Miniature Horses/Shetland ponies HELP!

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shelley8697

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I'm starting to think that I'm a looney!

After selling my Welsh Cob in October, I took two months off to have a good think/look around at horses to buy. I have just spend a lot of money buying a 15.3hh 6yo ISH, who is lovely, three weeks ago, but I feel that I may have make another mistake :-(

However, I keep coming back to Miniature Horses and shetlands that have been a passion of mine since I can remember, I constantly dream of having a miniature yard, with stallions, mares, foals to show, breed and drive.

Does anybody have an ideal why I always end up reverting back to riding horses instead of following my dream and hanging up my riding gloves? I did buy a miniature a few years ago, but he turned out to be a s**t so I didn't keep him.

I am experienced in driving and showing an love both, but seem to want to try and make myself jump and ride, which hand on heart I don't enjoy?

Horses have always been about the caring of them side for me. Never the riding....

Can anyone offer advice or tell me about your experiences of owning mini's etc.
 
A few thoughts:
1) not everyone learns in the same way. For some people a couple of months off thinking might lead them to know what they want. For others it is trial and error. You might just be one of the latter.
BUT
2) three weeks is barely any time at all, especially in this season/weather if you're trying to fit riding in around a job. You might find it takes much longer to bond with and really enjoy your new horse.

3) if you get rib of little ones because they are 's***'s then you may never own one long enough to breed! Seriously, a combination of getting away with things because they are small & cute, boredom with no real work to do and imagination can leave you with quite a handful. Driving them might well help but I wouldn't expect them to arrive well-behaved!

4) Whatever you decide to do your first responsibility is to either provide or find a good home for you new horse.

5) Maybe ask about helping out with some little ones at your local RS in the mean-time? Most RSs/RDA places need leaders and mucker-outers and have a few little ones. That way you get to 'try before you buy'.
 
I think there is such a pressure of if you own a horse, you should ride it. I always felt when I had Benson he should be ridden almost every day,there was always the question, what are you doing with him this weekend, next weekend etc etc, and I always felt quite bad when he didnt get ridden. Now, I have a 12.2hh sec b and am having so much fun with him, I have no pressure to ride him, I would absolutely squash him!
Go with your dream, if you want to hang up your gloves, do it. You will end up resenting a horse that you feel you have to ride, not that you want to ride. xx
 
Hi Shelley, I know where you are coming from. I did the same, sold my gorgeous quarter X Tb mare as I just didnt enjoy riding anymore, it was becoming a chore and wasnt fair on her not being ridden, but I liked the looking after side. So I sold her to a lovely home and bought some miniature horses, I have had 2 gorgeous foals from them last year and it is rewarding bringing on the babies and looking after all 5 of them now. More work than with one, but I dont have to find the time to ride too now.

You must have unlucky with the little one you had, mine are all very sweet and easy and not little s**ts at all.
 
We have a fabulous pair of 32" palomino minis we drive. They are fantastic in every way. Have bigger horses too but these guys are my passion. They are fast & can completely fly round cones. They drive out on the roads, or will go cross country, willingly splashing through water, etc. We can box them anywhere, love to be kept busy, but can be left months without work & put straight back into harness. I have never driven them without smiling! Best thing I ever did was to follow my heart with them!

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If you don't feel like riding, then there is no reason to do it! Riding is supposed to be fun, not a chore!

I have a little mini companion and he is very well behaved. They can be very naughty but if you treat them with the respect due small horses and put some time into their training then they can be as well behaved as any horse. Ours runs around the fields with the horses as I don't have much time to do anything extra with him, but driving or long reining work could be really good fun!
 
I'm the opposite. I bought my minis because I thought I would be happy just caring for horses. I hadn't ridden for 20 years but soon realised I wanted to and bought a larger horse. I still have the minis, a palomino mare and her palomino foal (now 3-years-old) and the foal's gelded sire. I love them to bits. I know Shetties have a bad reputation but mine are the kindest creatures you can imagine, very gentle and affectionate. The youngster, despite my lack of experience, has grown to be just as well behaved as her parents. She comes to call, is great with the farrier and loves coming for long walks on a lead rein.

