OMG! It's a good job I love that little Shetland...

S

Sarah1

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 February 2006
Messages
2,273
Visit site
...she's harder work than the big lad!
Even at this time of year I am having to watch her food intake like a hawk - she's muzzled during the day & in at night with very little food (tiny haynet & half a small handful of fast fibre!) and she's still so fat!
We can't do anything work wise with her during the week due to lack of facilities and my daughter is only 2 so doesn't actually 'ride' her properly at the moment so I'm thinking she needs to be doing much much more on the 2 days a week we can work her. She doesn't lunge so this is something we're going to have to teach & just walking her out on foot isn't really helping much so, my thought was to let me niece ride her out a bit - just walk & trot but as she weighs approximately 8st I thought the extra weight will obviously make it harder work for Strawberry and thus help her shift a bit more lard! Strawberry is approx 9hh but very chunky - do you think my niece (very accomplished small adult rider) is too heavy for her?
I have to do something as we've already had a bout of laminitis and I don't want a repeat of that but the pony actually lives on fresh air! :)
 
Honestly I think 8stone is too heavy for a 9hh.. Im 8stone & have ridden very very rarely my daughters section A, & despite being light & small I still felt massive on her ( 11.3hh )
 
There are quite a few on here who ride Shetlands... there was a thread a while back with it all in, something like show me your shetlands? Had their heights/weights from recollection

How about giving it something more to think about and get it driving?
 
Showpony - thank you for your reply, I'm sure my niece will feel huge on her but I wanted to know if she would physically be too heavy? Strawberry is a very chunky little thing and I'm thinking of the quickest way to move some of the weight - for her own good to make her more healthy. We've had her since July and apart from the bit of weight she dropped after a week spent in the stable when she had lami she's just not losing it, despite me being very, very mean with her rations.
PandorasJar - driving is a good idea but again we're limited time/light wise to weekends and I've never driven before so I think that's more of a long term plan than the short sharp shock treatment the little mare needs! ;)
 
Depends if it's a standard or a mini...some of the bigger standards could carry 8st pretty comfortably, but a bigger mini would find it difficult.

I was going to suggest longreining so along the same lines as PandorasJar!
 
MissSBird said:
Depends if it's a standard or a mini...some of the bigger standards could carry 8st pretty comfortably, but a bigger mini would find it difficult.

I was going to suggest longreining so along the same lines as PandorasJar!
Click to expand...

I think she would probably be classed as a mini TBH - she's very chunky but I've seen bigger Shetlands if I'm honest. So maybe not then :(
Long reining isn't a problem though we've been walking her out in hand and it's making no difference to her waistline...so unless it was long reining in trot maybe? Wow, I think I'm going to end up losing a few pounds too!
The other option I have is another little rider (5 years old so just that bit bigger/heavier than my daughter) who wants to learn to ride - she doesn't ride as yet but I thought again the extra weight walking out on Strawberry would help the weight loss?
How can something so small cause so much trouble!?!?!?! :) ;)
 
My friend 'made' a mini rider for her little fatty Shetland out of sandbags so she had a bit if weight to carry which made her puff and burn some calories!! She wasn't amused but it worked!!
 
Sarah1 said:
I think she would probably be classed as a mini TBH - she's very chunky but I've seen bigger Shetlands if I'm honest. So maybe not then :(
Long reining isn't a problem though we've been walking her out in hand and it's making no difference to her waistline...so unless it was long reining in trot maybe? Wow, I think I'm going to end up losing a few pounds too!
The other option I have is another little rider (5 years old so just that bit bigger/heavier than my daughter) who wants to learn to ride - she doesn't ride as yet but I thought again the extra weight walking out on Strawberry would help the weight loss?
How can something so small cause so much trouble!?!?!?! :) ;)
Click to expand...

It's hard to tell without knowing her in person; you're the best judge for that. Also, seeking the advice of a vet on that subject wouldn't be a terrible thing. They'll know her to afterall and I'm sure wouldn't mind a quick phone call/email.

I know how difficult shetlands can be weight wise. They're kind of a difficult cycle - so hardy they get fat on fresh air yet so tiny it's difficult to find solutions to help lose the weight.

If you are truely worried about her weight, then have you considered box rest? This is going to sound unothodox and I might get shot down for it but...we had a fell pony who came to us morbidly obese. It took 2 full years to get the weight off of her. These things happen slowly - are you positive she's not gradually losing weight? When you see them daily it can be very hard to appreciate if there are changes going on. Weigh her weekly (around the same time of day every week) and make a line graph for yourself so you can see how things are proceeding properly. You can also take weekly photos and compare them which will make visual changes easier to spot.

