I can’t understand how little the Shetland ponies can live off. It is basically fresh air.
Their field upsets me now. There is nothing in it. If I saw this, I would report it to the authorities, desperate that they should do something for the poor, poor ponies who live there. My ponies. My field and this is what is needed to get them to a) stay alive and b) possibly lose some weight. This is on veterinary instruction too.
(Newt is only slightly bigger than the poo pile! – I clear up daily so at least the field is “clean”.)
The Shetland ponies only have access to this field for six hours a day.
By 3 p.m., they are all waiting by the gate asking to come into the paddock for something to eat. A bowl of nothing and then a specific amount of soaked hay.
And apparently this is all a Shetland pony needs to live off for 24 hours. I never thought I would keep ponies like this but here I am realising it is the only way to keep them alive and, God forbid, even healthy.
I am also trying to open up a small part of the track so they can live on it in Spring/Summer but not get laminitis. Rather than give them the whole track, they get a new section of almost nothing once a week.
This is the next section. If they can get fat on that, then I give up. I am suprisingly staying strong!
Yes, you have to stay strong Frances. I also have a laminitic pony. She had a bad episode last year and I thought I was going to lose her. She could barely walk for 3 weeks. She’s fine now, but this spring, I am already monitoring what she gets. Her field has very little and she keeps what does appear down and seems OK with it. I put my horse and sheep out on the neighbor’s lush green pastures every day and the pony now knows she can’t go out. She still screams a bit, but then quiets down. Her diet is grass hay and only about 1C of Safe Choice Special Care (designed for easy keepers and insulin resistant ponies/horses. I only give her that to put in the supplement (1/8 tsp) of Resveratrol which has been shown to support a healthy inflammatory response in horses and ponies. I also keep fingers crossed and try to do the best I can for her. Hang in there Frances. No one loves those ponies or cares for them better than you.
It’s a mother’s worry that she is doing right by her family.
I think we all agree that no one is more caring than you.
Real love is doing what they need rather than what you want . . . the most I have ever cared for is a couple of dogs at a time and they’re a cinch compared to a complex and varied herd with different ages/requirements/temperaments. Stay strong, x