Posted on 07/28/2005 7:00:27 PM PDT by The Other Harry
I am very close to buying a pony – imminent, as in possibly within the next few days – and this message is very much off topic.
The price of the pony is about $750, and she appears to be very nice. Stabling would be around $75. She is not a shetland, but more like a small horse. (Not sure of terms here.) Her temperament seems very good. Gentle, which is what I want.
If any of you can give me any advice on what to look for or look out for, I’ll take it. I have no experience with anything equine.
It might be best to do this by FReepmail, as I don’t think many others would be interested.
Why?
I have never been on welfare, collected gov assistance or food stamps in my life. All I ever wanted from the gov. is a free pony.
Your post has touched a sore spot with me.
I pay and pay and pay the gov. and still no free pony.
But Harry: Is your property zoned for horses?
Why not?
If you have no experience with anything equine, please do not buy a pony. Start by signing up for some riding lessons at a stable, volunteer to help clean the stable, something that will not put you in a long term situation. Find out if you like "equines" (round here, we call em horses) before committing to the care and feeding of the pony.
PS I want a full sized palomino.
JERRY: I know, I hated those kids. In fact, I hate anyone that ever had a pony when they were growing up. (The room is dead quiet)
JERRY: ..Well, I didn't really mean a pony, per se.
MANYA: (Angry) When I was a little girl in Poland, we all had ponies. My sister had pony, my cousin had pony, ..So, what's wrong with that?
JERRY: Nothing. Nothing at all. I was just merely expressting..
HELEN: Should we have coffee? Who's having coffee?
MANYA: He was a beautiful pony! And I loved him.
JERRY: Well, I'm sure you did. Who wouldn't love a pony? Who wouldn't love a person that had a pony?
MANYA: You! You said so!
JERRY: No, see, we didn't have ponies. I'm sure at the time in Poland, they were very common. They were probably like compact cars..
MANYA: That's it! I've had enough! (She leaves the room)
ISAAC: Have your coffee, everyone. She's a little upset. It's been an emotional day.
(Isaac leaves, everyone looks at Jerry)
JERRY: I didn't know she had a pony. How was I to know she had a pony? Who figures an immigrant's going to have a pony? Do you know what the odds are on that? I mean, in all the pictures I saw of immigrants on boats coming into New York harbor, I never saw one of them sitting on a pony. Why would anybody come here if they had a pony? Who leaves a country packed with ponies to come to a non-pony country? It doesn't make sense.. am I wrong?
(Scene ends)
Is a child going to ride this pony? Have somebody who is an experienced rider ride the pony and asses it's training and temperment with someone on it's back.
Have the pony vet checked. Costs some money but never never buy a horse without a vet check.
Ask the vet about the feet. You've heard the saying "no foot .. no horse." It's very true. Good feet on a horse should be neither too flat and splayed nor too tight which is called mule footed.
> Why?
I want to give the local kids rides. And I need something to do. I like animals.
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN ^
You'll get all the information you need
Buy one young enough so that, when you discover the true temperment of these animals, it will still be edible.
Have a vet check for founder and age. Most ponys often will founder. That is a problem of rich grass affecting blood flow to feet and making them lame. Alos ponies can age up to 70 years old so have the age checked. Also is the pony gentle and broken to ride.
Ponies are known to have bad manners and bit and kick. They are pretty smart.
Get a vet you trust, or a well respected one, to check the pony out before you buy.
I thought you were going to buy the OTHER kind of pony.
You know, the ones that run around in circles and somehow earns the owner LOTS of money....
When my g/daughter was 5 years old I told her I would buy her a pony if her mother would let her keep it in her bed room.
Mom had to explain why she couldn't keep it in her bed room.
Call an equine vet and get a prepurchase exam. Even though the pony is only $750, a slight lamenss that you can't detect now but worsens quickly, is a heartbreaker. A vet can tell if anything is wrong. I would also have him pull blood to make sure the pony hasn't been drugged. Don't trust ANYBODY that's selling a horse.
A pony can live to age 70? That is absolutely not true. That said, you are correct on the founder issue, nearly all ponies will founder at some point.
Ping for the experts
I have known ponies that old. Course these are small ponies.
Of course the owner could have lied to me about their ages . But I have known ponies at 35 and over 40 years and the one that was 70. My TB mare is 26 and going strong, still jumps and runs. I am careful about overstress due to age.
Becky
Harry.... honestly, the only thing I know about you is that you post vanities when you want attention.
If you have no experience with ponies or horses, getting one just so you can give kids rides once in awhile (do you even have kids?) is a dangerous proposition. Inexperience, equines and children leads to all of you getting hurt.
Ponies need a lot of care, every day, whether you feel like it or not. And being safe and responsible is a lot more complicated than just sticking a pony in the back yard and putting a kid on it once in awhile.
You won't sell ~that~ one!
That was certainly my experience. When I was younger I we decided to get into 4-H and we started small - with a pony. He was awfully cute but very cranky. He'd nip with regularity and he'd let you ride for awhile, then do a quick little hop-shuffle and put the rider on their butt on the ground. We quickly moved out of cranky ponies and found a large Morgan/quarter horse - huge but gentle.
