Video of my Modern Shetland stallion

[disneyhorse]

Here is a video of my Modern Shetland stallion, "Quake," playing in the arena yesterday after just being body clipped. Normally, I try to not body clip very early in the year, but for the first time in California, American Shetlands will be presented at the 2010 Equine Affaire and you just may see him there.

For those unfamiliar with Modern Shetlands, they move like this naturally! My guy does not wear chains or hoses and does not work in bungees or shackles. He has bell boots on in front in case he overreaches, per my farriers!

He's just turning three this year and will hopefully be hooked to a cart sometime soon!

Andrea

 

[RockRiverTiff]

Well someone had their Wheaties yesterday! He looks great - I bet you enjoy his turnouts almost as much as he does.

 

[eagles ring farm]

wow beautiful guy

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Just beautiful!!!

 

[Mominis]

Holy sheep dip! That horse can MOVE! May I ask how he's shod? He doesn't look to be carrying a particularly long foot or anything. I'm really blown away. I think I like Shetlands! He has a very intelligent eye too.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

HOLY COW I WANT ONE!!!

Do they ALL really move like that? I think I see a Modern Shetland in my barn in the near future. . .

 

[Leeana]

Very nice colt Andrea! I've always liked him a lot, he seems pretty unique

I'm hoping to get my first modern this Spring, I've been itching for one and we're going to see what happens the second Saturday of May

 

[disneyhorse]

I never mind sharing... I am pretty new to Moderns so don't take my word as "IT" or anything...

My farriers are new to shoeing the Moderns, he's been in little keg shoes in front only and then this is his second "real" set of shoes with pads. He is shod pretty conservatively, and I actually got pictures of his shoes two weeks ago right after he was done so I will share them. I think they are big, so I am sorry if they are huge! After I post I will see if they are overwhelming or not.

Anyway, here are his front shoes. I have my farrier keep his natural angles if possible. AND you can see he does NOT have an excessively long foot!!! He has an eight ounce shoe (we weighed them) and light leather pads. I have been told by someone more knowledgeable than me that these shoes are a TINY bit too small, they should sit more forward and then extend a little further back. But my farriers handmade these away from the barn so considering that it works pretty well. And it does make a difference in his movement, his previous set of shoes were four ounces. It did take him about a week to adjust to these and now WOW! I am impressed.

At any rate, because this is my first "real" Modern I am going slow and playing it natural. I have been impressed at how talented these ponies truly are.

And then his hind shoes are put in normal, plain 'ol keg shoes, I think they are probably about three ounces but I didn't weigh those.

For anyone interested, the Modern shetlands ARE a lot of work compared to the Classics or the Minis! But they are VERY smart and VERY fancy and SO fun! I can't tell you how much fun I have every single day turning him out and watching him trot around and play! There is a pool with kids above the arena and most days it really gets him going

I hope to have driving video but that is a month or two off, stay tuned

No, they don't ALL move like that. Some do and some don't. And the shoeing and/or action aids can make a difference, too.

BUT... for those of you who want a Modern and have some $$$... there are ponies that move even MORE huge than mine out there!!! Start shopping and share pictures with me though, okay?

Andrea

 

[willowoodstables]

Andrea...

What is his breeding and how tall is he at the wither with that foot/shoe? Very nice Modern, he will be very fancy and explosive in harness for sure!!! Nice nice pony!

Kim

 

[disneyhorse]

Hi Kim...

He is somewhere between 45-46" with that foot, I haven't measured him yet but he's pretty tall and definitely at the max height for a Shetland. His full sister was also borderline like him. I have him ASPR registered just in case, but I know he's not WAY over or anything.

His full sister shows as a Roadster, which is where I think I would like to show him because Roadster is SO fun!!! I think I might try to start him as a Formal Pleasure or something, just so he gets his manners in the ring first.

He is a son of "The Duke Of Royal Manor" (Fine Harness Congress Grand Champion owned by Lee Dunn) who is a son of Hackney "Cadetson's Choice."

