What is the smallest field you could keep a pony in?

[Enid]

I am seriously thinking of turning part of our garden into a field for a Shetland.

it is small though.

You can do a 4 week crash course for about £40 (one evening a week) oh hand experience.

Do you know what a quick release knot is? Do you know why you use them?

Do you know how a pony gets colic? Do you know the signs of colic? What do you feed? how do you feed? How do you tie a haynet? what happens if you let it too low? Why do you soak hay? What happens if you dont pick out a horses feet every day? What fencing do you use? what plants are poisonous?

Basic questions

expat we KNOW you don't like horses
and you think they smell
now take your pink crocs and bugger off this thread!

now you see Hillls is exactly the sort of bossy horsey woman I was talking about

(Hillls she just told you she rode constantly for 15 years, WHY do you think she might not know that she needs to pick hooves?)

go away hills you are derpessing me

I know that yew and ragwort are poisonous

you soak hay to get rid of the dust

I've also got red and navy Crocs.

Can you ride in Crocs?

I believe you could get away it in a Western saddle, because it's got such wide fenders.

Or bareback.

But probably not English style.

yes I know about picking hooves

and I know about colic

and fencing

not the knots though

phew I can relax now. Sorry if I sounded horrible just worried

Yuk! I can only imagine, but what really does happen if you don't pick the horse's hooves every day?

(yes you do know the knots enid, it is the knot you'll naturally tie your lead rein in - you just probably didn't call it a quick release knot)

(and obv you'll tie it to a loop of bailer twine and not a fence directly, before Hillls hollers at me)

they fall off expat

and they you have to get them a special and very expensive pair of equine crocs

then they look FUCKING STUPID and you don't want to be seen out on them any more

A horses circulation is stimulated by the soles of feet, they need to be free from dirt to enable proper circulation, also stones and packed in mud can cause abcesses and rotting.

and a horse is only as good as his feet dontcha know

(sorry hillls, I forgive you now that you agree that my mate enid passes her pony test)

Then you just send them my way, PPH!

I love them, Crocs and all!

Hills - with respect, I do think that someone who rode and looked after horses all their young life would know the answers to those q's.

I learned to ride, helped out in stables, became v confident - and then when I got a pony,read the Pony Club Manual about horse welfare from cover to cover ...and went on the regular pony club courses and get-togethers.

Keeping a pony at stables where someone else is knowledgable is a good thing, though. I had mine at a wpman's field and stables, with other people - could help each other out and take turns when someone was on hol, etc etc.

sorry Hills - was behind the times!

Also, would you require permission to keep lifestock that size on your property?

Blu I grew up with horses, was put on a shire at 6 months old, I would hope very much that people with horses could answer these basic questions.

I dont have a pony

yet

you can be reassured taht I will become the most knowledgeable person on the planet the minute it arrives due to a naturally officious and enquiring nature

They do have rather nice smiles, horses.

And I like the way they show you their teeth.

Grrrrr.

Will you wear jodphurs, Enid?

Will you post photos of yourself in jodphurs on your profile?

We have goldfish. Goldfish are good. Low maintenance, not smelly, and only a teeny hole to dig when they die.

Crikey, I managed to keep three horses alive for 25 years with no problems. Didn't manage that many weeks with the goldfish .

I'm at all this shetland-bashing. They can be horrible I know (have met a few of those) but it's only when people don't treat them like proper horses and let them get away with being bolshy and pushy because they look 'cute' and don't give them a job of work to do. We are surrounded by shetlands who just stand around in fields and never go out or do anything, no wonder they are stroppy. Our Star was a driving pony for years and is now lead-rein pony to ds. She is an angel, never puts a foot wrong and I think you are all shetlandists (a bit like racists but in a native pony type way).

Enid, don't listen to them. I would love to be able to have Star in the garden but our landlord won't even let us have a dog. IMO an acre is far too much for a shetland anyway. If you are religious about picking up droppings every day and take precautions against mud in the winter you can manage on quite a small space. We have a trailerful of bark tipped around our gate and hay feeder in a nice thick layer in the autumn so that there is always a dry area (better for their feet too) and the rest of the paddock stays fairly mud-free except in extreme conditions. You'd have to be prepared to give a pony a lot of attention though if you wanted to keep it on it's own, otherwise not fair.

Anyway, if you haven't got much grazing, what you spend on hay, you save on laminitis-related vet's bills .

Um, am assuming you live in a country type area though, not the middle of a housing estate. Not sure you'd get away with it then!