Getting a shetland, what kind of cost and other questions

[Field04]

I am thinking of getting a sheland to keep my pony company. I have my own land but only keep my pony there for part of the year, the rest he is on livery. Now I want to keep him full time at home with a little one for company.

The problem is if I want to then take my pony on holiday without the shetland for a week, would that be possible.

Also how much should a shetland cost? I have seen one I like but she is 16 and £650 personally I think this is expensive for its age, but again it is a good childs pony.

What are peoples experiences of having two ponies when they only want to take one out does this cause a huge problem?

Thanks

 

[Wheels]

Well it depends on the pony whether he or she will be ok on their own for any great length of time. I recently had a similar dilemma so ended up buying 2 shetlands to accompany my youngster so nobody would be on their own.

As I never wanted them for riding I bought 2 five yr olds from a breeder, they aren't big enough for what she bred them for so she was happy for them to go to a good home for a couple of hundred pounds.

They dont really eat much compared to the bigger one, small amounts of hay, they get a little balancer and that does them. My farrier charges trims them 2 for the price of one and they can share a wormer. Even the dentist knocked me a bit off for each pony.

They are such characters I wouldn't be without them

 

[Polotash]

Make sure you consider the differing grass requirements... if yours needs grass don't get a shettie, get something which can take the same grass. Otherwise you'll be penning/ stabling the shetland to stop it getting laminitus which defeats the object of a companion!

I wouldn't want to pay for one either, contact a rescue and offer a companion home for a pony. Means you have back up if your circumstances changed too (like if you wanted to go back onto livery).

WRT to leaving one behind, you just need to get them used to being seperated frequently. If you take yours out riding and leave the other being regularly you should be ok.

 

[staceyn]

I would say if your going to leave the Shetland on its own just buy two Shetlands so there is never a horse on its own you can pick them up for like £25 upwards depends what you want I wouldn't be paying more then £200 for one though .

 

[Jools1234]

speak to good rescue places they will give you idea what a shetland will need, fencing can be an issue as can reduced grazing, as others have said shetland can go back if circumstances change too

 

[suestowford]

I've got a Shetland X as a companion. YES to the above poster who said they need restricted grazing, mine definitely does but I can keep the two ponies in adjacent strips of field so they still play together even though their grass intake is different.
Costs are not dissimilar to a bigger pony, i.e. vet visits & injections cost the same. He does need less wormer though than a big horse. And I don't feed him much as he does well enough on the little grass he gets. He grows a huge thick winter coat so no rugging, and he loves people so isn't any trouble when the other pony goes out.
The biggest problem we've had with him is boredom, these little ponies can be very active mentally and really need time spending on them, and a job to do, otherwise they are very talented at thinking up mischief!

 

[POLLDARK]

I shouldn't worry about the age as Shetlands can often live into their 30s & beyond.

 

[poiuytrewq]

What about a little pony from somewhere like the Blue Cross? They do special deals with companions and pay something towards them tho' I'm not sure on the details.
Be a little careful, I got a Shitland last year to keep one of ours company but in fact he just beats the living day lights out of the poor thing and I have to keep them separate anyway so basically I have a pet pony who is absolutely useless and sometimes hard work!

 

[poiuytrewq]

I shouldn't worry about the age as Shetlands can often live into their 30s & beyond.

This statement makes me shiver.....I could still be chasing the hairy monster round when I an a grandma!

 

[ponypilotmum]

This statement makes me shiver.....I could still be chasing the hairy monster round when I an a grandma!

I'm nearly old enough to be a grandma and STILL chasing round my eldest's first ridden. It was elderly when we got it! No-one seems quite sure how ancient it is (it's got to be almost 40) , but the older it gets the grumpier it gets and oddly the stronger it gets. An arthritic trying to rug up 8hh of arthritic is not a good combination.

 

[Inchy]

I have two shetland companions..

1: picked up my little 2yr old shetland at a market for £40. She is a companion to one of my bigger horses! She lives in her grazing muzzle during the day comes in at night. In the summer she'll have a tiny starvation paddock at night, muzzled and out with the bigg'ns in the day. The main problem I have as with other that have shetlands and mini's is she's a bu#*er for escaping - mains powered electric fencing does not conern her!

