Why do all Miniature Horses have to be bred?

Why is it every idiot that manages to pick up a couple of Miniature Horses suddenly thinks they need to be a hobby breeder?

Now, this is not against Miniature Horses. I like Minis; I think they are adorable little guys and there are some great breeders and awesome horses out there. But I swear, Miniature Horses are treated like dogs sometimes and people act like puppy mills!

Just like any other breed of horse (or any pet animal for that matter), not every Miniature Horse needs to be bred! In fact, most don't! Just like Paint Horses, Quarter Horses, Arabians, Thoroughbreds, and everything else, most of them are not breeding quality! They might be awesome animals, but a sparkling personality is not a reason to pass their genes on. Plenty of horses have great minds and personalities so that excuse is silly.

It never fails though. Some old retired couple or young kid out of college manages to get a couple of grade or cheap registered Miniature Horses, and its always a colt and a filly. And then they have these wonderful plans to breed them when they are older and have beautiful babies and live happily ever after! Of course, in the mean time, they are keeping the two little horses together, increasing the chances that the colt is going to get the filly knocked up her first heat, opening the poor little thing to all kinds of possible and likely complications! And of course, they never show the horses or really train them or do anything with them. They just let them frolic in the pasture and scamper about like over-sized, hoofed poodles or something.

People, just because they are smaller than the average horse or pony does not make them less of an equine! All the rules and morals that apply to big horses and ponies should apply to Miniature ones! More in fact because Miniatures are known to have the "dwarf genes" and that breed produces dwarfs a lot more than any other breed does! You have to be twice as careful with breeding stock in Miniatures just because of that. They need certain conformation features to be perfect to help insure as much as possible the resulting foal is not a dwarf!

Like any small animal, Miniatures Horses have several issues due to their size, including bites because their teeth are "full-sized" or close to it, several types of dwarfism, dystocia (difficult births for those not sure), and cryptorchidism (males having one or two retained testicles). Just like the breeders of small dogs have to be extra-careful with their breeding stock and choices due to the possible problems associated with size so should Miniature Horse breeders!

I am sick and tired of every moron who picks up two grade Miniature Horse foals for $100 each or so thinking they need to be breeders! No, no you don't! They are great companions and "pets" and wonderful little animals. But they are not breeding material! Miniature Horses are like any other breed right now; the prices are low and the market is down. You are not going to make more money with Miniatures, you are not going to have an easier time getting the foals sold, and it is not easier to breed them!

And what is worse, any time some of this idiots post about their plans and some responsible breeders or people tell them "you need to geld the colt" and "this is why this is a bad idea", you not only have the original person calling you mean and throwing a bit, a bunch of other "breeders" will do the same! They say silly things like "How dare you be so mean when they are new to Minis?!" and "What right to do you have!" and such. Oh, give me a break.

People who enable idiots to do stupid things are just as bad. It is not supportive, it is irresponsible and wrong. And of course then the original person goes on about their hurt feelings and how mean everyone is and how they cried and cried. Wow. Don't care. You needed to hear it and more importantly you need to listen. These aren't little pet labradoodles you can throw in a backyard to have puppies (not that you should do that too), and you should not practice irresponsible horse care and breeding because Miniature Horses are little and cute and fun.

Miniature Horses are living, breathing smaller versions of equines. They are delicate, beautiful, intelligent little horses who need the same level of care and responsibility as the big ones. It might be on a slightly smaller scale, but your obligations are no less and neither should your morals be.

People who stand by and do nothing

Ugh, I am so tired of seeing people who just stand by and do nothing when an animal is in trouble, and then cry about it when the poor animal dies!

What in the world are you crying for now?! Why didn't you do something?!

I have seen it multiple times. People will say things like, "oh, we saw the horses out there with no water and food, the poor things" and then sniffle and cry when the horse drops dead and they are on the news. Hello, you lazy jerk, give the poor thing some water! How hard is it to fill a bucket with some water and give it to the horse?

