Recent content by varkie

Another with a Lownthwaite Fell here - mine came from the Lownthwaite stud as a just about halter broken weanling, and has been given the acronym Wysiwyg as a stable name, as she's exactly that - there's no hidden agenda, she is exactly what you see. Over the years I've brought on loads of...

I breed shetlands, so have experience of feeding a wide variety of the breed. If they are a good weight, and have no other health issues, they should not need a hard feed for weight purposes, but I would advise providing them with vits/mins in some form or other - either as a block or a very...

I have shetlands, and it is now relatively easy to buy a harness for smaller ponies. I have been buying harness for the last couple of years for shetlands. Zilco is available in all sizes, including the smallest at quite a number of retailers now. I do buy mine from someone in the channel...

Check out any driving clubs in your area, as many clubs run training, and you may well be able to go along and learn a little from watching lessons, and then have a chat with the trainer about taking your pony along to be assessed as a potential driver. The club local to me always welcomes...

Yes, I went. Some interesting trends. We picked up one colt, who wasn't popular with the majority of bidders, which I was very grateful for! For us, he will be a driving prospect for the future. Some very nice ponies, some good prices. Reading is usually higher than Lerwick or Aberdeen. I...

I'm guessing this is from the non-breed sales, back when Reading ran more general pony sales. All ponies at the Reading Shetland Sales are pretty heavily regulated. All have a proper breed passport with a microchip, so are fully traceable. All are registered and tracked on a database. All...

If anyone is going to Reading and wants any help/advice there, they are welcome to get in touch with me. I shall be planning on definitely going - I always do. The Reading Shetland Sale is exactly as it says though - a sale of registered shetland ponies, mostly sold by breeders. This means...

If someone lived close to me and wanted to borrow one of the shetlands on a short term loan, subject to contract & references, I'd certainly consider it. But I would not be happy to have one in the same stable as a bigger horse that it didn't know - unless I've misunderstood? If that was the...

Deosect is very good. We treat all new ponies with it, and also treat all ponies once a year as a precaution. It is VERY strong stuff, so do a patch test before you use it. Over the years, we have had two ponies react badly to it. So definitely do a patch test. We find the best way to do...

We usually have April foals, but this year we had a challenging foaling year, so we had a bit of a pause between foaling & covering, where we really needed a break, and also to work out whether we were going to do it again next year! We also have a mare in for covering at the moment who only...

Sadly, I have rather too much experience with neurological issues, and have been very unlucky. My first experience was a mare with polyneuritis equi - we lost her within 6 weeks of first symptoms. Deterioration was fast. Symptoms were inability to fully control back end, including peeing...

There is a blood test which will test in late stage of pregnancy, but it's probably easier for the vet just to have a feel. I do breed, and she does look suspiciously round and as if a bag is developing (the lengthening of the ladyparts usually only happens in the last days. But if I've...

For those asking about whether it's the same in horses/ponies, the answer is yes and no. Many stallions are safe around foals, even if not their own, but some are not - some even if it is their own foal. My own stallion is perfect around young foals from birth (even during birth)...

In breeding terms, 16 is not too old, unless the horse has some age-related issues. I think you have to consider the animal as an individual. I have just had PTS a retired broodmare last year, aged 21. She'd been too old to breed for several years before - in appearance, physically and in...

I have taken ponies round the outside of a zoo - the biggest issue used to be the wallabies, which would lay hard up against the fence, and not bounce off until they were almost underneath you. Ponies never used to react to any of the rest of it. I have seen other peoples horses passaging and...