If she's definately stuck...well we hit this point with the fell pony. She was doing much better, but still a bit fatter than we'd like. No matter what we did, we just couldn't get that last bit off her. Then she damaged her digital flexor in the field and had to go on box rest for nearly 2 months. For the first time we had 100% control over her diet as the field was removed (even though she was muzzled). Finally that last little bit of weight went.

You've already mentioned that when she was on box rest for lami you saw a difference. If you are very worried about her weight, perhaps a second longer period of box rest might be best for her long-term health, even if it's not very pleasant in the short term. If you have an arena perhaps she could go out there with some hay during the day rather than the field? Basically, remove the grass equation all together.

It's a tough one. Box rest is so unpleasant for them...but you sound very worried about her and sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind?

The problem will then be how to keep that weight off once you've lost it, bringing us back to the same exercise issue!
 
MissSBird said:
It's hard to tell without knowing her in person; you're the best judge for that. Also, seeking the advice of a vet on that subject wouldn't be a terrible thing. They'll know her to afterall and I'm sure wouldn't mind a quick phone call/email.

I know how difficult shetlands can be weight wise. They're kind of a difficult cycle - so hardy they get fat on fresh air yet so tiny it's difficult to find solutions to help lose the weight.

If you are truely worried about her weight, then have you considered box rest? This is going to sound unothodox and I might get shot down for it but...we had a fell pony who came to us morbidly obese. It took 2 full years to get the weight off of her. These things happen slowly - are you positive she's not gradually losing weight? When you see them daily it can be very hard to appreciate if there are changes going on. Weigh her weekly (around the same time of day every week) and make a line graph for yourself so you can see how things are proceeding properly. You can also take weekly photos and compare them which will make visual changes easier to spot.

If she's definately stuck...well we hit this point with the fell pony. She was doing much better, but still a bit fatter than we'd like. No matter what we did, we just couldn't get that last bit off her. Then she damaged her digital flexor in the field and had to go on box rest for nearly 2 months. For the first time we had 100% control over her diet as the field was removed (even though she was muzzled). Finally that last little bit of weight went.

You've already mentioned that when she was on box rest for lami you saw a difference. If you are very worried about her weight, perhaps a second longer period of box rest might be best for her long-term health, even if it's not very pleasant in the short term. If you have an arena perhaps she could go out there with some hay during the day rather than the field? Basically, remove the grass equation all together.

It's a tough one. Box rest is so unpleasant for them...but you sound very worried about her and sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind?

The problem will then be how to keep that weight off once you've lost it, bringing us back to the same exercise issue!
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply :)

She's not tiny but as I say I've seen bigger shetties so I think she's a big minature if that makes sense?!

I'm going to try to leave her in a little longer so she's only out grazing for say 6 or 7 hours a day (muzzled of course) and I'll soak her hay again (stopped this as she wasn't interested in it at all but I guess if she's hungry she'll eat it!) and I'm going to 'make' her a rider as per another suggestioin & see how we get on with that.

We don't have a school so can't put her in with hay and I'd really rather not have her on box rest unless it's a last resort (which it may well end up being :()

Thanks everyone :)
 
In my opinion, 8st will probably be too much for a 9hh.. Could do long term damage to her back if ridden often.
Maybe you could look for someone smaller to ride a couple of times a week? I'm sure there's lots of little ones out there who would love to!
 
This is a picture of Strawberry just to give you all a better idea of her weight & build (though looking much much fluffier than this now - her coat is at least finger length long!)
Strawberry1.jpg

This was taken when we 1st got her & she's not really changed weight wise (at least I don't think she has though I will get the tape on her this weekend).
 
Personally I would persevere with the ride and lead. I took a friends daughter hunting on the lead rein, my horse was 17'2, her pony was 10hh. it can be done. And loads of hills in power walk for the big horse, means loads of hills in trot for the pony :) even if they hate each other you can work them together.
 
Bosworth said:
Personally I would persevere with the ride and lead. I took a friends daughter hunting on the lead rein, my horse was 17'2, her pony was 10hh. it can be done. And loads of hills in power walk for the big horse, means loads of hills in trot for the pony :) even if they hate each other you can work them together.
Click to expand...

I've no doubt it can be done but my horse would kill this pony as soon as look at it! Really not a very safe situation TBH ;)
 
If she is 9hh, she is technically a standard. 8.2hh is the maximum height for a mini. Some standards could undoubtedly carry that kind of weight - it is all down to build. I don't think I'd feel that comfortable putting that much on her however.

Keeping fit wise the options are lunge, long rein, inhand walk/run, ride/lead, drive, loose school. If she's not already broken to drive, perhaps consider that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top