I'd say that if you dream of owning a mini stud then go for it. You only live once.
 
i have a minature filly .we got her as a companion for my bigger horse but she is handled daily is well mannered and loves going for walks round the village and jumping in the field . if i had more time i would definatley show her and she is so confident and brave absolutley nothing phases her . if you love the caring and general fuss of being around horses they are wonderful .
 
shelley8697 said:
I'm starting to think that I'm a looney!

After selling my Welsh Cob in October, I took two months off to have a good think/look around at horses to buy. I have just spend a lot of money buying a 15.3hh 6yo ISH, who is lovely, three weeks ago, but I feel that I may have make another mistake :-(

However, I keep coming back to Miniature Horses and shetlands that have been a passion of mine since I can remember, I constantly dream of having a miniature yard, with stallions, mares, foals to show, breed and drive.

Does anybody have an ideal why I always end up reverting back to riding horses instead of following my dream and hanging up my riding gloves? I did buy a miniature a few years ago, but he turned out to be a s**t so I didn't keep him.

I am experienced in driving and showing an love both, but seem to want to try and make myself jump and ride, which hand on heart I don't enjoy?

Horses have always been about the caring of them side for me. Never the riding....

Can anyone offer advice or tell me about your experiences of owning mini's etc.
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First of all you need to think about whether you want a miniature horse/shetland or a larger horse, then you need to decided if its minis your after which type you want, either miniature horse OR miniature shetland as they are shown etc totally different.
I used to have larger horses but after my last horse died i decided i didnt want to ride anymore but still wanted to have horses. I now have a miniature shetland gelding and a miniature horse stallion. I prefer the miniature horses to the shetlands but that justs my preferance.
I never intended on doing anything with my horses other than local shows but ive got into it BIG TIME!! I only show my miniature horse but ive enjoyed this so much ive made it a full time hobby. We travel all over the country showing and he has won some major prizes.
They may be small but if your serious about wanting to show etc.. then you really do need to put work into them. many think they are not time consuming but if you want to win prizes the effort is needed. In summer mine get exercised 5-6 times a week, half hr to and hour a time to keep him tip top condition. AND miniature horses need to be shown clipped so mine is clipped before nearlly every show which is time consuming in itself!
This winter im breaking him to drive so hopefully will be able to get out there doing some driving too soon!!!
If you want to breed, show etc you need to research your minis to get what you want. Good minis are more expensive than people think and for a top mini you are talking thousands. There are many people out there wanting a fortune for minis that, well to put politley are cr*p! They pray on people who dont know what they are looking for and take advantage.
You need to bear in mind that minis need specialised diets/ grazing/ fencing requirements. Not to bad if you ahve your own place but finding a yard that will accomodate their needs can be hard. Im lucky to have where i have.

I have so much fum with my minis i dont think ill ever go back to larger horse and i had them for 25 years!! PM me if you want more info... in the mean time any excuse to post some pics to wet your appetite!!!

My shetty Ty

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My Miniature horse Inky

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Edited to add.... the showing season will be starting soon. Why not come to some shows and see how you feel??? We ahve shows specifiaclly for the minis with over 100 classes so youll get to see just a few!!!!
 
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Sorry to hijack thread but where are the shows for Minis please Stinkbomb? Would love to go to some.
Your ponies are stunning!
 
Thankyou!!

The show schedules are not out properly yet but if you keep an eye on these websites they will be updated shortly..

http://mhcgb.net/

http://www.imhps.com/

http://www.aemhs.com/home.html

http://www.bmhs.co.uk/

We also have classes at Ponies UK, Royal london and other county shows such as warrington, bedforshire, some in Wales, three counties etc...

The breed classes are usually either at Arena UK, Stretcholt equestrian in Somerset, Onley equestrian near Rugby and Moulton college in northampton.

The first MHCGB show is 16 and 17th April at Onley equestrian and will have over 100 classes :)
 
Wow, lovely looking minis....

I have been researching Shetland and mini horses for as long as I can remember. I have seen them at local shows and one year at HOYS.

