The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Horses, ponies, donkeys & mules => Topic started by: goosepimple on November 29, 2012, 07:21:14 pm
-
We are the proud new owners of 2 mini-Shetland ponies, mares, 11 and 12years old, one scewbald the other chestnut, both gorgeous, extremely friendly and in full health, not rideable but love a fuss.
We have never had ponies before and are looking for any advice. We have lots of horsey friends who will help if we need it but any input you are willing to give would be welcome.
They are lovely sturdy and strong wee beasties and we are completely taken with them.
Many thanks.
-
Ha, how exciting ;D
And the photos are where.......? :innocent:
-
Great news, look forward to hearing about them. Really need to see them now. Piccies please :eyelashes:
-
Congratulations :thumbsup: we have two mini geldings, they are such lovely little characters and you will thoroughly enjoy them, but beware they are addictive and multiply very easily :)
-
main thing is not giving them 'a nice field of grass'. They are much better off with nothing more than a patch of velcro to lick grass wise!, with hay to top up eg in winter, otherwise they can be very prone to inflamed inside of hoof (laminitis) which is very painful for them.
Judge the need for extra hay by body condition and also poo counting - if they are pooing lots they are getting something to eat even if they swear to you there is no grass at all!
-
I have two mini's ....both stallions when they arrived here, but now gelded. One is palamino (although registered as spotted) and the other brown and white.
I keep mine on restricted grazing, as they do tend to put weight on, and then the dreaded laminitis rears its head. Worm mine twice a year, try to poo pick every day, as they are on a small plot, make sure their hooves are trimmed regularly.
I feed mine a high fibre chop, and a small net of haylage twice a day ......no horse corn. Do give them a mineral lick to make sure they are not lacking in anything.
-
My Shetlands are standards and are stripped grazed over the summer with some hay if needed. In the winter they have free range during the day. Beware of frosted ground which can bring on laminitis, make sure they have hay. Shetland are lots of fun.
-
Ground is frosty (hmm nothing I can do about that) and the grass is good (nothing I can do about that), but here's some photos Jaykay :D
-
You could divide up with temporary electric to strip graze it, maybe? Good grazing can be a death sentence for these horses :'(
-
There is very little value of grass in the winter unless we get a warm spell. Frost on the other hand is dangerous if they are eating on an empty stomach. laminitis is a killer in all equines if they get it bad enough and the pedal bone comes through the sole of the hoof.
-
I am giving them a bit of oats in the morning so they have some fuel in them to warm up and they have hay all day and what grass they eat. They get a carrot in the afternoon. The chap who sold them to us said just to watch out for laminitis in the spring and to confine them / strip in quite a small area then.
When do you know they have laminitis - when they start hobbling or is it too late by then - is there something visual I can see when I hoof pick them? Should I be hoof picking them every day? Should you brush shetlands every day? Sorry, I do have a friend coming round who keeps lots of horses and she can help me with the low down but it's always good to know what others do too.
Thanks in advance.
-
umm I dont think they need oats :-DDD just hay and a mineral salt lick (rockies do a yellow one, you dont want the tubs with molasses in).
Once they get lami they will be lame, yes but early warning signs are overweight pony, esp if 'cresty' on the neck or fat pads on the shoulders, any heat in the hooves, a racing pulse in the hoof (farrier can show you how to check for this - they will need their feet trimming if not on a rocky mountain if they arent being ridden, tho they wont need shoes).
If they still gain weight or are too fat with the hay (you might not be able to give them unlimited hay even if they get too tubby), then oat straw is a good option as it is lower in sugars/energy than unsoaked hay. The grazing while it wont have much goodness in it at the mo, if big in quantity will make them overweight, which while it doesnt directly cause lami, does make the other triggers a lot more likely to cause it. Very like type 2 diabetes in humans.
Yes, hooves should be picked out every day, and a quick check over, altho they may not need brushing everyday. If you are brushing them, try to limit how often and how vigourously you do it as if they are out unrugged they need the oils in their coat for waterproofing and very frequent in depth brushing can remove this.
