Put Grazing Control at the Top of the Page
With a Shetland pony, the first paragraph of your notes is not a welcome message. It is the grazing plan, written in terms a helpful neighbour cannot misread. Shetlands evolved to thrive on sparse hill grazing, and rich lowland grass, especially in spring and autumn flushes, can overload a small pony quickly and put the feet at real risk. State exactly where the pony grazes, for how many hours, on what kind of strip or track system, and whether a grazing muzzle is worn, including when it goes on, when it comes off, and where the spare muzzle hangs if the first is rubbed or lost.
Be blunt about extras. Write that no treats, carrots in quantity, stable-yard handouts or access to a neighbour's lush paddock are allowed, however pleading the pony looks, because well-meant extras are how relief arrangements most often undo a careful owner's management. If the pony is stabled for part of the day, say when, and what forage waits inside.
Small Amounts, Written as Measures
Feed quantities for a Shetland look startlingly small to anyone used to horses, so write them as physical measures the carer can copy: the named handful, cup or small scoop, left inside the bin, and hay weighed or described as the exact net size you use rather than a flake that varies by bale. Say whether hay is soaked, for how long in plain terms, and where soaking happens, since a carer guessing will usually feed a pony of this size far too much.
Water notes should cover the low trough or bucket a short pony can actually reach comfortably, how algae and ice are dealt with, and checking that an automatic drinker is not set too high. Add the daily hands-on checks in order: run hands down each leg for heat, feel for a bounding pulse at the fetlock, watch the pony walk a few steps on hard ground for short, pottery steps, and look for the rocked-back stance of a pony shifting weight off sore front feet.
Handling a Strong, Clever Small Pony
Warn the carer fairly: a Shetland is strong for its size, low to the ground, and quick to lean, barge a gate or duck under a slack rope. Notes should say to lead with the rope properly in hand, never wrapped around fingers, to shut and chain every gate even for a minute, and to check low fencing and gate bottoms, because a pony this height tests gaps a horse would ignore. State whether children may handle the pony during your absence and, if so, only under which adult's eye.
Cover feet and coat briefly. Feet need picking out daily, and small hooves packed with mud hide problems well. In thick winter coat, run hands over the ribs and crest rather than trusting the eye, because a Shetland can be gaining under a magnificent coat, and record honestly if the pony is difficult for any one foot so the carer is not caught out.
Who to Call and Which Signs Cannot Wait
Give the vet's number first, then yours, then a local pony person who can attend quickly. Define urgent in Shetland terms: reluctance to move, lying down more than usual, shifting weight from foot to foot, warm hooves, loss of appetite, or any escape onto rich grazing that lasted more than a brief spell should all trigger a call the same day, and foot pain signs should trigger the vet call without waiting for you to reply.
Close the notes with what the carer should send you: a short daily message confirming grazing hours kept, muzzle on and off, feet checked, and appetite normal. KinsLe makes that cover arrangement tidier through Care Pass, which gives your relief carer temporary clear access to the Shetland's grazing rules, measured feeds and warning signs for exactly the period you are away.