How much does it cost to keep a pony?

[Marne]

Hi,
Thinking of getting a shetland pony for the dd's (ok, for me), i have some where to keep it but how much will it cost a week to feed, shoe etc..?

Any horsie mumnetters?

Any advice please?

I'm not very happy about all this shetland-bashing I can tell you! The one my son rides is a complete angel and has never put a foot wrong with him even though he has severe asd and she must have been sorely tempted. She never nips or snatches or barges or takes advantage in any way. The worst thing she has done was to get down for a roll in a muddy patch with ds on board. She has made him so over-confident that he just waited for her to get up and then climbed back on as though nothing had happened!

As I said: some out there are lovely, but there are lots (and most, if not all the ones I have owned, ridden as a child, friends have owned etc), have been bitey and nasty. They are a notorious breed. But that doesn't mean there aren't exceptions, just like you can get nasty and bitey Welshies. Whatever you buy, you have to be careful.

It's also unlikely that if your son rides at a riding school, they would choose a pony for youngsters to ride, which had known behavioural problems, so I am sure the shettie he rides IS lovely. You just have to be careful with them as they have known characteristics.

Our sheltie belongs to my friend who lets us use her whenever we want as her daughter outgrew her many years ago, in return for looking after her. Kind of like a loan but with the bills paid! I realise we are very lucky to have such a sweetie and that they are not all like that but IMO it's often because people don't think they have to treat shetlands like 'proper horses' and let them get away with murder when they are little and cute. Ok, littler and cuter .

I can honestly say I have always treated whatever horses I have had in the same ways, and no matter what the animal, have never treated them as cutsie ikkle things that can do no wrong. I also had a welsh section A when I was a child, which are also small, but he wasn't horrible. If you are aware of the fact they can be horrid, it's not a problem and can be quite endearing. But I think all horses, given the fact they have a fight or flight nature, have the ability to cause damage. I wouldn't trust mine when they're squabbling near the gate at food time! But like you say, lots of people treat shetties like a dog - some people I have heard keep them in their garden, and I even read about someone letting one roam in the house. How ridiculous. They are not domestic creatures!!!

Lol, I don't think my landlord would be too thrilled if I let the pony walk about on the carpets. I had enough trouble persuading him to let me have a cat!

true tiredfedup but I did use to find it amusing as a child to occasionally bring pony into the house - usually during a party, don't really think it did him any harm, and his manners were certainly fine