Shetland Sheep 🐑 with horses

[canteron]

These have just been recommended as the best sheep for cross grazing with horses - eat everything horses don’t, not too big, intelligent 🙃, and all round good guys .... apart from the escaping tendency.

anyone had them ??

 

[Ranyhyn]

These have just been recommended as the best sheep for cross grazing with horses - eat everything horses don’t, not too big, intelligent 🙃, and all round good guys .... apart from the escaping tendency.

anyone had them ??

No experience but judging by the name they’re a native breed and of theyre anything like my welsh mountains they’re a breed apart. They won’t be kept in if they can help it. They’ll be tough, clever instinctual sheep that’ll do you well. If you can keep em 😂

 

[rabatsa]

You will find that all us sheep people have our own favourite breeds. Shetlands can have some good fleeces so they may be in demand by local hand spinners.

My breed are Zwartbles. Big and docile and not escape artists like some.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

When we had Rylands they certainly lived up to the name 'stay-at-home sheep'. The same cannot be said of the commercial breed Texel crosses that we have now.

 

[canteron]

Trouble is they have been recommended by the local shearer ..... so I guess that unless I want to shear them
myself I have little option! I wanted Teasdale - but they need shearing twice a year?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Shearer won't want Ryelands - they have leg wool! Shetlands don't have wooly legs, do they?

 

[WelshD]

My Shetland sheep and welshie ponies get along nicely.
Shetland sheep are agile, mine never have had a tendency for escaping but are plenty quick enough to get out of the way of a moody mare or clumsy gelding.
They don’t eat tonnes and are decently healthy (for sheep..)
Mine are friendly without being in your face.
I’d say they are a solid choice as pet sheep

 

[Indy]

They get out.....of anywhere. That's all I'll say.

Soays self shed if shearing's a problem.

 

[pansymouse]

Mine co-habits with eight Shetland sheep and the get along OK unless they try and eat the hay when she judges it's not their turn and then she will chase them off. They don't escape and seem pretty easy to do. I have spun their fleece and wove the YO a scarf from it a few years ago.

 

[canteron]

..... I have spun their fleece and wove the YO a scarf from it a few years ago.

Wow, I am impressed!!

 

[NiceNeverNaughty]

lots of breeds are suitable, not sure shetlands are better than any other?

they are hardy, easy enough... but small, agile and 'sharp'. They also can climb into hayfeeders in winter and pee all over the hay so the horses wont even touch it.

We have a few crossbreds that were pet lambs, a suffolk and a couple of hampshire downs, they are all really docile and less likely to jump, generally moving more slowly than any of our shetlands ever did.

 

[Ranyhyn]

Suffolk crossed with Welsh,would be my recommendation.
Pop the ewes to a texel ram and you have a nice little meat lamb 👍🏻

 

[canteron]

...... you have a nice little meat lamb 👍🏻

😱 .... I’m too pathetic to eat something I have cuddled!!

 

[Velcrobum]

Soays while in theory self shed are bu**ers to handle as that is what we had a flock of. They also jump but not had any escaping issues which was good as impossible to catch easily.