Tell me about shetlands....

[sandi_84]

I'm asking as my mum is considering a shetland or two as companion for her mare when I (eventually) move me and my horse out

 

[Beatrice5]

I will watch this post with great interest as considering the same thing ;D

 

[kellybee]

Always be careful what they're eating as many prone to laminitis and sweet itch. Intelligent little creatures - often too clever for their own good. Mine thinks nothing of waltzing through the electric fence, commando crawling under hedges or beating nine bells out of the big two if they upset her.

Very different in temperaments too. Some are ignorant and boisterous, others are kind and sweet and timid. Mine LOVES jumping, has never bitten/kicked/bucked. She was backed aged 16 after spending her whole life out feral with a herd and I'm convinced all she wanted was to be a "real horse". I try to spend time with her, making sure she doesn't get bored. Companions need mental stimulation too even if they're not ridden

I can do anything with her, literally. The only thing she objects to is being stabled for days on end and then she kicks off big time, lol.

 

[TelH]

They are giant horses in tiny bodies. They live on fresh air and not a great deal else. They can escape through any type of fencing known to human kind. They think they rule the world. Every yard should have one

 

[wallykissmas]

The right one is amazing, ours would follow us around the yard, lay with us whilst ate lunch and the kids would groom her up to 18 times a day she loved it. I really really miss her.

But a friend has one and he is awful, rude, bargy, nippy couldn't give him away. He is also a *****land to keep in any field.

 

[sandi_84]

I will watch this post with great interest as considering the same thing ;D

I didn't want to hijack your thread but I've been reading it too

Kellybee,
Laminitis was something that I was worrying about, would she be best to strip graze them in the warmer months?
What about when she's feeding hay to her mare?
We usually give them a bloomin great load of it (may as well be ad lib without actually leaving the bale in the field ) but my OH was saying you probably wouldn't want a shettie eating hay as it'd probably end up a fattie with laminitis
We don't have stables and my mum looooves to pamper horses so I'm sure a shettie wouldn't get bored as she'd probably love to not only groom and fuss it but play with it too

 

[joeanne]

They are giant horses in tiny bodies. They live on fresh air and not a great deal else. They can escape through any type of fencing known to human kind. They think they rule the world. Every yard should have one

Absolutely 100% dead right!
They are terrorists in cute looking suits!

 

[NeverSayNever]

I have a mini as a companion to my mare and it woks brilliantly

 

[now_loves_mares]

I adore mine . Admittedly keeping her with a skinny TB is not ideal. But compared to when I had 2 full sized horses to look after it's a piece of cake. Tiny poos = tiny mucking out! She's hilarious and naughty and always makes me smile. Lami is a problem. Mine is muzzled a fair bit in summer and I've in the past had to resort to shutting her in the shelter for stages. They are designed to survive on very poor grazing so you do need to watch.

Exercise is the best plan so your mum may have to consider ride and lead or teaching them to lunge

 

[Beatrice5]

Sandi it sounds as though we share the same concerns.......

We can watch each other threads and hopefully find a nice one and not a mini terrorist

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Sometimes I think people worry too much about shetlands and lammi. Out of all of the Shetlands I have had over the years only one has had lammi and it's EMS. My mum worked for a breeder who had 30 ponies on 160 acres of alternate cattle grazing, hayfields and pony fields. Not a single one ever got lammi.

They are great wee ponies and you can get quite easily hooked on showing them.

 

[Honey08]

I always think that it is creating problems if you get a companion horse with different "issues" to that of your current horse - ie if you have a good doer then you buy something you can't keep weight on. I would get a retired horse of a similar type to your mum's horse that would happily live in the same way..

Shetlands may seem an easy choice, but if you have to create strip grazing, seperate the horse that needs grrazing, catch the shetland when it escapes, try and get muzzles for it small enough, treat it for laminitis.... it becomes not such an easy option.. If the shetland were going in with a fatty who needed weight controlling, it would be easier.

 

[sandi_84]

Sandi it sounds as though we share the same concerns.......