That was certainly my experience. When I was younger I we decided to get into 4-H and we started small - with a pony. He was awfully cute but very cranky. He'd nip with regularity and he'd let you ride for awhile, then do a quick little hop-shuffle and put the rider on their butt on the ground. We quickly moved out of cranky ponies and found a large Morgan/quarter horse - huge but gentle.
I think right now I'd sell everyone of the dam things:)
They really are alot of work. worry and very expensive. TheOtherHarry really better think about what he is getting into.
Becky
The last pony we had (registered Shetland), lived to 32 years when he had to be put down due to advanced crippling arthritis. He never foundered but did colic quite easily, which we later found was due to the kids feeding him apples. Some ponies and many horses are very sensitive to apples.
The trouble with ponies is often that they are too little for an adult rider to ride and train them, and so all their training has been done by little kids who yank them around. If they are a little rank it is because no one puts the time into training them that they would a full sized horse, they think they're more harmless because they're small.
Oh - you've just had a bad week.
As for Harry, I'm sorry for my crankiness, ordinarily I'd be full of help, but we could give our best advice, and in two hours he'll post a vanity thread about the next idea he pulls out of his navel.
LOL....No I wouldn't sell Harley. Just wanted to post a picture of him, when he was pretty and not all scared up:)
Becky
I got a beautiful black shetland mare for my 5 year old son.Her tail dragged the ground. Did not bite either. She was broke to the cart. Problem I did not have a cart. So we used her on a long rein. Turned out she had a turn for speed when in the ring and bucked quite hard. My son flew off many times. He finally got good at staying on the bucking. However I could not ride and train her due to her size, just too small. Then I snapped my achilles and was on crutches for 5 months. Could not lead the pony. So we let her off. But that year we did not have a drought and the grass was good. So you guessed it , she foundered. By the time I was on my feet, she could not be ridden. I gave her away and lost the purchased price.
This was a pony about 7 years old.
So my lesson for small ponies is that cute but not worth it. Can only used them for a couple of years and kids out grow them fast. Then just a waste. Ponies go through so many owners that they do develope a lot of bad habits. I have known Shetlands go through the barn doors with a rider and just duck under the rope to keep loose horses from runnng free. Of course the rope sweeps the rider off. Ponies open stall doors and get into grain bins.
They are smart.
Heck.... I even have a bad pony I don't need ;~D
I should post her picture too :~D
LOL, I don't remember ever seeing that one:) What a brat:)
Becky
A pony cart
July 26, 2005 | self / vanity
Posted on 07/25/2005 10:31:01 PM PDT by The Other Harry
My lady friend in Oregon has been encouraging me to get a pony cart instead of a Vespa. At first, I thought she was joking, but she is not. She has it pretty well mapped out.
The idea has some merit. The local kids would like the pony. (Could be a mule.) So would my dog. It would also be less expensive than the Vespa. In the short run, anyway.
I just don’t know what the rules are.
She says that I couldn't get arrested for drunk driving on a pony cart. I think she is mistaken about that. I also think the cart would require a DMV registration (which I can't get these days) if it is to be used on public roads. "They" don't cut you much slack on this sort of thing.
I know it is illegal to keep a skunk in Virginia. I have looked into that. Never mind that any skunk I would get would be domestically bred and raised. A skunk is categorized as a “wild animal.” so you aren’t supposed to have them. Vets aren’t even supposed to care for them. Some will, but you have to keep your mouth shut. They could lose their license.
A pony?
I have no idea. I also have no idea how to look after them.
I will be finding out in the morning.
The carts are pretty cool. www.horsecart.com
Harry, you are either the biggest BSer on FR or an idiot. You don't get along with your neighbors, you're an admitted alcoholic, and you give gifts to little girls in the neighborhood.
Why not get a pony? Go for it. Buy a pony and a case of beer and some Rubiks cubes and sit back and relax. Of course you'll need a shovel for the real sh#t, but I'm sure you can handle that.
Harry, you have no business getting a pony.
nuff said.
Becky
Think in terms of a very large dog that can't come in the house and will live for 20 years.
I can't tell you how happy I am to see this posted here. If each of us who have had the pleasure to be owned by a horse or a pony could give really really good advice to someone who has never been a horse/pony owner, this would be it. There are many equine shelter operators who would advise the same........horses and ponies are tremendous responsibilities, not to be taken lightly and it certainly is NOT for everyone. Please don't make an "experiment" out of this creature. The pony may "only" cost $750, the boarding so much, etc, but are you prepared to care for it well, in sickness and in health????? Can you give it the exercise it needs?? You cannot put a horse/pony away in a stall for 23 hours a day and take it out when you have company from out of town. Horses/ponies are major high maintenance investments.......don't commit to one until you are well aware of what it takes!!
Get the animal checked out by a large animal vet. You might want to have a blacksmith look at the feet as well, although the vet will probably cover that.
You might also want to check with your insurance agent to see if you need additional coverage.
The voice of experience here - I have 18 of them. So - if you don't change your mind, let me know how many more you want.
That makes sense, about adult vs. child training. It did seem to be a power play between the humans and the pony - the pony looked for new ways to win the day.
I love your horses, they are so pretty. I will buy them both LOL.
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