If everyone else leaves, she’s ok being alone. She’s hard/impossible to catch and prefers as little human contact as possible, and we’re usually happy to oblige (except when the kids were tiny and she had daily tea parties to attend). A few times a year she gets dressed up as a unicorn and visits with local kids at the park. They adore her, and she tolerates it remarkably well in exchange for 362 days of total freedom. We have a good thing going. I wouldn’t trade her for anything. Least complicated equine I’ve ever owned.
I love my mini. He’s 36 inches and a gem. Yes, he can be a terror, but he’s the best companion for my big horses. I can take my riding horse off the property and he is there for the other horse, no issue. That said, he wasn’t enough when I lost one of my horses and did need to get another horse (minis can’t groom big horses and my retired gelding desperately needed another horse to groom and relieve him of his depression). But, my mini doesn’t know he’s a mini. My 25 year old retiree is his idol and the 2 play (face fight/halter tag/etc.) and he’ll even let the mini walk under him. It’s adorable.
They can be terrors with fencing, but electric helps. In terms of weight, I have don’t have much grass and my guys are on free choice hay year round with limited access to grass. This is perfect for my mini. If needed, he’ll wear a muzzle for grass or if he gets too round with hay, but my vet/farrier are very happy with his weight even with free choice hay. Having them all on dry lot with minimal access to grass just works for us. It’s the best set up for a mini.
I adore my minis, but it is true about being hard on fencing. They rub on my no climb and 4 board fencing worse than the goats! BUT they are cheap to feed and horses like them to have as a companion when someone leaves the property. Do not expect to save money on farrier, dentist, and vet bills, they will cost the same as a ‘real horse’.
Also, be prepared for weird health issues. Mine have had dental issues and some metabolic issues, but with proper management, it has been easy to address. Mine spend most of the spring and summer in dry lots or with good quality muzzles on.
I love my mini, but I would very much be concerned making them a full time companion to a horse - unless I just didn’t like the mini. One kick to the head and it would all be over.
Mine is absolutely adorable, very well trained, and stays fat on one handful of hay twice a day. His feet grow faster than my horses, so he’s on the regular farrier schedule for the same price as the big ones. We built him his own turnout paddock – it’s about 40’x40’ - pipe and no climb. I do have one horse that I’ll selectively turn out with him - but only if food isn’t involved. He loves to play bite face with my geldings over the fence, which I think is far safer than in the same pasture.
The biggest scare I’ve had with him was a colic last year – since they’re so small, you can’t palpate them - just lots of fluids and abdominal ultrasounds.
He is absolutely adorable. What a looker! Seriously though, do you mean 2 handfuls of hay in addition to a little grazing, or is that all he eats?
My 1400 lb, 16.1 gelding has a very small mini as his pasture buddy. We have 4 rail wood fencing, so the bottom board is plenty low enough to contain the wild one. I agree with the consensus though, they are feisty little buggers. Depending on his mood, he may run like a wild banshee when you go to catch him for something, and he might dart out gates if you take a second too long coming through.
We have lush pastures, so all he gets is a handful of hay so he will leave my gelding alone while he’s eating his grain. Otherwise, just that handful of hay (orchard hay) and grazing keeps him plump.
He gets two handfuls of alfalfa twice a day (and usually, it ends up being like, 1/8 of a flake when it tears off) and he stays in a small paddock with minimal grazing the rest of the time.
Many times there’s left over alfalfa from other horses I’ll put in his small paddock overnight, and he’ll clean that up as well. I just don’t supplement grain and he doesn’t have a constant hay bag in front of him like the rest of my horses because he is already obese.
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