Miniature Horses/Shetland ponies HELP!

supaspot said:
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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Hi Sue..... Im littleman on the irish forum :) Absolut is gorgeous!!
 
I have loads, what do you want to see ?
heres a slide show of my american stallion (the first one) click the pic !
supaspot
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this is a son of the black one
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mares
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slide show of foals click the pic !
supaspot
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Supaspot, wow. Looked at all your photos... I wish I had my own piece of land, because I know there would not be a ridden horse in sight!

I dream of my hubby building me a miniature stable yard - complete with hanging baskets!

Is that your own place or do you rent.

I need to do this, I think I will work with my new horse and get her going and then sell in the spring. :-)

I must go to some shows and find mini's to visit!
 
varkie said:
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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lovely little chap , whats his breeding? Ive had a couple of shetlands in the past and never found them to be nasty at all , its because as you say people dont treat them as horses
 
Inkys fan club is safe , Im in it myself :)
I wish I had bred that mare ! that is Stephen Johnston holding Hailstone Red Hot Deile -aka Ruby , that pic was taken just after I bought her , she stayed with Alison so they could take her to the AMHA European Championships in Holland - can't wait to cover her with Absolut
 
All I can say is go for it! I converted about 5 years ago and now I have 4 miniature horses and 1 miniature shetland and I am so happy. None of mine have ever been aggressive towards people, children or animals. They are the sweetest things that just thrive on human attention. I must admit though my shetland is a bit naughty, as was mentioned before they need to be kept busy. I have ridden "proper horses" for about 30 years but what with the kids and hubby etc I just didn't have time to ride. I felt guilty about not spending any time with my mare so I bought her a mini for company. Well they hated each other so one had to go. Of course the mini stayed and then she needed company.;) I would look around and ask as much info as possible as they are not as easy to keep as you might think. They are not toys they are horses with big characters and small legs. hehehee
Let me show off too.
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By reneejewer at 2010-09-24
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By reneejewer at 2010-07-28
 
I used to have a 40" standard piebald shetland pony when I was a teenager. I know I looked stupid with long legs used to ride her bareback and go anywhere on her she was fab. I used to be able to jump 3ft with her. Loved Chico. she was a companion to my mothers horse. I never had a saddle to fit her properly as she was a barrel and when I did, mid gymkhana potato race (we were winning by miles as she was agile and quick) the saddle I had with crupper slid sideways, my leg slipped up her side as I lost balance and touched he bit that always made her buck. Needless to say I ended up on the floor just before the finish line, pony and rosette less! Booo!!!!!!

Maybe worth looking at http://www.shetland-pony.com if you like shetlands either ridden or in-hand.
 
by the way , if youre thinking of showing miniature horses a true miniature is 34" and under ,there is a small standard class (sec B ) but its less popular
 
Thank you supaspot, no I don't show very often as there aren't any here in Italy so I have to go to Switzerland or Holland and that is too time consuming at the moment. I wish I could though!:(
 
Well after going hacking this morning in the beautiful sunshine, it was lovely and peaceful. But I was suddenly interrupted by the realisation that I was riding my horse, rather than driving a pair for mini's around our block!

It was so strange and so real, I would have bet my life I was driving a pair of mini's and not riding. How weird.... do you think my mind is now trying to tell me something.....

I told my OH who kindly reminded me that during my 2 month break, he heavily suggested that I bought two American Mini's or shetlands to drive etc as I had been doing on about them from nearly 3 decades!

I'm sat here now, wondering what I should do about the mare I have just bought...... bring her on a bit and sell in the spring I guess it the best ideal. I feel sorry for her as it's not her fault. She has been prefect.
 
Seems I'm alone feeling a bit sorry for the mare... I hope she finds a pemanent and loving home.

I also disagree with more breeding because it's someone's dream. There are too many 'dreams' and just plain old experiments and whims being sent to kill plants, slaughterhouses and to other untimely ends every minute of every day. What happened, I wonder, to the little s**t you had so briefly? He was someone's dream/experiment/whim/dipped toe in the breeding game once.
 
brighteyes said:
Seems I'm alone feeling a bit sorry for the mare... I hope she finds a pemanent and loving home.

I also disagree with more breeding because it's someone's dream. There are too many 'dreams' and just plain old experiments and whims being sent to kill plants, slaughterhouses and to other untimely ends every minute of every day. What happened, I wonder, to the little s**t you had so briefly? He was someone's dream/experiment/whim/dipped toe in the breeding game once.
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I don't think that I would breed for a long time, I will properly drive and show more. The little s**t that I had is now showing and a companion to a heavy hunter! He would never of driven. I did lots of long reining with him and he hated wearing a harness and I didn't see any improvement with the months that I spent trying him....
 
shelley8697 said:
I'm sat here now, wondering what I should do about the mare I have just bought...... bring her on a bit and sell in the spring I guess it the best ideal. I feel sorry for her as it's not her fault. She has been prefect.
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Maybe waiting to the spring is the best thing to do. That way you can concentrate on bringing her on alittle and in the meantime do some more research, take the time to visit a few mini shows and see how you feel :)
 
I agree do'nt buy anything until youve been to few shows and done some research , there are several different types so think about what you want to do with your minis before you buy , do'nt even think about breeding , firstly if they have problems during foaling (dystocia) due to their small size theyre not that easy to sort out secondly only "top end" show quality minis will sell and theres already more than enough unwanted pet minis around and mini colts living miserable lives as teasers :(
 
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