Anyone who owns mini shetlands/ horses? - some advice nee

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justjb

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hi everyone anybody have minis?
I'm struggling to cope with mine on livery - how do you turn yours out? with the bigger horses or do you have your own allocated field the size of postage stamp? my field is currently just mud and although they need to go out with my work they have to be stood in the mud 6 till 6!
should I look maybe look for a field to rent (two are in foal) but how do u cope with weight issue through spring and summer?
really losing the will to know what best for them they were living out last summer but ended up very obese when I bought them back in December :s
any advice would be a help - sorry it's so long
thanks x
 
I keep mine at home.

They are never, ever turned out with any of the bigger horses (much to their disgust) a playful kick from a big horse is enough to break them permanently.

Grazing depends on the time of year and what paddocks I have available. in winter they can go out in any of the paddocks if they are empty, there is no grass here so i don't have to worry about that.

Summer/Spring/Fall - they are in a quarter acre paddock which has virtually no grass at all, they balloon just sniffing grass. I will not risk them getting laminitis. They have hay all year round.

A quarter acre sounds tiny, but then so are the ponies at 32" and 34", they hooley around there quite happily.

Re: standing in mud all day, I'd be looking for somewhere else for them to be honest, make small paddocks and have sheep, horses to eat it down first, or mow it.
 
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Now I'm the opposite to Enfys....mine have been out with everything from tiny to huge!
One of mine is currently "nanny" to the yearling and two year olds....and he rules with an iron hoof!!!
 
Mine are at home too. The 2 minis go out with the 2 youngsters who are not a great deal bigger than them, the 3yo is 11hh and the 2yo is 10hh. My bigger ponies are in a separate part. I strip graze in the summer and the little ones sort of follow the bigger ones up the field. The bigger ponies eat the grass down for a bit then when they move up the little ones go on to where the big ones were. There have been times when they have broken the elec fence and all got in together. They seem to get on ok but my New Forest mare can be a bit of a bully, she's only 13.2hh herself but I still worry about if she kicked one of the minis what damage she might do. So I try to keep them separate.
 
The mini I had for my Grandson was kept at livery, he started out in a tiny patch behind the stables and then was moved into a 'proper' paddock with two other ponies. One was elderly and poorly sighted and mini chap was very good with him, almost like a guide pony to him! The other pony was quite young and they played together.

He had previously been turned out very happily with a group of (horse) mares without any problems.

Shortly before he left he realised the electric fence was no longer working and used to slither through the fence to join the main group of horses and again never came to any harm.

The biggest problem with him was having fencing low enough, when I wanted to move him into a different paddock I would have to put my own electric fencing up extra to what was already there.

If some of yours are in foal you probably wouldn't want them out with other horses though.

If you can find a field to rent that sounds your best option. I don't think many livery yards are geared up for minis, they are just to small!!
 
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thanks for the repiles I have never put them woth big horses due to playful kicks and at our DIY yard everything is in together in a 10acre field mares one day then geldings the next hence why I have a little field to myself but it a 3rd of the size of a standard school I am now going to start looking for a field to rent as one is a stallion so not many yard would take us all! :/ at least with a field to rent I could tape off places where I need to!
thanks everyone a little bit of thinking to be done :)
 
I have 4 mini shets and 3 horses, they do all go out together in autumn & winter but the minis have 2 small rotational paddocks in spring & summer and sometimes have to be muzzled in these due to lammi risks. They all come off the grass for the night & have hay/haylage, feed as necessary. In bad weather they all share the sandschool for turnout.
 
I am on a livery yard and have allocated fields to myself. They have never and will never be turned out with large horses. Too dangerous in my eyes and not worth the risk. I have about an acre to do with however i wish. Inky ( my showing stallion ) is grazed on a patch the size of a tennis court in summer along with my mini gelding, so in summer weight is not an issue. My stallion is also worked quite hard through the summer so that helps. The rest of the field is left for the grass to grow over summer and once the show season is over (around oct ) both are turned out in the other part of the field for the whole of winter where they live out 24/7. They are then left to get fat and hairy!!
 
I have two minis. In winter they are turned out in a big field with big horses. Never had any issues. In the summer they go into a tiny paddock on their own.
 
This is why I will never allow minis to mix with big horses, Charley was fortunate to survive this attack when he was a yearling. He is however, the most excellent 'nanny' to the QH weanlings and although he can walk underneath them he takes no messing from them.

DSCF3599.jpg


I know lots of people mix them successfully, it just doesn't work for me, but then I don't mix the sexes either.

