It’s been a busy weekend settling in our new addition “Dottie” a 7 year old Shetland pony who joined us as a companion to Taffy, my 3 year old filly.  We collected her on Friday which took ages as the poor girl had to be herded from the field into a stable to catch as she was so nervous – having been home for 3 days she now follows you round the field and yard totally cheerfully! The only down side is the other horses are not keen on her at all, particularly Sefton the Shire who is convinced she has landed from another planet – it’s going to be a long haul convincing him otherwise!

Unfortunately, Dottie’s also quite overweight which, in combination with her breed and the spring grass, means that she is at  high risk of developing laminitis without careful management.   Laminitis is a true veterinary medical emergency.  For more information on laminitis, visit the laminitis trust website: www.laminitis.org 

Today she has been for a 30 minute brisk walk round the roads and has spent several hours trotting round the field and grazing very poor grass. Once the grass starts to improve she will need to wear a muzzle to limit the amount she can eat without restricting field exercise.  However, it is important that ponies are not starved to lose weight – a well soaked section of hay and non-molassed chaff with the addition of a feed balancer twice daily are very important.  This week Dottie will need to have her feet trimmed as her toes are very long, and also be wormed before she can be turned out in the same field as the other horses.

Having always sworn I would never own a Shetland, I think in 3 days I may have been converted!