Thing is, every time I think I want to make the change I get cold feet!

I have planned and planned, everything from converting my trailer to take mini's and also a carriage and mini pairs. To wishing I had a piece of land to build a prefect miniature stable block....

I would love to show and breed. But all my friends are competition riders and I'm at livery, they don't understand why I have a passion for them :-(

I need to have some experiences with them. I was originally looking for a driving pair of shetlands. :-)
 
Stretcholt only runs BMHS registered shows so not all minis can show there but they will soon have some HOYS qualifiers on!! :) However you wont find shetland here, only miniature horses.
IMHPS shows and MHCGB shows run shetland classes along with miniature horses!

At most breed shows we have other fun classes such as jumping, driving, long reining classes, liberty and obstacle. Its not all serious!
 
Stinkbomb, how did you know where to buy your first? I would love a proper mini, but there seems to be a huge degree of horses/types/breeding. When I first started researching back in the 80's, I met Falabella's, since then there has been an explosion of different types????
 
shelley8697 said:
Stinkbomb, how did you know where to buy your first? I would love a proper mini, but there seems to be a huge degree of horses/types/breeding. When I first started researching back in the 80's, I met Falabella's, since then there has been an explosion of different types????
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To be honest i didnt know!! I didnt do alot of research and didnt know anyone who had them so i went with my gut instinct and dropped lucky!. I bought Inky before he left his mum and picked him up after weaning. There is a vast degree of types as you say. There are also many registers that not all minis are elligible for. For instance if you wanted to get to HOYS or RIHS you can ONLY do that with a BMHS registered or elligable mini. However there are many societied such as MHCGB and IMHPS that cater for ALL types and you can register any mini ( height permitting ) even with unknown parentage.
Minis are not classes as a breed but a "type" they vary from "hack" "arab" "tb" "refined" to "hunter" "draft" "cob" "middleweight" and "heavyweight" types and most societies now are trying to seperate classes by Type as its hard to judge a cob type against a refined type say.
So when deciding on what mini you want you to think about height, type i.e. draft or refined.. then what societies you wish to show under!!!! amongst other things!

Fallabella are miniature horses but not all miniature horses are Falabella if that makes sense??!! It would depend on the breeding.

This page helps explain the difference in the types..

http://www.aemhs.com/types.html

If it help Inky is shown in hunter classes and middleweight classes :)

Feel free to ask more!!
 
wow its nice to meet someone in the same sort of boat as me! I lost my mare between christmas and new year and with the price of horses nowadays and a love of shetlands for as long as I can remember Im currently shopping around for a nice little standard to break to drive so I can have abit of fun :-)
 
Stinkbomb said:
To be honest i didnt know!! I didnt do alot of research and didnt know anyone who had them so i went with my gut instinct and dropped lucky!. I bought Inky before he left his mum and picked him up after weaning. There is a vast degree of types as you say. There are also many registers that not all minis are elligible for. For instance if you wanted to get to HOYS or RIHS you can ONLY do that with a BMHS registered or elligable mini. However there are many societied such as MHCGB and IMHPS that cater for ALL types and you can register any mini ( height permitting ) even with unknown parentage.
Minis are not classes as a breed but a "type" they vary from "hack" "arab" "tb" "refined" to "hunter" "draft" "cob" "middleweight" and "heavyweight" types and most societies now are trying to seperate classes by Type as its hard to judge a cob type against a refined type say.
So when deciding on what mini you want you to think about height, type i.e. draft or refined.. then what societies you wish to show under!!!! amongst other things!

Fallabella are miniature horses but not all miniature horses are Falabella if that makes sense??!! It would depend on the breeding.

This page helps explain the difference in the types..

http://www.aemhs.com/types.html

If it help Inky is shown in hunter classes and middleweight classes :)

Feel free to ask more!!
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How is Inky bred?
 
Inkys full name is Golden Oak Mochachino. He is a 32 1/2 " Part bred American, BMHS/IMHPS licensed and reg Silver dapple stallion.

His sire is an American import Rio Bella Farms im a cowboy..

minkie.jpg


Grandsire is The world famous Dels Cowboy....