We can watch each other threads and hopefully find a nice one and not a mini terrorist

Ha ha hopefully! I've met a few shetlands in my time and they were right cuties - definitely at the top/near the top of the herd structure

 

[sandi_84]

I always think that it is creating problems if you get a companion horse with different "issues" to that of your current horse - ie if you have a good doer then you buy something you can't keep weight on. I would get a retired horse of a similar type to your mum's horse that would happily live in the same way..

Shetlands may seem an easy choice, but if you have to create strip grazing, seperate the horse that needs grrazing, catch the shetland when it escapes, try and get muzzles for it small enough, treat it for laminitis.... it becomes not such an easy option.. If the shetland were going in with a fatty who needed weight controlling, it would be easier.

I understand, she's not a fatty good good doer but she isn't a poor doer either if you know what I mean?
I was just wondering if she got a shetland would it need strip grazed and what the thoughts on feeding hay in the field for my mum's mare were?

 

[now_loves_mares]

I understand, she's not a fatty good good doer but she isn't a poor doer either if you know what I mean?
I was just wondering if she got a shetland would it need strip grazed and what the thoughts on feeding hay in the field for my mum's mare were?

I tie my haynets up really high

Seriously though - these can be real concerns, and only work for me because in winter mine only wants to be out for about half a day so I can control what the shetland is eating that way (ie she's stabled a lot of the time, with tripled netted hay. And in summer I've split my shelter in half and created a tiny paddock for the shetland and about another 9 acres for the TB. It took a bit of setting up but it generally works.

 

[Field04]

I have recently got one as a companion for my mare. It is still very new, but working out very well so far. To be honest I put hay down for my mare and the shetland gets a token amount. She then goes off munching around the field as my mare is quite protective over her hay. The shetland also gets exercised alot to !! She is also the sweetest little thing!!

 

[sandi_84]

I tie my haynets up really high

Seriously though - these can be real concerns, and only work for me because in winter mine only wants to be out for about half a day so I can control what the shetland is eating that way (ie she's stabled a lot of the time, with tripled netted hay. And in summer I've split my shelter in half and created a tiny paddock for the shetland and about another 9 acres for the TB. It took a bit of setting up but it generally works.

There's nowhere in the field we could hang a haynet where it would be out of reach for a shetland

I have recently got one as a companion for my mare. It is still very new, but working out very well so far. To be honest I put hay down for my mare and the shetland gets a token amount. She then goes off munching around the field as my mare is quite protective over her hay. The shetland also gets exercised alot to !! She is also the sweetest little thing!!

My mum's mare can be a right grump but I think a shetland with the right attitude would be the boss of her ha ha!

 

[ainouu]

I know loads of people whose shetties are out grazing with bigger horses and there's no need to discriminate between them. Granted, they are greedy ******s but with enough exercise and reasonable sized fields there shouldn't be a problem.

My Shetland used to have a big field but we had to cut in half as there was too much green for him to much on. The only downside to that is that now he likes to escape to the green side... My mum once saw him running towards the electric fence and sliding under it into freedom...

 

[Bennions Field]

I have two ! A mare and what was her foal, now 7 years old, the hav a half acre paddock and liveout 24/7 12 months of the year. They get old meadow hay in the summer to suplement their grazing and hayledge (stands back and waits for telling off :0 !) in the winter, they get a small feed of s/beet and alfachaff in the worst weather to help them keep warm the generally drop a little weight in the winter and put alittle on in the summer, but never had any probs with them, they occasionally get through gateway into the big horses field but easily caught and popped back into their own paddock. They do have three rail wood fence and sheep netting as the electric fence doesn't even register against their winter coats ! Only worry I have is one can undo feedroom door and the bin lids :O she's way too clever !!!! Tried to find new loan homes due to loosing my well paid job end of last year but been unsuccessfull - they will just have to keep me entertained for the near future

 

[Charley657]

I've never met a Shetland I didn't like. They have such great characters and no two are the same. I love the ones that have the big horse mentality and rule the fields.

Their only downside is the lami thing but as others have said, careful control and lock your feel bin as they can and will get in there.

