Can anyone help , please ?

[saschaariana]

Hi .
I brought home a pair of ponys one month ago , for my girl ( Santa's gift ) . Before this , we never had a horse . So I have to learn something day by day .
She is 6 month old and he is 9 month old . First day after I brought them , they got flu . 4 days of injection both , 2 days after , she had some " young horse disease " the vet says ( some infection spots under the chin ) . Treatement again and she is fine now .
I keep them in a shelter made from brick , and I have isolated the shelter with artificial snow ( poliurethan ) . Still....last evening , for the first time they had the hair a little wet ...icy wet .So I am worryed . Indeed , the temperatures here ( south of Romania ) are this time of the year around -10 Celsius ( 14 Fahrenheit degrees ,I think ) . On the floor I have wood and the hay that's on the floor is about 20 cm ( 7 inches ) .
Is it good enough for them ? I was told that the shetlands are a strong breed , but I still am scared when I see them so small ...:(
And there is another problem I have with them ....The girl became friendly after copple days ( if I can say so ) , she comes when she sees me , she stays to be brushed and so on ...but he is scared . When he see people he runs quickly inside , I can hardly touch him (in trying to pet him ) when he eats , but when he realizes that i touch him , he runs after copple seconds .
What method can I try to use to make him trust me and people ?
I don't know if he had any bad treatements where they were a month ago , cause they are brought from Netherland .....
Can someone please help me with some advices , regarding this 2 problems ? ( How warm must be in their shelter and how can I make him to trust me and my girl and be friendly ?)
Thanks very much for your time and attention and sorry for my not so good english .
All the best to you and your dear ones !:)

[Soot]

Hi there,
If they have nice long shaggy Shetland coats then they should be find with the cold. Make sure they're getting enough hay and if they lose any body condition, then it might be worth thinking about supplementation too. My old boy used to live out in -15 without any shelter at all and althought he often has frozen snow covering his back, if you slipped your fingers through his coat you'd feel it nice and warm underneath.
As for the boy -- is he castrated already?
I would suggest taking your time and being patient with him. Bring him carrots and perhaps ;ay a trail that comes closer and closer to you, so he has to take a step nearer every time he wants another carrot. There have been several good threads on taming unhandled ponies lately (search for "Claret" e.g.) so perhaps you'll get some good advice from those people!
GOOD LUCK!

[saschaariana]

Hi ! Thanks a lot :)
About the boy ( White Socks ) :) , no , he is not castrated .
I was afraid to try the thing with sugar or so , cause I was afraid they will ask more and more , and my kid is 9 y.o. so , I was afraid they might kick her , if she does not give them goodies . But I will try the thing with the carrots . And I am als thinking that is just 3 weeks since I got them ...so ...
Anyway ...thanks alot ...and ...all the best :)

[lachlanandmarcu]

In the wild this type of horse can have snow lying on their backs all night and be perfectly comfortable - provided their coat is not clipped or over groomed.

With your boy use his natural curiosity and behaviour, talk to him softly about anything you like. When he is friendlier and more confident, try some of the Monty Roberts/Intelligent Horsemanship techniques like Join up (google for this) as it can really help build a bond and the horse wants to be with you....it is amazing.

good luck with your little ones, the main thing is that you care about them so they cannot fail to be happy!:)