Suitable companion?

[simons-mum]

My gelding is 15hh and the mare in the field next to him has been moved, so I would like to get a companion for him. Ideally I would like a small pony that would not be ridden and really would be a family pet. My initial problem is cash, basically I am trying to save enough to fence of a piece of ground and get some sand in there to use as an arena. I'm sure I could get either an unbroken miniature pony or a retired one as a companion for him. I am just wondering if a huge height difference would make an unsuitable companion? The other issue is that gelding has sweet-itch and is rug-shy (working on this!) so at the minute he has to be stabled pretty much all year round because of flies in summer and weather outside of sweet-itch season. I only have one stable at the minute. We do have a few disused farm buildings that are currently rubbish-filled, to convert one of these would require a bit of work the floor would need concreted, roof repaired, stable door added that sort of thing. Would a small pony be ok living out all the time until say September or October so I could get work done. The area I'm currently using may be able to be seperated into 2 stalls but this would mean building a wall and I'd have to find somewhere else to keep my gelding while this was going on. Does anyone have any thoughts/advice on this?

[IrishDQ]

as for the companion, would you consider any of the horses/ponies on www.equinesection.com? they desperatly need homes. There is a nice older mare on there that would probably make a nice companion and might be suitable for light riding as well.

as for the sweet itch, could you not douse him in fly spray and maybe build him a field shelter to get away from the flies? It's really not right for a horse to be stabled for more than a few hours out of every 24 hours. horses don't usually mind the cold weather in the winter either as long as they have a shelter if they want to get out of the wind/rain.

[Showjumper]

Most of the rescue centres are inundated with small, unrideable ponies and put them out on permanent loan for a small fee (cheaper than buying and you have the confidence that should it not work out, the pony can go back).

[Soot]

My neighbours have a 29 inch mini shetland who is best friends with a 17 hand ex-race horse ... It's very amusing to watch them play!

[LinzCos]

Regarding the companion then I would be careful of a very small pony especially a Shetland or other small native who, while happy to live out 24/7, generally need restricted grazing in the summer and little or no feed in the winter. This might be a pain if your horse is not kept like this. I don't think the size difference is a problem though - you frequently hear of Shetlands being good nannies to big horses, mine is:)

If your horse is in a lot then I guess in order to be a companion than the pony would need to be in a lot too - and in sight. Being in during the day especially in grass growing season would suit most porky ponies but it sounds like you are not going to have the space for that for a while.

Could you just clear out one of the buildings and use it as a shelter rather than a full blown stable? As IrishDQ says treat the sweetitch and leave the horses to chose if they are in or out.

[simons-mum]

Oops I dont think I made that clear enough when I say he's stabled year round I mean at night. He goes out at 7am and stays out till usually 11:30pm or so most of the year but earlier when the midges are out. Flysprays only do so much and only last a few hours, as the main problem times are dawn and dusk this is the main reason he is in at night and he doesnt mind going in, in fact he's usually waiting at the gate in the evenings. It is still 4 degrees here at night and has been cold since October and there have actually been a few fatalities locally where horses where kept in more open fields all night. Ours are pretty sheltered but its still too cold for me to take the change and he goes off the planet if you go near him with a rug. I have ordered one of those light weight sweet-itch rugs as it may be easier to de-sensatize him to this than the bulky turnout rug I've been having no success. I did look into rescuing but one of the conditions is that stabling must be available before they will consider you at all.

[sotanimals]

:cool::Dwhat kind of fencing do you have? We have ugly old barbed wire. And a Burrow. So, why'd you need to fence off a piece? We have our horses and donkey together

[simons-mum]

Also I should say that the un-used buildings we have are in such a state of disrepair that parts of the roof are falling in as the beams are completely rotten (they haven't been used for around 30 yrs) The roof needs to be torn down and replaced completely. I would not stand in there myself so would never consider putting a pony in there. We are kind of thinking or pulling the roof down first before even it clearing out the rubbish as it is so unsafe. I will get to it eventully but it is going to cost thousands.

Maybe DIY livery for a while might be a better solution for a while but its going to mean a 45 minute drive for me at least twice a day :rolleyes:

[simons-mum]

We have natural deciduous hedge and post and rail fencing that particular field is currently 2 acres of permanant pasture. The part I'm fencing off is flat and a sort of 20 x 60ft rectangle which is going to be converted into an arena as we have plenty of permant pasture elsewhere. Barbed wire definately does not go with sweet-itch, he tear himself to death on it. I've never been big on the idea of keeping horses with donkeys, Donkeys can be terratorial, and whatever about the horse I dont think the donkey would be happy. Thats my personal opinion.

[IrishDQ]

Maybe you could get a new field shelter built for him? That'd do him fine. You could put it on a concrete base or if not put rubber mats down inside and maybe some straw at night so he could go in and lie down if he wanted to. :)

[Showjumper]

I did look into rescuing but one of the conditions is that stabling must be available before they will consider you at all.

Not all rescue centres are the same - I got Dylan from Trallwm Farm in Wales and when I got him, there weren't any stables available on my yard but they still allowed me to take him. It turns out now that a stable became available a few weeks later which I took but that was pure fluke.

[EnduranceAli]

The RSPCA have lots of smaller ponies looking for new homes. Take a look on their website.

Ali xx