[Sunnybank]

Hi everyone, 
i am a complete newbie to this part of the forum as we only have sheep at the moment. We are thinking of getting a couple of rescue ponies from the rspca.
we are hoping to move very soon to a rented property that has stables and land. we already have shetland sheep but would like to make use of the extra land and stables 
so my question is how much land is required for 2 ponies?? i hvae been told they like company so looking for two
i am planning to rotate them through the paddocks after the sheep, is this ok
look forward to your replies xx 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Traditionally the answer would be 2 acres for the first horse and an acre for each extra one. However this can be more on clay and less on lovely limestone cotswold well drained land. It also depends if they live out all the time and whether you buy in hay or would be thinking the land would support producing their winter hay (which they will need and which might double the land needed).


On the other side if they are very small ponies, good doers prone to getting fat or ones who have had or prone to laminitis, they may well need to have a small paddock or at least strip graze a bigger one, or wear a muzzle to stop them eating too much or getting laminitis.


What breed and size are they....

[Sunnybank]

we went to look at a shetland 4 years old and am not sure of the other, was described as a while pony 11.2hh  and they are good friends so they would like them to go together

[Sunnybank]

ooops, meant white pony 
here is the link if it works
http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/rehoming/petsearch/details/-/Pet/SPIKE/ref/71332/rehome/

[SallyintNorth]

SB, that ad makes it pretty clear that the white pony needs an experienced home, and one where they can continue to train this 3 year old youngster who sounds rather full of himself.

Reading the ad and between its lines, I don't think I'd recommend him to first-time pony keepers...

[Sunnybank]

Thanks for that Sally, hubby has had horses in the past and so has his sister who lives near by but will be a first for me, he seemed very friendly but we are still in the early stages of looking, he is the size i was thinking off, but will probably be rehomed before we are ready.

[Rosemary]

We keep three native ponies on more or less two acres. We have a paddock paradise - see Jaime Jackson's book about natural horse boarding. We lift droppings every day to keep it clean. The ponies spend some of the day on the track, some in an area of hard standing with access to straw and water and some time loose housed in a barn, depending on the weather.

If the grass gets away from them, we put the sheep in to graze it down.

Our soil is quite light and that particular paddock is well drained.

Ours get fat easily and are prone to laminitis so it's good for them to have restricted grazing. Feeding hay / straw is thought to reduce the risk of grass sickness - and this is a grass sickness hot spot 

[clydesdaleclopper]

Ooh Rosemary I'm jealous. I want a paddock paradise track but can't afford all the fencing yet.

[SallyintNorth]

Ummm... if your hubby is experienced, he'd know how many ponies to the acre...

I'm not saying that to be nasty; I am genuinely concerned that the pony you have picked out sounds like a one that really needs a very experienced home - and I mean one that has broken in multiple ponies, including ones with 'problems', not just someone that has had a pony in the past.  I would not count myself as experienced enough to take on that particular pony, despite having helped at stables throughout my life and having had my own ponies for 6 years now.

I'd have thought that in the current climate there would be plenty of ponies needing homes, either being rehomed through the charities or available on loan, so you should take your time and take care to pick a couple that will be easy to manage for your first time.

Are you planning to ride the ponies or do you just want to give a couple a nice life and enjoy having them around?

[Sunnybank]

hi Sally,
dont worry i an not thinking of having the white pony, i was just saying he was the size i had looked at as lachlanandmarcus had asked what breed i was looking at.
we havent even moved yet and it might all fall through. we went to the RSPCA as it was local to us and had a variety of horses to look at, and gave us a good idea as to how big different horses were.
i do not want to ride but my son might, but mainly would just like a couple to have around.
i dont know enough yet about horses and therefore i am asking questions

[ellied]

1. Yes you'd have to get minimum 2 ponies, one alone is not fair to it as they're herd animals and you would end up with problems if it depended solely on you for company.

2. I'd usually go with the graze rotation of cattle first, equines second, sheep third and then rest - that's based on the natural grass length preferred/required by the eating habits of each species.  Think of jaw size as an indicator   Cattle wrap tongues around long grass that ponies would just take tops off and trample as they went.  Ponies are best on shorter grass but not bare as they can end up ingesting sand/soil and colicking if it's too close cropped and they need the growing leaf to get full benefit digestively but not under any circumstances fertilised long grass such as you'd put cattle on new.  Sheep crop closer to the ground than either of the others and are great at tidying the look of the land, including some weeds the others would leave.

Without the cattle you would still normally keep the same order of sheep after ponies as they tidy up long areas that ponies leave and the cross grazing reduces worm burdens to both species.  However if you took on a laminitic prone pony then yes maybe sheep first ponies after, but I'd recommend you avoid a lami pony as a first one because it's not a beginner level management issue and can be very expensive if you get in difficulty and don't spot things quick enough.

