What defines "Crofting" in Shetland today?

[paulb]

an informal chat will do with the crofter commision. your going to have a fair bit of paperwork from them anyway. i doubt you would get the planning folks out to fetlar for that kind of visit. i would also speak to the rspb if its them running the scheme.

a 100hectre croft is very big. you will need to give the crofters commission an idea of what your planning. they can turn you down if they don't like your ideas.

lets see if its a tenented croft there is a grant for work on the house. there are grants for things like fencing barns ect. the is also grants for fertelizer and lime again the rspb may need to be spoken too. there are even grants available for fixing the road.

that a very big area to be worked by horses. oh yes there are also grants for growing crops. hopefully there may even be a single farm payment knocking about. remember a crofter was only ever intended to keep a family alive you will not make a living even from that area. how much of it is moorland and does it have peat banks. this would save a lot in heating costs.

 

if its

DA HAA, FUNZIE, FETLAR, ZE2 9DJ

it looks good. we fancied it to. get a very good valuation done. don't over did. remember that once you have made an offer you have made a contract. so go very carefully. the ruined haa would make a very good project for someone but its bound to be listed so more paperwork.

[EM]

DA HAA, FUNZIE, FETLAR, ... but its bound to be listed so more paperwork.

It isn't listed.

[Patzel]

that a very big area to be worked by horses.

remember a crofter was only ever intended to keep a family alive you will not make a living even from that area.

there would be no need to work on the whole lot with the horses, just some hectares...

 

and the main purpose should be (also nowadays) to keep a family alive.

How does one define "make a living"? Yes, one has to pay bills in modern times and has to generate a certain income but does one need a TV, a microwave, electric tin openers... and all the other stuff where people waste money on?

I'd rather fancy the idea of stimulating some sort of low-impact tourism, farm holidays, student exchange, forestry work etc. which might even create some more jobs in the long term.

[paulb]

DA HAA, FUNZIE, FETLAR, ... but its bound to be listed so more paperwork.

It isn't listed.

how did that escape listing.

[filskadacat]

forestry work

You'll have fun doing that in Shetland...

[Patzel]

You'll have fun doing that in Shetland...

 

no doubt about that

 

but it might be worth trying in some more sheltered area

 

nobody believed it could work in the Western Isles but obviously they are doing well

[crofter-amy]

Does one need planning permission if one was to convert a small area (about 600 or 800 m²) near the house or stable into a sand paddock (which could be used as a riding arena as well) to avoid full-time stabling? This is what we have done here... also in Bavaria the ground is mud in winter times if you let a heavy horse run around freely.

 

Farrier is not really the big problem because I was trained to trim hooves (just need to sit the exams now) . So I am not dependant.

 

Now the way I would look at a 'sand paddock' is winter exersize ground for my working horse. Even if you are only using the horse for checking your boundarys instead of using a quad that surely makes him part of your agricultural activities. therefore as an agricultural 'building' so long as it is over 25m from the road it shouldn't need planning permition. I'm just a crofter not en expert in planning so please check this idea out with them. And by the by, horses and ponies are included in the agricultural census. If you were to 'diversify' your 'croft' activities into say B+B with trecking there possably could be grants for that if not from the C.C. then maybe some kind of new business grant...

 

Is it barefoot trimming you have trained in or traditional? you might well find extra income from that. I have a pony and have been trying to teach myself barefoot trimming from books and seem to be getting the hang of it but would love to have a trained person check my work and I doubt I'm alone in ths.

[Patzel]

Is it barefoot trimming you have trained in or traditional? you might well find extra income from that. I have a pony and have been trying to teach myself barefoot trimming from books and seem to be getting the hang of it but would love to have a trained person check my work and I doubt I'm alone in ths.

 

barefoot trimming

 

Luckily none of my horses needs shoes so far. When drawing a carriage on hard roads I sometimes use rubber boots for one of the mares but they are just needed for the forelegs.

Here in Germany the law says that only a certified farrier may shoe a horse.

But there are hoof orthopaedists, hoof technicians and others who also need a certificate but are only allowed to do barefoot trimming.

Due to the fact that in Germany it is strictly forbidden for horse owners to work on the hooves of their horses unless they are under the supervision of one of the mentioned professionals or they received training (which leads again to a certificate) I am quite happy that my farrier always checks my work and I've been doing it for such a long time under her supervision (yes we do have a female farrier - because one of the stallions doesn't like men at all). So I might have the chance to pass the exams.