-
Never feed Shetlands oats, look for a low sugar diet. Google some of the horse feed companies or give them a phone for advice they will be glad to help.
-
Thank you both for that excellent advice, I am doing it all wrong with the best intentions already so that will be sorted out tomorrow morning! Thank you thank you! Was a spur of the moment purchase so I haven't done my research as I would normally. I am writing down what you say so everybody in the house here knows. I think there is a tendency to want to feed them something when they are new for interaction, so I will have to stop that.
We have an area of rougher grazing next door to where they are now, so will scan that thoroughly for plant types - I know we have young oaks in there and acorns are poisonous so will watch that. It's a much smaller area than the large paddock but it does have gorse and broom in it - I will check on line for pasture management for horses (assume ponies are the same).
Am going to buy a head collar tomorrow - friend just gave me one of hers to try for size, and I will buy a hay net and hang it outside. Do you normally lead them in front of the hay net and they will stand there while I pick out their feet? I'm sounding really basic I know, sorry, I'll get it right with your good advice. :-\ :-\ :-\ Thanks all.
-
The only silly question is the one you wished you had asked :-)))) actually you are doing great because you arent just ploughing ahead and then finding out the hard way - so I think you are going to be a really good horse owner :-)))) and we dont mean to sound lecture-y, we do just want you and ponies to have a very very long and happy time together !
feeding treats to shetlands generally not a good idea as they will mug you for titbits and may start to nip and bite when you dont have any. If they 'have' to then a handful of hay would be least worst, not sugary fruit or even worse bits of bread or sugar lumps...:-DDD
The most toxic plants for horses are ragwort (over a period of time, kills the liver, but when growing it is generally avoided - be very careful when buying hay as it loses the bitter taster when dried and the toxins are concentrated), also rhodedendron and yew (the last a couple of mouthfuls can kill...but since yew is mega poisonous to most livestock you hopefully wont find that). If you cant find any ragwort now - it looks like shrivelled rosettes, greener than the surroundign grass at this time of year, keep a very close eye in spring).
Picking feet wise will depend on whether they have had it done regularly before. If so, a haynet will keep them amused and once you are confident you wont even need that. If not, take it slow and steady and stand to one side :-)) check they are comfy with you feeling down the leg before you try lifting the hoof.
Acorns are toxic in large quantities and some horses/ponies get obsessed with them - then they can cause real issues. However a lot of horses and ponies snuffle some every year and are ok - you could electric tape them off in autumn maybe or collect them up. They arent as big an issue as rhodo or yew would be.
Hope this helps - have visions of you trying to take tuck stitches into headcollar to make it fit now :-))
hope it goes well with the feet/headcollar!
-
Oh thank you LandM, we know about poisonous plants after losing a ronaldsay to rhode earlier in the year (we knew it was poisonous but didn't see a tiny specimen in amongst some rocks until it was too late - a few bits and that was it). We know about ragwort and yew and I have lots of books and charts on poisonous plants etc. What I didn't know was that I just shouldn't feed them anything much really and that they should just be on rough as anything grazing - all our sheep are native scrubland sheep so they will get on well. Also taken note about the treats, treats from now on will be attention and chat from all of us here. I will keep asking silly questions if that's ok, and thank you for your support and kind words.
-
Shetlands were bred to live on not much more than fresh air and a lot of folk(my neighbour included) can't get their heads around "all they need in winter is a little good quality hay".
What lucky ponies to have found such caring homes :) Too many people breeding miniatures now and, down here at least, they go to feed the lions at Paignton Zoo as homes can't be found. Yet people keep on breeding.
If anyone fancies keeping a couple of these dear little ponies I can find you some for nothing or near to. They do, though, need as much care as any other equine, i.e. foot and tooth care, twice daily checks etc. and live a very long life, up to forty years in some cases :horse: :horse:
-
Ok, I've always wondered, so now I am going to ask... I am not meaning to be rude but I have genuinely always puzzled over this...