3. As for acreage you don't say how much you have available or how many sheep are on it already or what is in other use or buildings are available if required.  For 2 wee ponies alone I'd say anything over 2 acres on rotation with a few sheep would work fine.  A huge sheep paddock would be dangerously rich.  A rough hill with a hundred sheep and a couple of wee ponies would be ideal for them but take you a long time to do the necessary daily checks unless you're fit and/or have a quad anyway for the sheep   I wouldn't put them on the whole thing whether it's 2 acres or 20, but fenced into sections and rotated, perhaps opening up the gates to make a bigger area in winter to minimise poaching.  But as I say there is not enough detail in your post to be more precise

[lachlanandmarcus]

Agree with ellie D, the welfare rules for horses (5 freedoms) specify that they must have company of their own kind. Clearly that doesn't always happen eg if an oldie dies and there is a gap before a new companion but it should never be the case from the outset and should be as temporary as possible.

[Sunnybank]

thanks everyone, the house we are hoping to rent for 2 years. has 10 acres, 6 stables and yard, sheep sheds and hay barn, there is one 8 acre field and 2 smaller paddocks of an acre each. we have a dozen shetland sheep with a ram and his companion arriving in October.


its still early days and wouldnt be getting any horses straight away,


What breeds would you recommend for a beginner, and nothing too big.


i might just decide to get a few more sheep 

[ellied]

I wouldn't go for a breed specifically, if rehoming rescues I'd focus on size, age, prior handling, health etc and get something you are going to enjoy learning with rather than the one that looked pretty or sad or.. all the things that a visit to a rehoming centre can lead to you taking home as a mistake!

Few questions/assumptions:
1. Are you sure you only want pets, no ridden, driven or other work?  If so go for 10-12 hands high, of native type (ie easier to manage, cheaper to feed, doesn't need specialist care).  I personally wouldn't recommend a shetland or purebred welsh or exmoor as a first pony for you, but partbreds and coloured cobby types or other winter hairies that won't cost you a fortune in rugs and supplements and mixes.

2. Age wise I would avoid both youngsters and OAPs as both have specific needs in terms of experience and costs for an oldie can be high once you're into age related normal conditions let alone anything else.  Ideal would be somewhere between 8-16, old enough to be mature and have some mileage you can learn from, but not so old you're facing its demise before you get a few years pleasure. 

3. Healthwise avoid anything with a history of laminitis, sweet itch or lameness issues.  Any of these will cost you in time, money and make life more complicated than a novice needs handle.  Avoid also any behavioural issues (biting, kicking, cribbing, windsucking, rearing whether caused by mistreatment or inexperience) and I'm afraid that may rule out a large number of animals at a rehoming centre as the majority are rehomed for reasons of difficulty and cost or age. 

There will be a few that pass the above 3 issues and among those look for two that get on, are of similar size/age though not necessarily that close.  Geldings are sometimes quieter than mares which can be seasonally hormonal but that isn't always true on either side.  Ask questions and take someone more experienced with you if you can.  Someone off the board even if you don't have friends with ponies that know what they're looking at (as opposed to just riding).

I have to say do as I advise, not what I did in my day I was terrible for taking on rescues, rehabs, strays, waifs and misc "projects" but I'm more sensible now!  One mare I took on at 7 my vet said "only a vet or an idiot would take this on" and he was right and I'm not a vet!  And I had plenty experience but even so..  You'd probably be better getting more sheep, but hey, nobody's perfect so go for it and just be as careful to choose with your head as much as with your heart even if you can't make it a totally objective head driven choice the more sense there is, the less stress and cost and regret to deal with!

And I'd rotate them between the 2 one acre paddocks, sheep before or behind depending on their weight/condition.  If you can get an early hay or haylage crop off the 8 acre and put sheep on after, you'll save costs, maybe let the ponies run there over winter to rest the small paddocks and reduce winter feeding costs.  If the yard is or can be enclosed by gates etc, use it rather than stables as another way of limiting grazing when/if the ponies are too well covered and/or for winter alternative to the big field in really bad weather, with stable doors tied back so they can go in and out, probably they'll share one by choice but may prefer to be out than in.

Major sheep shed/haybarn/stable envy, I've 10 acres and an open handling barn, top half of which lost its roof under snow a couple winters ago!  But I've no sheep and more ponies than I recommend you get into!

[Sunnybank]

Thanks for that Ellied, very helpful. think i have decided to stick with sheep - its that time of year soon when lambs will be for sale, might even rent the stables out to my sister in law - enjoyment but no responsibility as she has had horses before