[goosepimple]

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.

[jaykay]

Ha, how exciting 

And the photos are where.......?

[Mammyshaz]

Great news, look forward to hearing about them. Really need to see them now. Piccies please 

[LouiseG]

Congratulations    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 

[lachlanandmarcus]

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!

[Roxy]

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.

[sabrina]

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.

[goosepimple]

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 

[lachlanandmarcus]

You could divide up with temporary electric to strip graze it, maybe?  Good grazing can be a death sentence for these horses 

[sabrina]

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.

[goosepimple]

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.

[lachlanandmarcus]

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.

[sabrina]

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.

[goosepimple]

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.

[lachlanandmarcus]

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!