I saw a horse collapse from heat exhaustion on the local news one year and there were three people standing around and going "poor horsey, poor horsey" on the news, saying they lived right next door and has watched the "poor guy suffer for days". What?! Why in heaven's name didn't you give the thing some water? What possible excuse do you have for not getting some kind of big bowl or bucket or an empty cooler, filling it with some water from your hose which is right over there in the background and putting it within reach of the horse!

I can't get mad at people who didn't know anything. If the horse or whatever is hidden in the back, not visible from the road or the person's yard, I cannot blame them. Sometimes you just have to expect people to take responsibility for their own animals. But if you know your neighbor has a horse who is skinny and has no water, why in the world can't you call Animal Control and give the poor beast a drink? That one or two buckets of water might save that horse's life! And it is not like it is going to cost you that much!

There was some recent thing where this poor mare had to be put down due to severe neglect. The neighbors gave the owner some hay after Animal Control showed up. Why in the world did you even bother? Why didn't you give it to that poor mare a few days ago! She might have lived! Well, we will never know now because you only did it when there were others hanging around to be awed by your "generous" nature!

Here's a clue, helping an animal isn't about who sees you and who knows you did it! It should be about the animal!

And no, I am not a hypocrite. I have helped animals I saw in trouble for no reason other than I could. I have given a hot dog water even when the neighbor yelled at me about it. I feed stray cats. I once climbed into a field to untangle a horse from a rope that was wrapped around his neck and leg. More than once I've had the owner yell at me and call me names for doing something like that, saying it was none of my business.

Well, I'm sorry but it was because that animal needed help and you, the owner, was not going to do it. I do not interfere with people training, how many animals they have, or anything like that. I would never just remove a dog's collar or a horse's halter because they might be difficult to catch, etc. But if I see a horse choking because it has its halter caught on something or an animal panting with thirst, I am going to do something if I can.

And if you're not going to, then do not dare cry and pretend to be so sad and sorry for the animal. You could have done something to help them, but didn't. So shut up and quit trying to get attention. No one cares about your "suffering" or "how bad you feel". We care about that animal that died because you were too lazy or selfish to do something to stop it.

Why do people feel the need to post this stuff?

It is not like I want to stick my head in the sand, but why do people constantly feel the need to post unhappy things in the news?

I never can go anywhere, on any forum, without someone posting about some poor horse getting starved to death, or shot, or maimed. And if it is not the horse, it is some rider getting trampled or killed or whatever.

Why in the world do people post this stuff and then just drag it on and on? I can see warning people in an area "hey, this happened around here, keep an eye on your horses" but mainly people just seem to want to gasp and then threatened the "bad guy"! Why?

I am honestly tired of seeing posts about some horse being abused and reading "Oh, what a horrible bastard! I wish I could punch him in the face!" and "Oh, that is the worst human being ever!" and "He should have the same thing happen to him!". It is not that I do not agree. I do actually, but why do people feel the need to post that stuff over and over again? Why do they feel the need to rile up a forum and fill it with posts like that?

I just do not get it. I would rather see stories about how well their horse is doing, or discuss genetics, or congratulate them on a job well done. I want to have fun, interesting learning experiences.

Not listen to a bunch of kids threaten someone over something like that. Yes, they are terrible wastes of flesh and air. Yes, they deserve to be severely punished for what they did. Do they deserve this much attention and constant talk about them? No.

And so it begins....

Well, this is my little blog of rants, raves, and grumbles about horse-related things.

I come here to vent and complain and moan. I freely admit it. This is my private spot to be as grumpy, rude, and harsh as I want about horse-related things.

I will maintain some politeness. I will not use pictures without permission and I will not use names, real or forum or whatever, but I do plan to be straightforward and as 'snarky' as I like otherwise.

Anyone who wants to comment is free to join me! All you have to do is create a simple, free ID. You do not have to agree or like what I am saying. In fact, you are free not too.

So, here's fair warning though. This is my spot to 'let it all out' so if you do not want to read or see that, do not bother reading!