Pro's and Con's of Shetland Ownership!

[Shantara]

Although I wouldn't be able to get one for a good few years yet (Even if I ever decide too) I'd love to get a Shetland, just as a little pet, in-hand pony and maybe company.

I'd love to know the pro's and con's and costs would be

 

[flying solo]

Pro's daughter loves him and cob loves him even more! cons - he is far too fat even on rubbish grazing and muzzled! He's harder to constrict than I thought altho I wouldn't change him now he's more work year round than my welsh since he has sweet itch etc too! x

 

[Ladylina83]

Ah sorry but I've only got a con - the Dartmoor pony that is in with my youngster now had a *****land wrip his nostril off with its teeth !

 

[Alfie&Milo]

They don't eat much, they don't need rugs although my boss does rug his show ponies! They have great characters and although i'm 19, 9stone and 5ft6 I still exercise them and always have a fun ride

They really don't cost that much to keep

 

[Shantara]

Yikes! I've heard they can be a bit stroppy. I guess it's "Little man syndrome". There's a small white one who lives next door to the yard and that once bit one of the lads in the...well...I'm sure you don't want to know!

EDIT: Alfie&Milo: Haha! That sounds cool! I weight just the same as you, but 2inches taller, so perhaps I could have a sit on one ^^ hehe!

 

[Gingerwitch]

Sorry can only give you cons:-

most big horses are terrifed of them
they live on one blade of grass and will put weight on at 2
no one can ride them to keep them fit and getting them to pull a cart fast enough to work on the roads but not kill themselves is almost impossible
if they get over playful with the occasional big horse that likes them, they usually end up getting a real injury
you cant sell them
they cant look over stable doors unless you modify them
at some yards you will still be charged the same as for a 17hh tb
unless handled correctly they are horrid

 

[Alfie&Milo]

Sorry can only give you cons:-

most big horses are terrifed of them Have never known any big horses to be scared of them!
they live on one blade of grass and will put weight on at 2 this is true, although they can be managed if you work something out
no one can ride them to keep them fit and getting them to pull a cart fast enough to work on the roads but not kill themselves is almost impossible Have already mentioned, they can carry a lot more than a child, and op would be able to ride it if she's only a couple of inches taller than me
if they get over playful with the occasional big horse that likes them, they usually end up getting a real injury Never found this either
you cant sell them my boss sells them all the time...
they cant look over stable doors unless you modify them the foals and miniatures can't but the larger shetlands can
at some yards you will still be charged the same as for a 17hh tb
unless handled correctly they are horridagreed, but isn't this true for all horses?

I honestly can't think of that many cons other than obviously easy weight gain and some can have a bit of a temper but at the same time I work with them and breeding these days is thorough to ensure perfect temperaments because of the children that handle them in the showring, I honestly don't know of one that has had a horrid temper and we've got over thirty ranging from minis to standards...

 

[Magicmadge]

I've got 3 !!!!! two standards and a miniature, love em!!! They are full of character and make me laugh every day. I agree with the comment above about keeping their weight off mine seem to survive or should i say keep weight up on next to nothing so they are cheap to keep. I show my standards and have had a good first ever season, last show tomorrow! They are easy to handle, very nosey and love going out i get a lot of very nice comments about them and several people have asked me at shows about their temprement and would i reccommend owning one. I have big horses too and the shetties are so easy in comparison. My gelding was naughty as a colt and nippy too but since gelding in April he is a different pony. I'd have a field full if i had the room.

 

[Shantara]

Yea, I was a bit worried with weight gain, however, I walk a heck of a lot and would take it out for "walkies" and do shows, lunge, free jump etc ^^
This is all far in the future, because I work full time and don't drive. Once I can drive, more horsey opportunities shall open up for me

 

[bumblelion]

OP- I'm pleased you started this thread! Very interested to know what people think! Looking at getting my daughter a pony, she's only 1 but need something to babysit my two boys! Will also give me a chance to settle it, get to know it and trust my child to get on it for when she's about 2!! I haven't been around them for years but do remember getting chucked off every one I got on as a kid and I was well known for my superglue bum!! I'm also concerned how my two boys would react and my big boy is very dominant and would need something that would just walk away but I don't think a shetland would and the shetland would come worse off!! It would defeat the object of separating them all also as I'd want it as a companion so i can ride out on mine separately! Also I worry about laminitis etc! Was thinking about a little welsh sec a but they have attitude also!! Actually I think all ponies do!!!!

