Shetland Ponies

[JAK]

How much would a couple of Shetland Ponies cost on an annual basis, and what sort of operation would you need to justify them. Small woodlot? Small farm? Maybe even generate some combined heat and power with them in the winter, if you barn was under your living space. Generate electricity? Pump water? Split wood?

Wondering if with the price of oil we might see a comeback?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Farmer_plowing.jpg

An Epitaph for a Husbandman

He who would start and rise
Before the crowing cocks, --
No more he lifts his eyes,
Whoever knocks.
He who before the stars
Would call the cattle home, --
They wait about the bars
For him to come.
Him at whose hearty calls
The farmstead woke again
The horses in their stalls
Expect in vain.

Busy and blithe and bold
He laboured for the morrow, --
The plough his hands would hold
Rusts in the furrow.

His fields he had to leave,
His orchards cool and dim;
The clods he used to cleave
Now cover him.

But the green, growing things
Lean kindly to his sleep, --
White roots and wandering strings,
Closer they creep.

Because he loved them long
And with them bore his part,
Tenderly now they throng
About his heart.

Charles G. D. Roberts *

[Drawbar]

I could be wrong, but I don't think these ponies were made for real work. Pulling out firewood would tax the poor animals I would think. Considering how heavy a green piece of hardwood can weigh, and the size of these animals, I would think it would not be a good combination.

My neighbor has one and while he is hardly the person to judge these animal needs on (he owns ½ an acre) his pony is nasty! Very nasty and really can't let his kids go around it.

As for livestock, typically if you have to ask if you can afford it, the answer is no. By the factor in your time, grain, feed and vet bills and the rest, it will scare you. Did I mention grain???

I am not saying horses don't have their place, but I think having a Shetland for work would not really work. Better to get a small sub-compact tractor and even though it needs fuel, it only needs it when you use it. When its sitting there not being used, it doesn't take up time or require attention.

[JAK]

I understand there is a difference between the original Shetland Pony and other such breeds and some of these modern breeds like the American Shetland Pony.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shetland_pony
"Shetland ponies were first used for pulling carts, carrying peat, coal and other items, and ploughing farmland. Then, as the Industrial Revolution increased the need for coal in the mid-19th century, thousands of Shetland ponies travelled to mainland Britain to be pit ponies, working underground hauling coal, often for their entire (often short) lives. Coal mines in the eastern United States also imported some of these animals."

[chloe3388]

Don't know about costs to keep them, that seems to be very regional. Instead of shetland ponies have you thought about burros? They are very tough little animal. A lot of people around here also use them as a sort of guard animal for cattle, they keep the coyotes away.

[JAK]

Burros are likely to make a comeback also, I should think.
Perhaps the best regional choice depends on climate.

[EarthMother]

I've had a couple of shetlands. One was a wonderful pony but it was crossed with a Welch, the other one was
not so nice. If you can find a couple of Welch ponies I think you would be happier. They are larger than a shetland, smaller than a reg. horse. Good dispositions. ::)

[JAK]

That's good to know. Thanks.

[Dobelo17]

I have had all kind of horses and our shetland was
a little brat if she could get away with it. Scrap you
off by the shed, run under the clothes line and knock you off. I also had a POA mare she is bigger then a shetland and smaller then a regular size horse just like a welch.
SHe was the nicest horse I ever owned. Horses or ponies are expensive unless you can do your own hoof trimming and give yearly vaccinations your self. THey also need a coggins test each year if you plan to take them anywhere( fairs, horseshoes, or trail rides) this has to be done by a vet and sent in. Hope this helps.

BEcky

[tiggermeriffic]

I myself own Irish Dexter cows. They are a triple purpose animal. They are used for meat, milk, and also as oxen. They would be a nice adition and they are small.

[mistyriver]

The original shetlands were used as pit ponies to pull carts from the coal mines.
You might check into some of the draft-type ponies (Haflinger or Fjords) but they will be more expensive.
Almost all ponies are fairly cheap to feed because ponies are typically "easy keepers" and almost never need grain. You can generally do far more harm to a pony by overfeeding than by slightly nderfeeding.