 

[sandi_84]

Their only downside is the lami thing but as others have said, careful control and lock your feel bin as they can and will get in there.

Our two are both cobs - atm no work at all - usually in very light work so they don't get hard feed, they just live off the grass and the hay we give them but they do pretty good on that, not fat not overly thin so feed bin raiding shetlands are not a problem ha ha!

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

It's worth remembering that, titchy as they are, they still need annual jabs, farrier, worming, vet care etc same as any other horse or pony. I'd underline a zillion times too that they are often bought as companions to horses such as TBs etc that need totally different management and feeding so beware. Also echo the fencing thing...some owners think that shetlands spend their entire life working out ways to get under, round, through or over any kind of fencing known to man. Quite often though it's simply that they don't see poor fencing designed as a deterrent to big horses as a barrier and just walk under it! I've experienced this where just a strand of BT rope or wire at about 3ft put off the big horses but titchy ones just walked straight under it without even noticing that it's supposed to be a fence. Shetlands as companions often work out a LOT more expensive than people realise!

 

[MyBoyChe]

I have a shettie x welsh a for my grandchidren. She is adorable with the children, a mini monster for me and extremely intelligent. She has her own paddock and will stay in it if there is something to eat but the minute the food runs out she escapes. I currently have 3 strands of electric fence on it but I think she reckons that a quick zap is worth it for the benefits of getting into the resting hay field. I caught her in it yesterday, the 6 big horses were all staring at her in envy, not one of them has managed to escape!! Lovely, characterful ponies but more trouble than your average bigger horse imo!

 

[kellybee]

I didn't want to hijack your thread but I've been reading it too

Kellybee,
Laminitis was something that I was worrying about, would she be best to strip graze them in the warmer months?
What about when she's feeding hay to her mare?
We usually give them a bloomin great load of it (may as well be ad lib without actually leaving the bale in the field ) but my OH was saying you probably wouldn't want a shettie eating hay as it'd probably end up a fattie with laminitis
We don't have stables and my mum looooves to pamper horses so I'm sure a shettie wouldn't get bored as she'd probably love to not only groom and fuss it but play with it too

Every case is different and I know lots of shetlands who dont have laminitis.

To give you an idea how much time and effort I put into mine - in summer I don't bother strip grazing she just escapes. I use a grazing muzzle and let her out with the big boys. I supplement her with Mag Ox year round since the yr before last and never had a problem since except when the ground's wet which I suspect is soft soles and not lammy.

In summer she has muzzle on (off at night if the grass isn't too rich) and I feed pony her a handful of molasses free hifi with a teaspoon of mag ox. I swear by the stuff!

In terms of winter hard feed she gets a token handful alfabeet (no molasses) and Dengi Hifi Molasses free. When she's in I triple net her hay and mix it with straw so she's never hungry. When she's out I have tie rings nailed to the oak trees so I can tie the big boys' hay up high (hers is double netted and mixed with wheat straw so the boys go for the nicer, easy to get stuff), and in the field which has no suitable trees I've cemented tall posts in.

She's walked out every day come rain or shine, I jump her in hand when the ground allows for it, lunge her with poles and jumps, we have a big pilates ball she likes to kick about and I'm just waiting for the weather to change so I can start clicker training her.

I wouldn't be without her but I do have the time to spend keeping her entertained. She does, in all honestly take up as much effort if not more than my other two, but she's fit, healthy and worth every minute

 

[jumbyjack]

I have two and find them great fun but they do need a job or will entertain themselves usually by getting into trouble! Mine will walk under fences, pop into the tack room to check it out for food or belt around the field bucking and kicking when someone is trying to school in the arena.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

I have got three fallabella X Shetland and they are amazing, I love them. They are full of character and so easy to keep. I haven't had a problem with their weight but I walk them daily and they love to play chase in the field so I just run with them and put little jumps up which one of them jumps on her own even when she is just turned out in the field. I never gave a thought to having a Shetland until a little chestnut four month old filly decided to leave her mum and follow me and my dogs every morning when I walked past, it turned out she was for sale and I had to have her so bought her mum as well to keep her company. Loved them so much went back to breeder last year and bought another one. I would have a herd of them if I didn't have the big horses. There is no negative to these delightful little horses you will never regret having one other than the fact that you may not be able to stick to one.