Why?
I know people with Shetlands who don't have any children to ride them, and that's puzzling enough, but I do not understand why folk want mini ponies that take as much looking after as any equine and can't do anything.
Especially smallholders, who mostly can't afford freeloaders and for whom grazing is often a limiting factor.
So please share with me what it is these little creatures do for you?
-
I myself have standard Shetlands but know plenty of breeders of the small ponies. Their height is up to 34 ins and are often used as first ponies for young children. they are also driven in pairs or teams of 4. maybe small but are strong and if treated right do well. there is always a breeder who is trying to go as small as possible which causes all sorts of health problems. My standards get broken to ride and drive for I believe a Shetland standing in field doing nothing not only gets bored but is not happy. they like the same attention of most horses, love pony club games, jumping and racing and are very loving when raised right. What most new owners do not know is they are not a cheap pet, feet,teeth, worming and injections all need to be done just like a horse.
-
Sally, like kunekune pigs, alpacas etc. they were a novelty and everyone wanted one. Too many folk jumped on the "here, I could make a few bob out of this" bandwagon and supply now outweighs demand. Same, unfortunately with popular dog breeds :rant: :rant: :rant: :rant:
-
We drive ours :)
-
Yes the ones we have are from someone who used to breed but realised there isn't a market for it and we got them extremely cheap and in some cases they are free I know.
We are keeping them Sally partly as an attraction as we will be holiday letting our mill and cottage from later next year and partly to get our kids used to bigger sized animals (they're not that small). Our nearest neighbour is a smithy so checks are easy and cheap and what could have been bored ponies have a lovely stimulating environment with lots of other animal species and lots of neighbours horses over the fence. They will get lots of human attention here too and they are a great addition to our smallholding and we intend giving them little jobs to do.
And I have a big heart. :D
-
We drive ours :)
Now that's a lovely picture! Bet they enjoy getting out and about!
Goosepimple I reckon they will have a great time :-)))
-
I have American Miniatures (33 inches tall!) that I rescued. My first is only 2 years old and my second is only 16 months. I adore them and they have brought a lot of joy!
Like others have said, watch feeding and weight. I give mine the odd small feed and ad lib hay every so often, they live out and enjoy their grass. They can be cheeky little nippers too! But so far, a joy to own and very low maintenance.
Anna
-
thanks all. Ours are much bigger than the ones pulling the cart above, they are really teeny, ours are about 3/4 to full size I should think.
-
The two driving are 32" (8hh) they love it, but it takes a long while to get anywhere because so many people stop us, we've had people jump out of cars take photos, video us as they go passed :excited: . At their fitest last year they could easily do 10 or 12 miles on a club drive alternate weekends, so don't under estimate their capabilities they are lovely strong little characters. :thumbsup: and love having a job to do.
-
Where did you get your cart Louise and did you have to train them from very young for that - ours are 10ish years old, would it be too late to try that?
-
I want to train mine too! How do I go about training them? :hshoe:
-
The carriage is a bellcrown bought off www.indoordriving.co.uk (http://www.indoordriving.co.uk) forum has a for sale section.
As for training it's never too late.
There is a book by sallie walrond called "breaking a horse to harness" that is well worth reading, amazon have second hand ones, that will get you started and when you get as far as putting pony to carriage I would find an experienced driver to help you. Try looking on the bds (British driving society) website for local clubs and instructors etc. Start with ponies as singles with a two wheeler first and once they are going well on their own then you can start to teach them to drive together but you need a four wheeler for pairs.
Hope that helps, I do have a habit of getting very carried away when talking about carriage driving so I've tried to restrain myself :) but I'm more than happy to help if I can :horse:
-
;D ;D ;D thank you, will check that out.