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and his dam is Possingworth park wendy.... here with preggy belly bless her!!

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Full breeding here :)

http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/golden+oak+mochachino
 
I breed miniature shetlands, and if you do decide to get any, I would advise just getting some, showing them, and enjoying them, but not breeding for the time being. Many studs are currently either not breeding or cutting back numbers. Prices are low, ponies are only selling well if they have top breeding or something extra to offer.

We have a couple of foals due this year - which is less than usual - and will not be covering for any foals for next year. Not until we have sold all the stock we currently have for sale (I have 12 I must part with!), and the market picks up again. Not helped by the fact that we've had half a dozen come back from loan or from sale - we do try where possible to take back ponies we have bred or sold previously, to guarantee them a safe future.

I can't offer much on mini horses, as I don't have any, and they're not really my thing.

But the two do look very different, get prepared & kept very differently, and shown very differently, so you do need to work out which one works best for you.

Shetlands are rarely (never?) nasty in their own right. If they are, it is usually due to poor or lack of handling. Shetlands are very bright, and really do require mental challenging. They also don't realise they are so small, and should be treated as if they were 16hh tall! If you do that, you'll rarely have problems. If you treat them like a pet or a dog, they'll walk all over you! A bored shetland is a creative shetland - they need to be kept mentally busy.

To contrast with the earlier mini horse pics, this is my mini shetland stallion:

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Duke_Feb_2009_01.JPG
 
I'm still in turmoil.... Why do I feel ashamed that I love Miniature horses? It is so bad that I don't really want to ride any more. My friends see it as a coop out? Feeling really depressed that I have bought another riding horse again....and it's not making me happy :-(

Has anybody else given up the big one and hung up there boots?

Why are I so scared to try mini's but will go and and spend thousands on a full size horse that I don't really want?

I am really screwed up!
 
I really do think you need to go with your heart. I wont ride again after the accident, which is why we got Donovan, who we now show in hand. I dont miss the riding, but I do miss the urge to ride if that makes sense.
If you dont want a full size horse, dont have one, you will only end up with a very expensive field ornament!
 
benson21 said:
I really do think you need to go with your heart. I wont ride again after the accident, which is why we got Donovan, who we now show in hand. I dont miss the riding, but I do miss the urge to ride if that makes sense.
If you dont want a full size horse, dont have one, you will only end up with a very expensive field ornament!
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Thanks Benson,

I was all set to buy my first two mini's to break as a pair to drive and show back in November, but the yard i was at decided that I could have mini's due to the fencing - even though I was going to supply my own (and there had been shetlands there before)!

I then decided to move to my friends eventing yards and got caught up with the eventing and lost my way - also feel ashamed as my friends at the yard will think I'm bonkers and I probably will have to look for somewhere else to keep them :-(

I feel I've got myself into a right mess!
 
someone on our yard has 2 shetlands, they are very comical. she drives them as well so helps to keep both her and the shetlands active!

no one on the yard thinks any less of her for having the shetlands and we all enjoy watching her drive them.

if you have thought about having shetlands/minis for so long then maybe it's time you followed your heart, that could be why you aren't getting on with the riding horses, you really want the minis!

don't worry what others say or think, so long as you actually do something with them it doesn't matter.
 
Most of my horsey friends laughed and didnt take my minis seriously, until i was the one coming home with the rosettes and they werent!!! Now they love them!!!

I had to provide my own fencing at the yard but once it was bought its bought!! Im very lucky to have what i have.

Dont get me wrong over the last few years i have wondered whether i should get a full size horse as i missed riding too. I rode my friends horse a few times and realised that i just COULDNT give my minis up and FAR more enjoyed having them than i would if i bought a larger one. Plus for the price of having one larger one i can have two smaller ones!! :)
 
I rode and owned sport horses for nearly forty years , I gave up riding and now breed and show miniature (american and falabella mostly , some bmhs)
theres nothing to be ashamed of , minis are not cheap novelties , my new american stallion minis cost more to buy than my 17hh irish sport horse !!!
once youve done one show I garantee youll have the bug ( I own 19 minis now lol)


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