 

[flying solo]

My main hassle is the weight, he looks at grass and doubles in size! Doesn't bother me but I hate over weight ponies and I lunge etc 5 or 6 days per week to keep the weight off him and I have no luck! Shetland's definitely aren't the easy route because to me its even harder than having a welshy! X

 

[superted1989]

I was very anti-shetland until I started helping YO with hers! In the past, I'd only had experience of ones that were 'companions' and they were vile..............I'm sure, looking back, they were bored.
YO has recently moved from miniature colts to standard fillies and geldings. She shows in hand with youngsters, then they're broken as kids riding ponies (another livery has a decent 7 year old daughter). All of the littluns have routines and jobs and thrive on it, they're never allowed to get away with ANYTHING and we're very careful not to let them know they're shetlands!
They live on fresh air, but don't appear to be 'greedy', so grazing has to be carefully managed and they only seem to have summer coats for about 3 days per year. Many shetland enthusiasts have told me they're addictive but I'm still to be convinced of that! A good shetland will sell, much the same as a good horse will sell.
If you want to see some nice ones, google Buxted stud, good, sturdy beasties with nice little heads.

 

[ponypilotmum]

We've had shetlands over the years, and I love them dearly (currently have three). But finding one which is truly safe around small children is hard. They can bully children, and won't back down easily (from anything). They're fearless little souls. But keeping the weight off of them is a full time job at times.
One of ours is a total saint with tots, and the other wo you wouldn't trust with anyone except an adult. They're strong, opinionated and very very intelligent.
I think if I were to buy a pony for a child now I would go for a small New Forest. Lovely temperaments, easy to keep, and they don't get fat so easily.

 

[MrSpam]

I have a lovely shetland - angelic. She can be handled completely by children, has never bitten or kicked. Will stand for hours being fussed, groomed, dressed up etc. Is never spooky and completely trustworthy. Can be ridden every day, week or year - she is always the same.

She was a lovely companion to my old horse. She is really easy to keep - in a corner of a field with hay and is let into the big field for a short time in the morning. She also has sweet itch!

Can't think of any cons at all.

 

[curio]

sorry but i wouldn't have one because my 15 built like a tank cob is absolutely terrified of them he takes one look and bolts. (doesnt bolt at anything else )
no amount of gradual introductions will convince him theyre not going to eat him, but he was badly beaten up by one when he was a yearling

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Oh twoddle! Shetlands are the best ponies you can get! If they are brought up properly then they really don't live up to their reputations!

We breed Shetlands for a number of things - temperment, height, mocement and looks. All of mine, right from birth - colts and fillies - could be handled by small kids. Climbed on, pulled around, sat on etc. I ride them - I'm 5ft4" and 9st4lbs. I also had kids over this summer from a very small 5yo upwards to ride them and ok one took the mick when ridden because he could all he did was trot faster and faster rather than actually canter but the rest are fab kids ponies.

As for selling them - I am having trouble keeping hold of my ones! People are always after them and I am very particular as to who gets them.

For weight - I have 2 on restricted grazing, one has Equine Metabolic Syndrome, the other got bad lammi before we bought her back. The rest just live out with the TB's and play away their weight to keep them ok.

Of all my ponies it would only be the 2 entires that I wouldn't let small kids lead around as they are stallions and as truely lovely as they are at the end of the day they get one whiff of a mare and nature takes over. In a stable, brushing them, being lead around the field with a kid on board I would have no qualms about.

The only big horses that I have met that are scared of them are my American TB as he had never seen them before and big show horses that can cope with them when they stand around eating grass but ridden they are scary!

Get a Shetland! Everyone should have a Shetland!

WWW.MirkwoodPonies.Co.Uk

 

[Shantara]

Ned has been frightened by a Shetland before, but hasn't really reacted after that first meeting. People were leading them through long grass, which gradually got shorter...suddenly there was a pony there that wasn't there a moment ago!

Thanks for all the advise guys ^^

 

[TelH]

Shetlands can escape through any type of fencing known to human kind But no yard is complete without a resident Shettie imo I have a reg mini Shettie and a Shettie x miniature horse

 

[Enfys]

Shetlands can escape through any type of fencing known to human kind )

I defy them to get through mine

My mini, OK, so he's a mini, not a shetland but same size-ish, tries to climb through the bars of the gate!

My big horses tolerate him from the other side of the fence and he is an excellent teaser (never missed an in-season mare yet) and an even better Uncle for the QH weanlings.

The big horses would kill him though, some of them intentionally (want pictorial proof?) I would never, ever, run a mini with big horses, a playful kick can break a leg so simply it isn't worth the risk in my book. I am not saying they can't, just that that is my preference. I have a friend who has Percherons, not one less than 18h and King of the Heap around the hay bale is a 33" shetland gelding that barely reaches their knees!

Cheap to keep, although teeth and feet cost the same as for a horse! I like small ponies whatever make and model they are.

From my experience of them I think their reputation for being a PITA is purely because people treat them like spoiled puppies rather than horses.