-
if theres only you, you could also google saddlechariot and see if that takes your fancy for some XC!
had to post this - prob standard rather than mini shetland but this is a good reason why people love their shetlands!!!! :thumbsup: :roflanim:
[FUNNY/BLOOPER] Flip going NUTS!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s95RxmFhrYA#ws)
-
Great! Loved that thanks! Our two do a bit of that but not quite so manic, that would certainly work any treats off! Many thanks ;D
-
Just found this Amanda congratulations, we have a Shetland just now too for Katie to ride .her name is Peggy and she has had laminitis so we have to be very careful about letting her get to much grass in fact she spent most of the summer just wandering around the drive and yard and still found enough to eat. When she was eventually allowed into the big field she was only out for a few hours with a muzzle on.
Every morning as she goes out I feel her feet to see if there is any heat in them as this is one of the first signs of laminitis.
When Katie was younger we had a miniature who drove, his little cart and harness came from Robinsons.
-
Thanks Anne, I'm just getting used to the concept of starving such big animals, they look like they should eat lots to be that strong. Think I'll get our farrier neighbour over to check on them although was told that was done recently, but as laminitis seems such a problem think there's no harm in checking. :thinking:
Thanks for the swan info too :thumbsup:
-
For jode
I drive mine in a wilkie snaffle and a jointed butterfly bit
Hope this helps
Louise
-
I have one mini Shetland at 33.5" tall. I bought him when he was weaned because I loved him. He is now 8 years old and I play about with him, walk him, have him as lead rein sometimes for my friends kids and now I work him in a pack saddle. Look up Journeyman Leather, Shetland and look at their klibbers, that is what I use with hay nets to fill with items. I take my winter fuel (peats and coal) home. e is my best buddy more than anything though.
I also have 6 (7 soon) standard Shetlands. I ride my 40" gelding, yes I'm light enough for him, and will be breaking the others into work too. I've broken in my stallion to work this summer, took to it like a pro.
I also trim their hooves myself, have to, so if you need any advice just pop a pm through.
-
Thank you!
Our two girls are doing very well and keeping very well too. They are better than our flock of sheep at keeping the grass down and we've been paranoid about lamanitis which we seem to have escaped so far. One had a bit of bother with her eye which we flushed with contact lense saline and it righted in a couple of days, other than that no problems yet. I do like these girls, very useful and economic to keep :D
-
Hi have minihorses and shetlands noticed your in Scottish Borders there myself ...shetlands great but are diff. than your normal horse watch what treats you give them and watch out for some feeds just dont agree with them.They tend to live off nothing so do try to keep them on limited graze ..just love my boys always there waiting at gate for me in the morning ;D
-
Oh thanks wizard1, yes they are very helpful beasts, they get the odd carrot but only about once a week when I tell them what good helpful girls they are :D We have an electric fence up which they obviously respect as we didn't realise for ages that it actually wasn't on ::) . They do like a chat with the pygmy goats across the fence though, probably discussing being small I should think.
-
Congratulations, Shetland are fab - I am desperately trying to avoid looking at ibidder for the Lerwick sale today, although the pony I really want is at Thainstone on Monday. We have one delightful shetland, my boys ride him and I have broken him to drive and am working on him pulling farm stuff. I'd also love some klibbers. Loads of excellent advice above, can't stress the importance of restricted grazing, especially in terms of quality, enough. We are just at Yetholm, so if you want to come for a visit and a shetland chat, or wanted me to come over, it would be lovely to meet you.
-
Thanks Mowhaugh, I might go walking in Yetholm quite soon in the October hols - it's very pretty at Yetholm - did a walk there with my kids in the summer, it was boiling, we did a famous 5 walk with ginger beer and iced buns, kids were just about passing out with the heat by the end though :D I'll post if the weather is good and give you a visit, otherwise if you fancy an afternoon off and a cuppa around mid October sometime you would be more than welcome here, we're an old mill and it's quite an experience. We have friends in Yetholm at Lochside, they have a lovely place and part own the loch. :wave: