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beach chick

looking for something to keep the grass down... shetland pon

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right, this is the situation: we have a 1 acre field, immediately adjacent to (and opens on to) the garden. the WIR and electric fence are at one end for the chickens.

 

currently I mow the rest of it to keep the grass down as otherwise it just turns into scrub. its fenced on 3 sides, apart from the one open to the garden. mowing is a bit of a pain, and not that great for the mower, at least its a ride-on, but the field is quite bumpy and therefore the mower suffers.

 

I'd quite like to add some more animals to the menagerie, but they need to be grass cutters as well!!

I've ruled out goats, as they like trees and shrubs.

llamas/alpacas would be lovely, but too expensive.

pigs/cows - no!!

sheep???

shetland ponies seem to be top option - I am horsey, my girls both ride. I could look after ponies quite easily.

 

anyone have any experience with shetlands? could they do the grass-cutting job? in return they would get company, walks on the beach (!!) etc etc.

any advantages/disadvantages?

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Shetlands are fantastic underrated little equines, I adore mine- she used to be a driving pony and we trotted miles around the Surrey lanes it was great fun. They have a reputation for being bad-tempered but if treated like a small horse not some kind of toy for kids to pull around and bully there is no reason why they cant behave themselves! My mare is lovely to be around and is always pleased to see you.

They do eat grass but their grazing needs to be restricted particularly in the spring and autumn as they are extremely prone to laminitis and will get fat at the drop of a hat.

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thanks for that Rhapsody. if/when it would be a small horse rather than a pet dog - I've had experience with stroppy ponies!! just spoke to the guy who runs our riding stables, and he's going to come and have a look - a possibility we might have some of his on 'holiday' every now and then. he is quite short of grazing and has quite a few semi-retired oldies who might like a holiday by the seaside with some good grazing. it would absolve me of financial responsibility, and I'm quite happy to care from them while they are vacationing...!

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Yes, beware laminitis. Shetlands will have to be restricted during the spring, summer and early autumn when the grass is growing strongly. I have a 15,3hh cob who manages well on an acre of grass all summer. He is prone to laminitis and in early spring I sometimes have to restrict him to less than an acre. So, a little Shetland would definitely be at risk of laminitis on 1 acre. I think the idea of holidaying horses is much better!

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OSH - we tried the wild flower meadow. WFMs are a con in my experience - it was absolutely beautiful for about 3 weeks, with flowers up to about 4' high, and I cut paths through it with the mower and it was all very romantic and lovely. then it took 4 men 3 days to cut it and clear the debris - which you have to do because otherwise it just turns into scrub and the big thuggish things take over from the things you actually want. so we reverted to mowing it and just leave biggish circles round the trees for the flowers, and strim those once a year.

 

not sure where we are going on the mobile lawnmowers at the moment. I was offered 2 miniature ponies (falabella type) which need rehoming but husband has put his foot down and said we dont need them and it would be cheaper to get a new mower if we needed it than pay vets bills, hay bills, etc etc etc!!! he may well have a point of course.

 

but I could probably sneak the odd holidaying pony in from time to time...!

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