[txplowgirl]

We use to raise shetlands and welches when I was a kid. I don't know the cost of raising them but as far as temperment, the welches were easier to handle that the shetlands. Mean little buggers. all of them. The shetlands that is.
My dad used both to pull carts and buggies in parades and carry small stuff around the place.
The welches are a lot easier to handle in harness and better temperment like I said. They also can handle heavier loads. just my opinion of course.

[fancyfowl]

I have had Shetlands, the classic type not the Modern type crossed with hackney; Welsh mountain ponies hackney ponies and haflingers. I used a team of Shetland cross ponies which were 44" for all my farm work for about 10 yers. haukled wood, pulled a 40 bushel spreader, drove to town, they did it all. The hackneys were 'hot' and i did use them some in a work harness but mostly for fine harness and roadster . the welsh were the handiest and best m annered for their size. the Haflingers were real work animals. I'd figure a dollar a day now for keep.

I bet a registered Shetland is a hard find today?? back in the fifties 45,000 was a good price, many a lot more than that then in a 6 month span they were worth about 35-40 bucks per.

[harvester]

I just sold off my last shetland last summer. Ponies are becomming hard to get these days in my area. Atleast the ones that arent crossed with miniature horses. mine were purebred registered shetlands with the big heavy legs. used for driving mostly. They can work all day and do great on a small farm. However they are only capable of pulling so much weight, especially dead weight.
A friend of mine owns and raises haflingers. "big little ponies". They are shorter than a horse, but as heavy as a draft. And they can handle draft work quite well especially in teams.
The cost to keep 1 shetland is roughly 3 tons of hay a year per shetland. Unless the animals are working all day very hard, they dont need grain and infact grain can be a detriment to them. They process their feed very well.
As all horses they need vetting and hoof care which is expensive these days.
Shetlands as like all ponies and small breeds of horses intended for children can and will develop an attitude problem if its not corrected immediately the first time they do it. Most ponies intended for children and those that become the responsibility of the children often become unuseable due to an attitude problem caused from children letting the animal lead the show.

[fancyfowl]

can I get a quick brag about my Haflinger// Sam was 56" tall, took a 26 " collar and was Ohio State Fair champion stallion in 1988. He was driven with 5 strange stallions in a 6 horse hitch at the Wooster Ohio draft pony sale the night before I bought him. He could do it all. Work or hitch wagon he shined. One of the best mannered stallions I have evr owned. His previous owner did a real job with him.

[CountryKitty]

Shetland ponies were originally (centuries ago) larger workhorses--they were taken to the Shetland Islands by settlers. Under the harsh conditions the smaller and sturdier and fiestier animals were able to get enough graze, while larger or meeker animals went hungry, so the breed gradually reduced in size to what we see today.

They really are tough little animals, and with their blocky build are well suited to work--google images of shetlands and Belgian draft animals...they're built very much alike.
Like all breeds intended for work they will get obnoxious of not given something to do (think about working breeds of dogs--they get bored and destrutive if not given something to occupy their brains and energy).

Some of the local Amish and Mennonites use shetlands for pulling small riding carts as opposed to family buggies or plows or farm wagons. Saw four young lads in their traditional dress out for a ride one Sunday--not a one over 12, and the pony pulling their cart didn't flinch or miss a step as I eased by on a motorcycle.

I like the earlier suggestion of small cattle breeds being triple use animals--since extra males will be made into steers for meat anyway it only makes sense to train a couple as oxen.
Goats also have served this purpose--castrated male goats, known as wethers, have been trained as pack animals and to pull carts...google goat carts--they are still made and sold to this day.
Ripley's Believe it or Not (book not TV series) once mentioned a man using a donkey and a pig harnessed together to pull a plow.

Being a knitter, I'm all for llamas as pack animals! In their native habitat, the locals use llamas for pack animals, meat, and wool. Did I mention I knit? Yarn on the hoof!