 

[Orson Cart]

I absolutely love my mini shettie - but she definitely rules the herd and thinks she's 17hh in her head even though in reality she is only 7hh! chuckle.

Mine will wear her grazing muzzle 24/7 in summer when she's out ... in winter all she needs is half a slice of a small bale of high fibre haylage to last her through the night in her stable.

You do need to keep them fit - I hate fat shetties! I take mine for long in hand hacks along the local bridleways, she's currently being broken to drive , does in hand jumping over poles, takes little ones for rides on the lead rein etc. They love to have a purpose.

I have been thoroughly converted to them and will now always have a mini shetland. Mind you, as they can live to 35, if wee G meets her full life expectancy I will be in my late 60's before she shimmies off over the rainbow bridge!

 

[sandi_84]

It's worth remembering that, titchy as they are, they still need annual jabs, farrier, worming, vet care etc same as any other horse or pony. I'd underline a zillion times too that they are often bought as companions to horses such as TBs etc that need totally different management and feeding so beware. Also echo the fencing thing...some owners think that shetlands spend their entire life working out ways to get under, round, through or over any kind of fencing known to man. Quite often though it's simply that they don't see poor fencing designed as a deterrent to big horses as a barrier and just walk under it! I've experienced this where just a strand of BT rope or wire at about 3ft put off the big horses but titchy ones just walked straight under it without even noticing that it's supposed to be a fence. Shetlands as companions often work out a LOT more expensive than people realise!

Oh aye she'd get all the usual care and wouldn't just be bunged in a field as a companion and forgotten about! And we'd revisit our fencing to shetland proof it if we did get one/two
I think I'll let mum have a read of this and see what she thinks, it's going to be a while before I move so we've got plenty of time to work out what would be most suitable for her and her mare

 

[Roisin_M]

The are just tiny thugs! Clever, quick and normally upto no good. Mine can be rude, bargy, he has a nipping problem(legacy of a riding school) he can smell grass from 200feet, escapes from everything. Terrorises our big mares, eats first, sleeps first and bites them up on the soft part of their hind legs to teach them a lesson for just being. He's always ripping rugs, his own or somebody else. He has terrible laminitis, cost more to keep that the ridden horses and is much harder to look after but even after all he's been through hes still a happy, very endearing creature and i wouldnt change him for the world. Hes got a safe home for life with us. Thats something i have to say about most shetlands, its impossible not to fall head over heels in love with them!

 

[blackcob]

We recently adopted one from WHW as a companion for our EMS/laminitic Welsh Cob. They have a permanent hardcored patch with access to a natural stream and a 24ft field shelter and then are grazed according to need - in dry weather they are strip grazed, in wet weather when they would poach a small patch too much they go out on the rest of the paddock for x hours depending on exercise, time of day etc. then back on the hardcore bit. It works well, I certainly wouldn't want to give her 24/7 access to grass and neither would I want to try keeping a muzzle on her, she'd have it off in no time at all. She has the same hi fibre haylage as the biggun the rest of the time, all weighed and split into three feeds.

Ours is very intelligent, curious and inquisitive, it's like having a dog following you around. Certainly she wouldn't be happy just stood in the field, she likes to have something to do. If money were no object I'd be breaking her to drive but at the moment she's content to come out hacking with us, I ride and lead for anything up to a couple of hours at a time and she really seems to enjoy it.

She's a fickle creature, an absolute angel of a lead rein pony and giant grooming toy for a three year old but utterly vile to the farrier and has tried to lock me in the shed on many occasions (doors and latches are easily accomplished by 40" of evil!) Fencing hasn't been an issue but ours is pretty good, stock fencing and a thick hedge around the big paddock and two strands of electric tape to subdivide and she hasn't escaped yet.

Wouldn't hesitate to recommend with the caveat that they are as much work as a big horse only in a much smaller and cuter package.