 

Training is very expensive (if one was to attend a course) and to just sit the exams (without the official course) is only possible if you can prove some years experience with different horses. Luckily we do have 8 and each is different...

 

Teaching youself by books is not easy and I can understand that you wish to have an experienced person to check your work.

 

Does at least sometimes a farrier come to Foula?

[Wanderlust]

(quote) Is it barefoot trimming you have trained in or traditional? you might well find extra income from that. I have a pony and have been trying to teach myself barefoot trimming from books and seem to be getting the hang of it but would love to have a trained person check my work and I doubt I'm alone in ths.

 

I won't be moving up to your beautiful part of the world for over 18 months but once there I too would be very interested in somebody that could teach me to trim my horses feet be it barefoot or traditional. I'm fully aware that farriers train for many many years and are extremely skilled and knowledgeable in their trade so I am not pretending that I hope to take his /her place but if I could carry out a very basic trim when needs be that would be a fantastic skill to have. If you feel that you would offer this service to islanders please do PM me so that I can keep your info on record for when I arrive (can't come soon enough!).

[crofter-amy]

Does at least sometimes a farrier come to Foula?

 

Not to my knowledge, ever. In desperate cases the vet is called to trim but he is soo busy when he's here and really just has time for the most pressing work and since my pony is sound I can't justify taking his time away from far more needy animals just to fine tune my trimming.

[Patzel]

most vets are not very good at hoof trimming anyway... due to a lack of experience. Well it isn't their main business, so one can understand it.

 

One of my pony mares had laminitis caused by poisoning, when a storm had blown neighbours litter into the paddock and she had eaten some leftover medicines. The laminitis was so bad (followed an allergical shock) that two different vets had given her up. Our farrier was able to cure her. I took us 6 months of weekly hoof care and control, the vet (who was only assisting with medical treatment) was very surprised.

 

A friend of mine has too very heavy draught horses (Nederlandse Trekpaard) and one was diagnosed with hoof canker by more than one vet.

2 years of desperate treatment, hoof trimming by the vet, an operation without any success, more than once she'd been very close to the decision to put the gelding to sleep.

Finally we found a farrier specialized for cases like this, luckily just 70km away from her place. He said it was no hoof canker, just a fungus which caused destruction of the hoof. Almost unbelievably the horse was cured by him within two weeks. Finally the gelding is now lame free, enjoys life and is getting really cheeky. It is week three after farrier treatment now and she went on holiday... with the gelding.

 

What I am trying to say is that a good farrier is worth more than gold.

 

Obviously there are so many horse owners in Shetland who face the same problems being left alone with hoof care... how come no farrier settled within the islands?

[MuckleJoannie]

There ia thread on farriers here

 

http://www.shetlink.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4993

 

The opinion is that there is not enough work for one full time.

[Patzel]

well... I have just sent an email to the authorities asking about the next exams date... so if I am lucky and if we do succeed in relocating to Shetland there might be a residential farrier again on one of the remote islands

 

part-time would suit me...

 

why on earth did I ever get an office job? I should never have listened to my parents when I was young. Everything I was interested in (farming, horse care, cows...) I started when I was in my mid thirties.

 

I can still hear my mum: oh child, you need a decent job in the office, so forget about your dreams, they won't last

 

Well they did last

[paulb]

there are a couple of people who are trained farriers on shetland. a really nice lady on yell helped us when one of our girls started with white line disease. she will come out if there is an emergency but she is not really working at the moment due to family commitments.

 

you do need to think about distance and time for a farrier to arrive in any of the outlying islands its going to take a lot of time and the cost are going to be high.

 

assuming the farrier need there van with them it would be a chancy thing to go to foula of fair isle because the ferry may fail to sail.

 

thordale and others are very helpful and full of sound knowledge.

[Wanderlust]

What I am trying to say is that a good farrier is worth more than gold.

 

Couldn't agree more. The depth of knowledge of the equine foot anatomy that farriers have is incredible. If my horse has a problem in the foot I always call my farrier before I call the vet. Don't get me wrong, I've always been very lucky and had superb vets for my horses but the farrier is "the king" when it comes to their feet!