Put Weight and Grazing at the Top of a Shetland's Week
A Shetland pony's checklist starts from the breed's defining trait: it thrives on very little. Shetlands evolved on sparse island grazing, so rich pasture and generous hay push weight on fast, and excess weight is the road to sore, laminitic feet. Your daily rows should record hay by weight rather than by armful, grazing hours exactly as planned, and muzzle on or off where one is used. Add a daily foot check — pick out all four hooves and note any heat or a stronger-than-usual pulse at the fetlock, because catching foot soreness on day one matters far more with a pony built to get fat than with almost any other breed.
Schedule the Weekly Condition Checks a Shetland Needs
Once a week, run a weight tape around the pony's girth and write the figure beside last week's, always at the same time of day. Follow it with hands-on condition scoring: feel the crest of the neck for a hard, fatty ridge, run a hand over the ribs, and check behind the shoulder and over the tailhead, where Shetlands store fat early. Record the trim date when it happens and check weekly that the hooves are not flaring or cracking between farrier visits, since small pony feet grow out of balance quickly. A weekly grooming row earns its place too — that famously thick double coat hides rain scald, lice and rubbed patches, so part the hair at the withers, back and belly and look at the skin itself, not just the coat's surface.
Write the Shetland Rules Where Helpers Cannot Miss Them
More Shetland care goes wrong through kindness than neglect, so the checklist should state the pony's limits as plainly as the jobs. Head the sheet with the rules: no extra hay beyond the weighed amount, no treats from pockets, turnout only in the named paddock or with the muzzle fitted. If children handle the pony, write which jobs are theirs — filling the water bucket, leading to the stable — and which stay with an adult, such as checking feet for heat. A pony shared between a family and a livery yard needs this in writing, because everyone assumes a chunky Shetland is a hungry one, and the checklist is what protects him from that assumption.
Use the Finished Week to Steer the Next One
Compare the weight-tape figures before you write next week's sheet. A rising trend across two or three weeks means grazing time or hay weight changes now, while the pony still feels well — not after his feet are sore. Note exercise alongside intake: a Shetland driven, lunged or ridden several times a week holds condition differently from one standing in a field, and the checklist should show both sides of that balance. If you ever record reluctance to walk, shifting weight from foot to foot, or lying down more than usual, stop treating it as a checklist observation and call the vet the same day, since those signs in an overweight pony need prompt attention. Likewise, hooves that suddenly grow hot or a crest that hardens quickly are vet-and-farrier conversations, not next-week adjustments.
Keep the Shetland Checklist Seasonal
Rewrite the sheet as the grass changes. Spring and autumn flushes demand the tightest grazing rows; winter asks for checks that the thick coat is not hiding weight loss underneath, which happens when an older Shetland's teeth struggle with hay. Add a row for checking water in freezing weather, since small troughs ice over fast. When the whole family and any helpers work from the same dated list, nothing depends on memory and the pony's limits hold even when you are away. KinsLe's Care Teams is built for exactly that handover, letting each person mark Shetland jobs complete with a timestamp against one shared checklist.