New Miniatur horse

Question
hi, i just bought my first miniature horse.  She is 3 months old, 21", and has just been weaned 2-3 weeks ago from her mother.  I have so many questions, i don't know where to start!

i was raised around quarterhorses when i was younger, i'm now 30 years old... so, i'm a little rusty!  i need some advise, please!  she is young and i want to start early in traning her to be a good girl...

first questions:

1.  i know a miniature horse can be housebroken, i've read about guide horses online that have been.  any idea in how to punish them in the event that they did go to the bathroom in the house?

2.  biting... she seems to be nipping at me a lot. i don't think it's for play, i think she is annoyed at me?  how can i get her to stop that

3.  does they always sleep standing up?  how often do they lay down to sleep?

4.  how can i train her to lead consistently?  she leads at times, but will suddenly stop and i have to literally push her from behind to get her to move (remember, she's still very small... probably about 60 pounds)

5.  i have 2 dogs.  a very gentle and sweet rottweiler and a little maltese.  i thought my maltese would be the one very jealous, but it seems that my rott is very anxious around our new girl.  the mini seems to like the rott regardless.  i was told that my rott might attack and kill my mini?  i'm so afraid of this... my rott has never done anything like this at all, but i was assured it could happen with the nicest of dogs.  have you ever heard of this?

okay, i think that's it for now!  please answer these to the best of your knowledge.  

thank you so very much!

morgendee flannery  

Answer
Morgendee,

First off, you can't "punish" her for doing something when she doesn't know it's wrong!  Housebreaking?  I've never tried to housebreak a horse but know it can be done.  Just remember, you'll get a lot more cooporation by positively reinforcing good behavioe than by punishing bad behavior in most cases.  She's a baby.  Don't expect her to learn housebreaking as quickly as a dog would, she's not as smart.  Although mini's I've seen were smarter than horses.  So are ponies generally.  So I would just take her out regularly.  She's going to have many more bowel movements than a dog because of her diet.  Praise her profusely when she gets it right.  She'll figure out how to let you know once she understands what you want her to do.  

Nipping, that's pretty common in babies that age.  Just like human babies they explore their world by tasting everything.  And when they want something they'll do it to try to get what they want.  Just like a kid.  I don't advocate smacking a horse a lot because it can make them head shy but with a little one I do smack them in the mouth.  My baby wears a foal halter, the kind with the little leather tab that hangs below the halter for about a foot, so I can get a hold of her whenever I need to.  When she started getting nippy I grabbed that and shook her head and told her "no" sternly.  She got pushy and was grabbing my clothes a couple of times and I grabbed the strap, shanked her hard enough to get her attention and smacked her in the mouth.  It only took a couple of times and she understands what "no" means now.  She starts pushing on me or grabbing at my clothes and I tell her "no" and she stops.  Like I said, it takes a couple of times and they get the idea.  

Horses will lie down to sleep until they are in their teens if they have a stall or place to do it.  Young horses will lie down for at least the three to four years of their lives to nap.  

As far as leading, that just takes patience.  I pull with the left hand and tickle their hindend with my right hand to get them to respond to the pressure on the poll from the halter.  Lots of practice and they get it.  

As far as the dogs, you have to know your dogs better than anyone else.  My horses and dogs have gotten along well for years although none of the horses ever came in the house!  Since you want to be able to bring her in then the dogs have to understand that she is also now a resident of the house.  The rotti just doesn't understand that and if is also unfamiliar with horses is having to deal with a whole lot of new information here.  I think they will probably be fine but I would watch them closely until I was sure of it.  Face it, this mini is probably going to be about the same size or a little bigger than the rotti when she's full grown.  They may well wind up being the best of buds.  A lot depends upon you for this. Don't let them feel that the newcomer is "invading" their territory.  Or that she's getting preferential treatment or more attention than they are.  Don't make them jealous of her.   

I hope I answered your questions for you.  If I can be of any more help feel free to contact me, please.  

Lyn