His dam is a Moose Meadow bred mare with Pony-Vista, Dun-Haven, and Hackney background.

I just love him, he's such a character.

Andrea

 

[Mominis]

Wow, that is a very reasonable hoof length and very light shoes. Amazing! Are they halfrounds? I know nothing at all about shoeing regulations in this breed, but (sorry, unsolicited constructive critisism here, I hope you take it in the good spirited way that it is intended) would you be able to get him a squared toe shoe for the back?

His hoof is protruding over the front of the shoe in the back feet and should likely have been rasped so that the toe was a touch more square, even with the non-squared toe shoe that he appears to be wearing. That would probably help eliminate the over reaching issue that your farrier is worried about. If he were to actually toss them in the forge and square the toes of the hind shoes, it may even eliminate the over reachissue entirely, looks to me like he could use a bit of a trailer in the back to help him balance more, he is a touch short shod behind. Your farrier did a really nice job of not short shoeing him in the front. He looks like he has plenty of support from the shoe placement. But that's just my humble opinion.

Either way, he is a really cool horse. He's one of those that I could just sit and watch run around at liberty forever!

 

[Fanch]

What a mover, can't wait to see the driving video!!!

Now, quick side questions, when you say that modern's are more work than a classic or a mini, what exactly do you mean??

 

[disneyhorse]

No worries, Mominis... the hind shoes are just plain keg shoes that they happened to have, I didn't have anything special built and decided to shoe him in the back on a whim.

He has a fairly short back, and used to forge a lot more but now that he's maturing, it's not as much of an issue as he is filling out in the body. My farriers are just worried about him overreaching because they watch him play like a crazy man every day when turned out! They'd rather not replace a shoe

Fanch... Moderns are more work because they generally are more energetic... they simply HAVE to be worked every day. They are bred with amazing work ethics and a lot of energy, so they need an outlet. My minis, I could turn them out every day and some days they would play and some days they would be mellow. Not really so with the Moderns, they don't ever seem to have mellow days. The Moderns I have had, come out of their stalls every day excited to go to work and needed to be lunged/driven/freelunged or something to keep them sane.

As for showing, they do require shoes (generally some people will say the Modern Pleasures do not require shoes, but most people do shoe them up and it does enhance their motion to some degree). But the Moderns (roadster and fine harness) are pretty much always shod. And the shoes are not cheap!

If you have the time and energy to keep up with these ponies, you will find it to be very enjoyable time and energy spent! They will give their all to you until they drop, and I find they have more energy than I do most days! It takes them about half an hour just to warm up.

Andrea

 

[disneyhorse]

To answer some questions that have been PM'd to me...

I mis-typed earlier, his shoes are eight oz. not six oz. (one shoe is .2 oz. lighter than the other though because they were handmade). And yes, the pads and nails do add some weight. There is a dramatic difference in how he moves without these shoes though... here is a video of him last year at this time... he had about 3 oz. keg shoes on the front only and you can see he barely breaks level at a liberty trot. (He is the smaller pony in this video.)

Video of Quake spring 2009

So you can see what a dramatic difference the shoes make in these ponies, let alone other work. That's why I say that even the Modern Pleasures should be shod.

For those of you who have minis and pay for trims only... the Moderns have significantly more expensive farrier visits! I pay an average of $150 every six weeks for this guy's shoes... sometimes more (if they are a new handmade style) and sometimes a tad less (if just a reset). The pads alone I pay an extra $30 for and new ones are cut out every time! So, not only is there more work involved with these guys, there is added expense. Just for those of you budgeting to buy one

I'm glad for those of you who e-mailed and PM'd me that my guy caught your eye. I suggest that you find someone in your area so you can drive and show these guys and work them and see if they are for you. If you do like 'em, you will love 'em!!!

Andrea

 

[Steph]

He looks awesome, Andrea!!