 

[bumblelion]

I defy them to get through mine

My mini, OK, so he's a mini, not a shetland but same size-ish, tries to climb through the bars of the gate!

My big horses tolerate him from the other side of the fence and he is an excellent teaser (never missed an in-season mare yet) and an even better Uncle for the QH weanlings.

The big horses would kill him though, some of them intentionally (want pictorial proof?) I would never, ever, run a mini with big horses, a playful kick can break a leg so simply it isn't worth the risk in my book. I am not saying they can't, just that that is my preference. I have a friend who has Percherons, not one less than 18h and King of the Heap around the hay bale is a 33" shetland gelding that barely reaches their knees!

Cheap to keep, although teeth and feet cost the same as for a horse! I like small ponies whatever make and model they are.

From my experience of them I think their reputation for being a PITA is purely because people treat them like spoiled puppies rather than horses.

Very informative! Thankyou, even though I'm not OP! I do love shetlands but maybe wouldn't suit me as my 17hh ID is a bit of a bully. My poor tb gets bitten and bullied, but he won't be apart from him! Although my tb is the cheeky instigator!! Really want to get a pony for my daughter soon! Difficult deciding what to do! My id was in a field with a little 14hh mare with previous owner but reckon she was very placid and let him be boss!

 

[Apercrumbie]

Pros: They're great fun to have around, real cheeky monkeys and obviously adorable. They're very cheap to run as they don't need anything even in winter.

Cons: They're escape artists, extremely cheeky, many are quite nippy (easily solved with firm handling), prone to laminitus and get fat in the summer. They are also fairly prone to sweet itch. Summers will always be tricky as you really have to keep an eye on their weight.

 

[Enfys]

Sorry Bumblelion.

My ponies don't graze the paddocks at all, Charley blows up like a balloon just snacking on the lawn for 5 minutes.

He has a paddock that is virtually a dry lot, he has to work for any grazing he gets rather than stand still and just suck it up) he is fed hay year round. I don't find him hard to keep at all and his weight is excellent. I would hate to try to keep him where he had access to grass though.

 

[Gingerwitch]

I often feel sorry for shetlands - many times they are brought by the wrong people for the wrong reasons - many times over i have seen them brought, played with and then left alone - this is especially ture for the spoil little darlings that must have a pony in the summer..... come autum they turn up at weekends only.... come winter - you dont see them for dust.

You complain to the yo or ym, they get onto the owner and then you find little shettie has been given to a friend and never to be seen again.

Daft question shetland owners - how much of a womer do you use, and do you shoe them ? if so how much is either a shoeing or a trim ?

 

[flying solo]

I worm according to the label on the tube but I can usually worm both ponies from one tube and my shetland is barefoot, costs me 25 for a trim every 7 or 8 weeks as he hacks out quite a bit so has good strong feet.

 

[learningcurve]

I give my two half of a wormer.

Trim costs the same as for any other pony, costs me £20, they are back breaking for a farrier, so really need to be good about having their feet done.

 

[melxvengeance]

i have 4 of the little buggers. 3 mares and a gelding, who used to be a stallion up until 2 years ago so thinks he rules the roost! 1 of the mares is just over 1 and was sired by the stallion before he got the snip.

they are really good little ponies, i drive my oldest mare and she is worth her weight in gold, i often wish she was a few hands higher - she would be the best little showjumper ever! i lunge her sometimes and she just loves jumping, can jump the height of herself.

for worming, i give them half a tube each, so only need 2 tubes for 4 ponies. a friend who is a farrier trims them for me so don't need to pay a penny. they don't need a trim very often either.

only thing is they can escape out of a hole the size of a 50p piece in the hedge and blink & you'll miss them...for tiny fat ponies they sure can bolt when they see a headcollar & leadrope in sight!

 

[FanyDuChamp]

Shetlands can escape through any type of fencing known to human kind But no yard is complete without a resident Shettie imo I have a reg mini Shettie and a Shettie x miniature horse

Totally agree! The one on our yard is such a lovely character and a total sweetie, who is amazing with kids. I would love to own one, but my lad is not too keen after our yard one beat him up. I think it all depends on the shetland, as with all horses.
FDC

 

[Vicki-Finn-Perry]

I brought my shettie in May this year and love him to bits!!

Cons:
-Escape artist no amount of eleccy fencing would keep the little ***** in!! Luckily moved yards now with post & rail fencing!
-To clever for there own good!

Pros:
-CUTE AS HELL!
-Loveable little characters who learn very quickly
-Can be taught to ride/drive
-Cheap to keep

My little lad will be a driving pony when he grows up, hes only 2 and can already long line in full harness, he picks up on things so quickly!!
He is a bolshy litttle bugger at the mo but i put that down to the typical toddler stops at the mo!