Hi all
I have been a rider since my teenage years on and off. I’m now knocking on the door of 40 with two children 5yrs and 4yrs. I have owned my own horses before, very demanding TB Aarab Mare for a good few years in my late 20s but then my career took off and so since that time I have been without a 4 legged companion (aside from a pug!). I’m lucky enough to have left London and moved to rural suffolk. So, I really want my children to have less iPad/digital time and more outside time (with a purpose) so I have purchased two beautiful little shetlands one is19yrs and one is 8yrs. They currently live outside all year on just grass and live on a busy stud farm. So they’ll be leaving the heard together and coming to a quiet secure and secluded location here with no other horses in their immediate sight. Although I will be taking charge of their day to day care, I obviously want to include the children (not straight away). Anyway, what I want some advice about is settling them in... I was planning to stable them for a couple of hours when they’re delivered in the morning together and then pop them into their paddock in a sectioned off area (the grass is rich and plentiful) for a couple of hours before bringing them in overnight and then repeating for another day or two before finally leaving them out all night.... does this sound ok.? Shetlands are totally new unknown territory to me, so any advice is gratefully received. They won’t be being ridden, they’ll just be very well loved pets without any real jobs or demands upon them, they will be very well fussed over... but I dont have much of a plan here guys..
I have been a rider since my teenage years on and off. I’m now knocking on the door of 40 with two children 5yrs and 4yrs. I have owned my own horses before, very demanding TB Aarab Mare for a good few years in my late 20s but then my career took off and so since that time I have been without a 4 legged companion (aside from a pug!). I’m lucky enough to have left London and moved to rural suffolk. So, I really want my children to have less iPad/digital time and more outside time (with a purpose) so I have purchased two beautiful little shetlands one is19yrs and one is 8yrs. They currently live outside all year on just grass and live on a busy stud farm. So they’ll be leaving the heard together and coming to a quiet secure and secluded location here with no other horses in their immediate sight. Although I will be taking charge of their day to day care, I obviously want to include the children (not straight away). Anyway, what I want some advice about is settling them in... I was planning to stable them for a couple of hours when they’re delivered in the morning together and then pop them into their paddock in a sectioned off area (the grass is rich and plentiful) for a couple of hours before bringing them in overnight and then repeating for another day or two before finally leaving them out all night.... does this sound ok.? Shetlands are totally new unknown territory to me, so any advice is gratefully received. They won’t be being ridden, they’ll just be very well loved pets without any real jobs or demands upon them, they will be very well fussed over... but I dont have much of a plan here guys..