do you ever look at your shetland and think....

NeverEver said:
it makes me really sad, why are so many of them horrors and monsters :( . Why do people let their shetlands bite and kick and generally be rude? Mine all have lovely manners, they wouldn’t dare to bite, barge etc etc (I breed standards). I also have a mini (along the lines of fionwinnies titchy) that my 4 year old son rides and handles who is wonderful. Id have any of them in 16hh. They are like any other horse, you just have to put in the work.
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I think you missed the light-hearted tone. Yes, I did say I would probably be dead which may be an exaggeration but my shetland also has manners, never bites or kicks. I broke him myself, rides all day on or off the leadrein can be handled by children and I also broke him to drive and compete him in leasure classes. I handle and train him in the same way I do my riding horses and he has a pleasure to own, but they are very VERY intelligent creatues and also have a stread of Scottish attitude, you should see mine chasing and kicking the 15hh Arab in the field or squaling and leaping his way around an in-hand class, even though he has entered tons of in-hand before (and won) or deciding he'd is going to rocket out of the field like a greased weasel and run around the yard without being caught.
 
NeverEver said:
it makes me really sad, why are so many of them horrors and monsters :( . Why do people let their shetlands bite and kick and generally be rude? Mine all have lovely manners, they wouldn’t dare to bite, barge etc etc (I breed standards). I also have a mini (along the lines of fionwinnies titchy) that my 4 year old son rides and handles who is wonderful. Id have any of them in 16hh. They are like any other horse, you just have to put in the work.
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Mine is old and has been allowed to get away with what he likes and he thinks he's a princess. He's just very rude and never seems to learn his lessons !!
 
NeverEver said:
it makes me really sad, why are so many of them horrors and monsters :( . Why do people let their shetlands bite and kick and generally be rude? Mine all have lovely manners, they wouldn’t dare to bite, barge etc etc (I breed standards). I also have a mini (along the lines of fionwinnies titchy) that my 4 year old son rides and handles who is wonderful. Id have any of them in 16hh. They are like any other horse, you just have to put in the work.
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Mines not a shetland clearly, but hes not allowed to be rude. I am very flippant about him, because thats just who I am. Hes fab! He has soo many good points I would run out of room to list them, but he is also a pain in the butt! His ground work is very good! He will move over/back/sideways from a finger point, he has the basics of spanish walk that I taught him in 2 sessions and have spent 3 or 4 sessions refining.

But that doesnt change his nature. Anything near him goes in his mouth. We had a session yesterday when I was giving him a really good groom. Every time I put a brush down he picked it up and chucked it. When I moved all the brushes away he started opening the tack trunk and flipping the lid about. When I locked that he started chewing the leadrope and undoing himself. He hasnt done it for a while but hes not opposed to barging at a slow walk if there is food involved. Its not that he doesnt know how to behave, its just that hes super smart and if hes not fully engaged he makes mischief. He can also escape from an electric fenced prison without leaving a trace.

I adore him! Sometimes he drives me mad! But I love how clever and inventive he is and he is such a super happy little chap and when hes on board, which he is almost all of the time, hes amazing! I always say to people hes a massive Shetland pony. He would be a monster in the wrong hands, but I do a lot of work to make sure he isnt :) I think it maybe goes wrong a bit in that people dont spend the time making sure their shetlands are behaving.

Saying all that I had a 32" mini who was amazing! Literally never put a foot wrong, so who knows!
 
I actually think ponies are a bit different to horses - wilier, seem to have people sussed a bit more! That said, my shetland is actually pathetically well behaved, because she believes you'll belt her if she steps out of line. It's actually been nice to have her loosen up a bit and snatch some grass and hedges on walks and let her get away with it. She's got a big heart, actually. If she hadn't been ruined she would have been a wonderful kids pony. As it is she's OK under close supervision but fast movements have her freaking out, so...
 
Yes, I would love both of mine to be 14.2 (because I still like ponies)! They are the cutest, most well behaved boys in the world... The littlest one would be a JA pony for sure, and big little would bumble about at pony club, stealing peoples hats and begging for scratches.
 
NeverEver said:
it makes me really sad, why are so many of them horrors and monsters :( . Why do people let their shetlands bite and kick and generally be rude? Mine all have lovely manners, they wouldn’t dare to bite, barge etc etc (I breed standards). I also have a mini (along the lines of fionwinnies titchy) that my 4 year old son rides and handles who is wonderful. Id have any of them in 16hh. They are like any other horse, you just have to put in the work.
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Where are you based and do you have any older ponies looking for a kind, retirement companion home?
 
Im clipping Ted earlier this year. Left it til he had a full coat last year, and had to trim it with garden shears before I could get the clippers through it!
 
Auslander said:
Im clipping Ted earlier this year. Left it til he had a full coat last year, and had to trim it with garden shears before I could get the clippers through it!
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Same! Last year, it was three inches thick in two different layers, and it all came off in a big Swiss roll.

I never thought she would have an inch already though. Doodie's less fat than I thought she was :D

You've never had Ted a year, have you? That flew by!!
 
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