Do any of you have Shetlands?

[MikeTheShite]

Hello!
My 2.6 year old has possibly been gifted a shetland. (Outgrown)
I am extremely horsey, but racehorses are my thing.
Livery isn't a problem, however as she's going on assisted livery I need to do her bedding and her hay, possibly some hard feed.
She doesn't need shoes.

I'm just wondering how much your Shetlands eat and need bedding wise.
Thank you

I have one and a racehorse(ex)
Shetty is by far the less hassle although has probably resulted in as much to keep over the years...

No hard feed really although mine has a small version of the big ones so he doesn't feel left out (coolstance copra and hi fi light so nil on sugar)
I would treat every shetty as a possible lami so restricted grazing/soaked hay/watch weight etc. Prevention is better than cure!

In regards to hay and bedding -I can keep mine on woodshavings and top up once a month if he has a decent bed and out for half the day. He is a tidy boy and I deep litter.
For hay (again if out in day) I give nothing for day and a small haynet at night. About 1 1/2 small bales of hay a week. Mine has lami though not a bout for a year because I manage and watch him like a hawk!

Feet will still need trimming, wormers you can probably get away with using the last bit from another horse if you have one. Jabs same as any horse...

Shettys are fab but only if you treat them like horses and not teddy bears . They get a stinky reputation but its the way they are treated just like any animal which results in them being little poo bags!
I love the bones off of mine!

That's just what I needed to hear! I have found her a house but I was thinking of putting her out from May-sept? Is that a no no?

Both mine lives out 24/7 unless the shetty is injured

BUT I watch his grazing - he basically lives off air most of the year with a little bit of soaked hay. Up until 2 yeras ago he roamed all over the shop and ate what he wanted...then he got struck down with lami. I wish i had known better and kept him restricted!

Its a bit if a pain because I have to keep them in next door paddocks or possibly this year in a paddock with other prone fat ponies during grassy season - tb and shetty have completely different needs.

This winter they have been out together with no issues but its been mild so no frosts have caught us out this year!

Oh Bonkey it looks like you've convinced me that we have to have this little pony

Ours is adorable and everyone loves her but I agree you have to treat them like proper ponies not toys. She lives out so I don't know about bedding but she can pack away a surprising amount of hay for a little'un. We give her the leftover wormer when our other pony has his so no cost there.
We have a small paddock fenced off by the gate so she can come off the grass during the day in the summer (with a bit of hay to keep her gut moving) but still be close to her mates, she then goes back in the main field at night (which is strip-grazed anyway so mostly eaten down by the others during the day) when there is less sugar in the grass. We find this is enough to prevent her getting laminitis. She does get a feed of fibrebeet, chaff and some feed balancer but only because she is nearly 31 and starting to need a bit of extra TLC. With a younger pony I'd be careful about giving much hard feed, they are evolved to live on very sparse pickings. I wouldn't rug a chubby shetland either, it just makes it harder to keep the weight off.

Spare a crust kind sir? They never feed me you know...

pixel She is a lovely girl!
I can only pray my little bugger gets to 31!
He is touch and go with a soft tissue injury....hard ground of summer will sway it either way...

He wins all awards for best hair do though

They live off fresh air compared to thoroughbreds! Minimal access to spring grass as laminitis prone (ime) docile but sneaky!

Bonkey he's so cute! And I love the hairdo . Hope he will be ok.

So do I!
He has already made it 3 months longer than I honestly expected (could barely walk beg of dec and I made a decision and then he bounced back!) and is coping extraordinarily well. Off all painkillers and just a hobble but seems content and mostly happy.
He's never going to be ridden again (not that he was particularly safe for kids ) but if he can mooch around relatively pain free and still capable of giving me the run around like he is at the moment then I will be very content!
Just hope the harder ground doesn't give him too much bother...

Be warned MikeTheShite your heart will get stolen and you will very possibly have that pony for life .

There are a couple of things you have to remember about Shetlands.
1/ they are draught horses. They may be small but they're built just the same and designed for hard work. Being pampered and treated like a teddy bear is the quickest way to turn them nasty.
2/ they come from Shetland. its freezing, arid and food is rough and sparse. They don't need hard feed. or any feed particularly.
Mine lives out 24/7/365.
I don't feed her anything. EVER!
She isn't rugged or shod.
Even in winter, unless there is thick snow on the ground, she just eats the grass. If there is snow on the ground, she gets a bit of straw to eat.
She is on unlimited grazing and has never had laminitis. Because she's never fed, come the spring she is 'light'. I'm not talking skin and bone, but she definitely has room to spare for the spring grass. This is very important.
When she is stabled she's on wood chip and gets straw to eat.
And don't give treats. A mint maybe, AFTER the work is done, but treats are the fastest way to send the little blighters bitey!
Shetland have an amazing double coat. Rugs other than maybe a rain mac for stormy weather are actually detrimental. They flatten the coat and mess with their temperature control.

Thank you all! You've really made my mind up now!
As I have been in racing previously for a long time I do solemnly declare, this pony will be loved and cared for but she is not a toy, the idea is to teach dd horsemanship.
It's very hard to find all year grazing. I've found a lovely yard where he can live out feb-oct, and be stables at night during the winter months.
It's £50pcm for turnout at £100 during the winter months.
For part assisted which I think is extremely cheap for our area (Sussex surrey borders)

Definitely you must have the shetland! When our girl goes I'm so going to miss having her around the place. I'm just hoping I get grandchildren one day so I can justify having another (obviously I'd like them for other reasons too but, you know, priorities ).

And don't forget you could drive it! Dshetland used to get driven and was brilliant, absolutely bombproof. Such fun!

I'm thinking too that from experience, Shetland ponies are so hard to find around our area, on loan or to buy.
Hence DD having a 12.2 on loan at the moment!
So DShetlabd, could be loaned out 1 day a week and the weekend that DD is at her DFs.

I'm also thinking if I get DShetland on the local show circuit (lots of friends with Lorrys) then I can get her noticed by the time DD outgrows her

Rather excited now!

We took our traditional Shetland to pony club. It was hysterical! We rocked up in out tatty old trailer, unloaded her and led her round a have a look round. Eyes followed her everywhere. One little kid tugged her mother's arm and said something like "I say mummy, what IS that? Is it a pony? why does it have such little legs?"

It was like that all day. We didn't go again!

Well I'm shocked Saggy. You'd think Pony Club members would be a little less ignorant about our wonderful native breeds! only partly joking

Saggy that's hilarious! I can so imagine that happening around here!

I totally can't wait to rock up like that!

One other thing about Shetlands: they are smart. Mine was an escapologist. He would come up to the electric fence and test it with the very tips of his whiskers. If it was on, he would back up to the battery and give it a smart kick, test the fence again and then merrily climb through the fence to get to the grass on the other side. Watched him do it with dropped jaw from the window! He would also steal the feed right out from under the big horse's nose by getting hold of her dish by the handle and yanking it sideways. He'd have wolfed half of it before you managed to hoick his head up again. They are extremely food-oriented! But he was lovely, the cheekiest little demon. He did get laminitis when he was about 12 (we had him from 4 to 14) so yes, watch out for lush grazing.

They can be a bit (ahem) opinionated. I learned to ride on a different Shetland who would decide he'd had enough, and simply turned his head around, took hold of my leg as I tried to mount and pulled me straight back off again. And he used to duck out of his bridle if you tried to make him canter. He was my aunt's pony and estimated to be nearly 50 when he died, so it could be a long-term commitment! His field-mate was a lovely sweet natured little piebald mare, so they aren't all grumpy.

There's a brilliant wee Shetland at our local pony club centre that does polocrosse tournaments!