A friend of mine, Anna, has always loved horses, but recently she made the switch from riding to … “Shetlanding”. That is, she purchased a 10 hand tall Shetland (maybe Shetland – Mini cross?). You may be thinking “Why?”. Honestly, I know I was! Well, first, she bought him as a pet for her retired Appaloosa, Sweet Macintosh (or “Mac” for short). Yes, she got her horse a pet little horse. Now, that may sound a little odd too, but if you met Mac, you would probably understand. He is a high stress 34 year-old lovable spotted boy.
However, once you go Shetland… Okay, you can’t look at that face and not want to make high pitched noises at him.
What does this have to do with trail riding, you may be asking? Pudding is actually her trail pony now! Clearly she does not do this while mounted as she prefers Pudding in an unsquished state.
So, since I clearly don’t understand not wanting to ride everywhere and all the time, I asked Anna a few questions about her Shetland lifestyle. Enjoy the photos of the adorable Pudding interspersed through her answers.
Q: So… what’s the deal?
A: Around the time that Mac was ready to retire, I found myself experiencing a lot more anxiety with riding, particularly with horses not my own. I tried lessons and half-leasing, but nothing really felt quite right and I was not enjoying riding the way that I used to. I have a lot of anxiety about both getting hurt and also about if I was fair to the horse. No matter how well a ride would go I was more anxious about it the next time. I decided that instead of trying to force it I would give myself the space to enjoy horses in a way that created much less anxiety and really just focus on the aspects of horse life that brought me joy. Around that same time Mac adopted Pudding, and so did I. It started as just trying to get my fat pony some exercise but I soon realized that I really have a great time taking Pudding places, playing with that amazing mane and having adventures together. I get to spend time outdoors with a horse on my terms.
Q: A lot of people would try to keep riding and force the issue. Why didn’t you go that route?
A: Well, I really did for a long time. I tried co-owning a horse with a friend, I half-leased a sweet Standardbred gelding (think: land-squid), I took lessons, I even went on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, riding dressage Lusitanos in Portugal. I tried starting slow and I tried jumping right in. I would get my passion for it back briefly and then each time I would find myself making excuses not to ride and avoiding it until I stopped entirely. No matter how many stabs I took at it the feeling never seemed to get better. The harder that I pushed it the less I enjoyed it and the more guilt and failure I felt. Eventually, after my Portugal vacation, actually, I realized that at the moment I just don’t feel like riding is what I want right now, and that’s OK. Since then I have been enjoying my horse life much more. Many days (especially in the winter) I just stop by to give my boys some treats and pet them, and I’m very content with that. There is a lot of focus on riding in the horse world, as well there should be, but there is certainly a space for the many non-riding horse addicts out there.
Q: What exactly do you usually do with Pudding when you take him out?
A: All of the same things that I did mounted, actually! This last summer we walked in a 4th of July parade, spent a day getting squeezed by kids at the fair, did an open show, trailered to a neighboring barn to join in a trial ride, and went on a trip to The Bunkhouse. When we are sticking around home we either go for a walk or play in the arena (or sometimes just the barn if the weather is bad). He enjoys learning tricks (especially if there is a treat involved) and also seeing new places. He’s really fun to take places because he handles new sights and sounds really well, he’s got a great little brain, and he is a crowd favorite everywhere we go. I get to see the sights and participate in all the things I did before but I honesty have more fun doing it because I am very rarely worried about getting hurt or asking him unfair questions since I am much more confident in my skills on the ground (and leading well is a pretty simple task). He is a very forgiving little fellow and is helping me learn that it’s OK to make training mistakes too, he will still come trotting up for a treat if I’m not perfect every day.
Q: What is your favorite part of Shetland ownership?
A: That’s a hard question because there are so many! I have been particularly enjoying rolling up to things with just a halter, a lead rope, and a dressage whip and milling around while everyone else has to get tacked up. He is really hardy and a very easy keeper, he just eats the hay that Mac discards. His adorable little face, huge mane and tiny ears are also a huge plus. He’s just an all-around fun little fellow, and extremely portable.
Q: What’s next for you and Pudding?
A: More adventures! I am thinking about very slowly teaching him to drive, maybe. Neither of us know anything about it so it will be a slow process. He is only 6 so we have plenty of time. I would also like to teach him some cute tricks that we can do next time we do a parade. This summer I would like to hitch rides to more events like group trails, we had a great time with the one went on last summer. One major goal is also to learn how to be more interesting than grass for his food-crazed pony brain, that is one of the eternal questions of pony life.
Thanks so much for chatting, Anna! We wish you and Pudding good luck with your future adventures!
Happy trails!
Kerrie