2:I was given my other one when he retired, he's 32 now and keeps my old pony company - both love out 24/7 have similar requirements, and grass is delt with via muzzles/strip grazing/ starvation paddocks. He's very good and doesn't escape!

Neither mind being on their own for a day or two, but for longer I move their field so they're next to my others or my liveries.

 

[catkin]

I have a Shetland on permanent loan as a companion to my Sec D, which works well as they both need to watch their waistlines and need similar management.
The little one obviously doesn't eat as much but don't underestimate the costs for everything else, basically most things cost the same - trimming, teeth, jabs etc. As well-fitting tack and equipment for the tinies is hard to find it can often be quite expensive too.
As mine is a companion I consider it important that she lives in the same routine as my ridden pony, including being stabled at night (not that Sheltie minds the indoor life.......)
With regard to separation when one horse is being ridden, we make sure that whoever is left behind has plenty of hay to eat and after a few sessions they accept that the other one is returning. We also take the sheltie out for a little walk which has been fab training for my Welshie.

 

[kerrieberry2]

mine cost us next to nothing! we got them for free as their owner couldn't look after so many anymore!

they costs £20 each a month in livery! they live in one field with no much grass all year and have a shelter, so don't need rugs!

one had an abscess the other other day, so farrier came out and cost me £10 for him to sort it, then one roll of vet wrap was enough to poultice his foot for a few days!

I think we've been really really lucky with ours! they've not suffered with lami in the past, so they are alright with the grass, they have a tiny bit of hay but tend to walk off and leave it after a while!

BUT they will not be left on their own, they get very very upset! one of them gets upset when you take any other horse out of the field even if she still has the other shetties with her! she's very clingy! and the other one is a little monster to catch! but I love them, they are the best things ever!

 

[Kokopelli]

Don't forget you need very good fencing as well as they can fit under anything. Other than that they're relatively cheap to keep just be warned the majority I gave come across are severely overweight and have atrocious manners as they are kept as pets so may need a bit of groundwork.

 

[splashgirl45]

just looked on world horse welfare web site and they have lots of companion ponies including some shetlands. might be worth a call to see if they have anything that would be suitable for you...

 

[varkie]

The cost of a shetland can vary between free & well up into four figures - there are lots of factors at play for price - registration, age, sex, colour, breeding, show history, backed, etc. You need to decide what factors are important to you, then a budget is easier to suggest!

As someone else has said, they can be tricky companions to bigger horses, as they don't have the same requirement for grazing as the bigger horses, so will need restricting in some way, otherwise they will get laminitis. So if your big horse can have fairly unrestricted grazing, you need to work out whether you will muzzle, stable or restrict grazing - or all three!

It is very difficult to say whether or not your shetland could live alone if you took your big horse away. I have some of mine (I have a lot of shetlands!) who could be left alone, but most couldn't. It would be better if this were a regular thing, to have two shetlands. That or find a yard/neighbour who would either lend you a pony or take your pony during this time.

Fencing does need to be good for shetlands - what keeps a big horse in will not necessarily contain a shetland. They are bright, and ideally placed to find gaps, and quite happy to squeeze through.

Basic running costs of shetlands are the same - vaccinations, trimmer, etc. But feed, wormer, hay, etc tends to be cheaper.

 

[HollyWoozle]

If you have the space and can afford it then I would say to get two so that they aren't left alone (but of course that depends on how much land you have and if you can afford to maintain them). Definitely take one from a charity if you can - there are several on World Horse Welfare and other sites and they are desperate to make room for other needy horses. They can also give you excellent advice on how to look after them.

I have a cheeky shettie that I was actually given by a lovely lady on here. He is a bigger shetland (10hh+) and normal post and rail fencing is more than enough to keep him in. He is a delight to have around and very cheap to run with just a bit of hay and a tiny amount of hard feed (really just to give him something to do whilst the others are eating). He is never sick or sorry and doesn't care less about the cold, mud, rain etc. He can be a bit naughty for the farrier but we use a handheld lickit thingy and that keeps him entertained whilst he is trimmed.

He lives out with a 12.2hh, 16hh and a 16.2hh with no problems. In the summer he is usually on restricted grazing with the 12.2 but this year our grass was pretty poor and he stayed out in the main field without issue.

Everyone loves him... my boyfriend is particularly smitten!

ETA: The man in the photo is my brother, not my boyfriend!!