"Sugar and Seabiscuit"

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​This duo came from an owner surrender due to a death in the family. Sugar is the paint miniature horse and Biscuit is a dwarf miniature horse! Yes, he is tiny but mighty! He tried to prove that as soon as he arrived at the rescue. Actually, we weren’t even an official rescue when we brought them home. Biscuit walked right up to the fence dividing him and David Crockett the draft horse struck out forward at Crockett, then spun around and kicked the fence between them! Crockett gave a look of disbelief as if to say, “You’re kidding me, right?!”.  

Both minis were very obese when arriving, as they had been on lush green pasture for years. Too much of a good thing can be detrimental, especially when it comes to equines and feed! Sugar was not only severely overweight but was foundered and laminitic on top of it, causing her to walk poorly due to sore feet. After a few trimming sessions on her feet, a reduction in food intake, and a lesser protein feed, Sugar has made a remarkable turnaround! Biscuit was another story. Typically, dwarfism tends to produce little horses that have chronic foot and/or leg deformities causing difficulty in walking. Biscuit was fortunate enough to have not experienced this and is as mobile as any other horse with the natural ability to walk, trot and lope just like any other horse! However, he did have a handicap… severe obesity! As short as he is his belly was almost dragging the ground, and every step you would hear him wheeze! A strict diet and plenty of exercise with the other minis at the rescue allowed him to lose not only weight, but the wheeze as well. Both will live out there days in sanctuary at T.E.X.A.S. Rescue.

 

As a side note regarding overweight minis. With the surrender of the duo, we actually picked up their third equine which was a miniature donkey. He too was EXTREMELY overweight to the point we were worried. Obesity in donkeys is a life-threatening issue with it being very hard on their internal organs. This was the case with donkey “Nic”, short for St Nicolas since he was born on Christmas day, and we lost him approximately 2 months after arrival due to liver failure. 

 

     • Note: Please do not overfeed your donkeys! If you see fat rolls on their back, sides, hips and a fatty crest on their neck… the damage has already begun. Unfortunately, donkeys cannot lose weight like horses. If you want to keep them around for a long and healthy life, ask your veterinarian about a good diet plan for your donkey.