This is the pony paddock marked in black:

scan0001-2.jpg
 
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Mine are at home too. Three minis and three biggies. They are a stable herd and are fine together. One of the mini mares actually rules the roost most of the time. :D None of the herd are shod either.
I would be very wary of turning them out with big horses if we were on livery I must admit.
 
Hello, I've got 4 minis. Although they have previously lived with my 14.3 mare and a 12h pony I wouldn't personally put them out with other 'unknowns' on a livery yard.
My little ones are now kept together at home (woodland ponies!) There is little grass so they are fed hay and have about 2.5 acres in total.
 
Hello!
I have one miniature shetland. She is a 33" mare and is 16 years old. Previously, I have kept her on a very small amount of grass. Probably only a 0.3 acres paddock. This doesn't sound much, but considering how rich the grass is, it is enough for her. Recently, I have moved our two sheep in with her and she is in a paddock that is more than twice the size. I don't have the mud problem because I only have one pony, but I would definitely move your ponies off the mud because of dangerous problems it could cause the ponies medically. If you can rent a paddock, it would be a good idea although be careful of sudden change if they are in foal! In the spring/summer, it would be a good idea to exercise them. I take my pony for walks, jump her and lunge her. In this time of year, you may want to think about strip grazing. I really hope this helps and, most of all, good luck!
 
I have two mini girls 2 yrs, they have their own space bar escape missions! I invested in 20 (should have been 30) sheep hurdles so I can move their pen around the field to suit, money well spent! They come in at night all year with a small amount of hay.
 
i have a mini who is kept at home and turned out with my elderley mare. She has in the past been in a small section alone but i prefer them to be together as they get on really well ,mini is in charge so restrict grazing and move fence daily and muzzle if needed. Would not turn out with lots of large horses.
 
My mini is out with my horses, but they are in a settled herd. I wouldn't put him out with a more changeable herd or with horses I didn't entirely trust. I got a fright once when he went out with a gelding of questionable behaviour in the field. One kick and he was down in the ground badly winded.

All mine are fatties so they are all on a track system with minimal grass April-November. The mini requires a muzzle in addition to this as he can get his head under the fence and get extra grass.

I have mine at home, I don't know how I would cope on a standard livery set up
 
Mine lives at home, sharing a field with a 14hh.
Not too many problems, she will sometimes wear a grazing muzzle in the summer, but that's it. Gets hay, as the field turns to muck in winter - other horse is fed, and she will be too, if she shows any sign of dropping weight.

They get on very well with each other - share from the bucket if you let them! However big pony doesn't quuiiittte seem to consider mini a horse.
 
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I have two standard Shetlands rather than minis but they are small ones. They live out with my 4 yr old 16hh. At first I was a little worried about them being together and play does look a little rough some times but the only one who's ever come in with any type of cuts is the big guy, ponies not so much as a scratch....

I wouldn't however feel comfortable turning them out with a bunch of horses at a livery yard. Mine are at home and I can separate them if they get a bit chubby, they are handy for keeping the grass short along the driveway to the yard and the bank around the school. I also have a track around part of the field which I plan to extend.

I wouldn't keep them in mud so I think you are right to look for somewhere else
 
I have 2 minis and 2 14 2's they all live out together, in the summer they are all on a smallish paddock from March right through until about 2 weeks ago.
I spent a few months on a livery yard once, I only had one mini at the time and 1 horse, my horse protected my mini from all the others, they weren't allowed within about 5m of him, it was like he had an invisible no go zone. My horse got a fair battering protecting him, but the little one could escape the the others under the electric fence round the field edge.
 
This summer I rescued a mini with overgrown feet, one hoof deformed, he was 30" and a little dude, in the field he was fine, but in the barn a nightmare, even with sore feet after his trim, he would kick out at my horses, I rehomed him and the night before he went, I caught him hanging from my 17hh's neck, I had to admire his attitude though
 
I have quite a few shetlands - I also have a few big horses. I don't keep mine mixed together, but in separate fields. We have however sold a few (we're a very small stud) to homes with big horses. Some big horses are not safe with shetlands, some are. Some small sheltands could not cope with being in with bigs, others can. It all depends on the individuals.

We're not on livery, we rent privately, so fencing isn't an issue - we've done what suits the ponies.
 
I used to have 3 minis, (2 colts and a stallion) turned out with my 2 geldings who have a very high play drive. The only reason I ended up separating them was due to the minis getting a little fat, so they ended up in a small paddock of their own a little larger than a tennis court.
When they were all together, thy all used to pile into one 12 x 12 stable when the weather was foul outside without any bother (surprisingly).
 
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