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Miniature Horse Web Resources
There is a huge amount of inappropriate and misleading information about miniature horses on
the web, both web sites and discussion groups.
Some miniature horse forums are populated by ignorant mini horse owners who
freely dispense incorrect medical advice. Other miniature
horse message boards have
"puppy-mill" style breeders who recklessly produce crippled dwarf horses, solely for the
profit motive.
Here are some specific caveats and guidelines when seeking advice from miniature
horse forums and web sites.
Avoid dangerous medical advice
Some miniature horse
forums have members who will freely dispense medical advice, and some
may impersonate a DVM to establish credibility with their victims. In other
Internet forums, "horse psychics” are actively promoted to give “readings” of the
miniature horses’ physical and mental health!
Remember, responsible miniature horse owners will never dispense medical advice, and a real DVM will rarely dispense free medical advice anonymously. Never rely on miniature horse medical advice from anyone without a verifiable Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from an accredited US university.
Don't contribute to dwarf Horse suffering
Ensure that you evaluate Internet miniature horse breeders and don't
subsidize the unnecessary suffering and death of innocent mares and foals.
Some think that the production and suffering of crippled dwarf horses is a national disgrace.
According to Andrea Rollins,
some miniature horse breeders have a stigma about producing dwarfs and many
are killed shortly after being born: "some humanely destroy any dwarf bred on the farm."
Severe dwarf miniature horses may live for only
a few days, while others may suffer for many years with crippling leg
deformities and other serious health problems. Photos of dead dwarf horses are published at the
Horsie Heaven web
site.
Many of the online miniature horse
sale web sites allow the posting of miniature horse for-sale ads by
irresponsible breeders will cut-corners by failing to invest in proper
genetic diversity and medical facilities.
Many of the horses for sale on the Internet also carry genetic markers for dwarfism, and buying from an irresponsible breeder only contributes to the suffering of the countless dwarf horses they produce.
Here are some specific "red flags" to indicate a low-investment miniature horse breeder:
- High Death rate
-
The mortality rates for some greedy miniature horse breeders are shocking, some
loosing more than one-third of
their entire breeding population every year.
- Poor Medical facilities - Proper breeding of miniature horses is expensive. Because of the high risk associated with breeding miniature horses, responsible breeders will increase the likelihood for a successful foaling by using horse hospitals with the surgical facilities and drugs that must be quickly administered to save lives during foaling.
Click here to learn about medical foaling facilities for miniature horses
- No Genetic Diversity - Because of the deliberate introduction of dwarf genes into the USA miniature horse population, cheapskate miniature horse breeders suffer from high rates of dwarfism, dystocia and death. Breeders who invest in genetic diversity report reduced risk of dwarfism and reproductive death.
Click here to learn about miniature horse pedigree research
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