New Addition to the Farm

I know, I know, we needed another equine like we need another hole in our heads. However, I just couldn't pass this one up.

Introducing "Pokey" the pony....

Pokey is an 11 year old Welsh Pony

The pony thing started with the thought of casually looking for a pony for our daughter. I thought it would be a great idea for her to grow up with her very own equine. She loves our larger horses and, although they are very sweet to her, I'm terrified they will accidentally step on her. My nervousness transferred to her and to them, and our interactions together became more tense each time. I thought a smaller horse or pony would be the perfect solution. I would worry less and she could enjoy her equine experiences more.

I began my search by listing my criteria for this pony. I didn't care whether it was a mare or a gelding, but I was dead-set on size. The pony must be between 12 and 13 hands (a "hand" being 4 inches). This size pony would allow me the ability to ride it if necessary for any schooling issues that might need to be addressed. The pony must also have the perfect temperament - good with children, well-trained and not at all spooky. I was looking for a pony within a few hours drive, so my friend Michelle and I could see the pony in person before buying.

My daughter's only request was regarding the color of the pony. At 3 years of age, she is quite opinionated. When I showed her a potential prospect who was white, she said, "...but I don't want a WHITE pony!"

When asked what color she wanted, she replied, "Brown!"

And so began the quest for the brown pony. I was batting zero with Craigslist (lots of white ponies there!) and the on-line horse classifieds. Then I came across a post from a rescue in Georgia at an on-line discussion forum. They had a small pony who was suffering from laminitis. He needed a place to recover, a place with a family all his own where he could heal. Something about the post caught my attention and I emailed the rescue owner. She told me the pony's story.

Little Cowpoke (aka Pokey) was purchased by a family as a young pony and extensively trained for their young daughter to ride and show. When the daughter outgrew Pokey, they sold him to the owner of a pony camp. Pokey carried children all over the camp. He was also used for pony parties. At the end of a long season, the camp owner ran out of money to feed the ponies. She let them loose in a large, grassy field. The ponies ate well, too well.

Ponies are prone to laminitis. For them, green grass should be given in small quantities and with lots of exercise. Putting ponies on grass after months of hay usually ends badly. These particular ponies were no exception and many of them suffered from severe laminitis. Their owner, knowing the ponies were hurting, tied them to a rail and didn't feed them for days on end. She could not afford hay, nor could she afford medical treatment for their painful feet. So there the ponies stood, until they were rescued by Lori, the owner of a non-profit rescue called Sunkissed Adoptables.

Lori sought medical care for all of the ponies. She quickly found homes for all of them. All of them except one - Pokey. Pokey took longer to heal than the other ponies. He was starting to heal, but it was taking a long time. Pokey needed a place where he could get more attention so he could heal faster.

When I requested pictures of Pokey, Lori sent me a few grainy shots taken with her cell phone. He was brown! And, he had a strange marking on his shoulder. It looked like a little lightning bolt. I thought the marking was quite coincidental. My daughter's favorite movie is "Cars." She loves Lightning McQueen, who has lightning bolt stickers on either side. At that point, I didn't care that Pokey was only 10.2 hands. I didn't care that he was in Georgia and I had no way to see him before I adopted him. All of my criteria flew out the window when I heard his story and saw the pictures of him. I was thinking with my heart, and not my head.

I made up my mind. We were adopting Pokey.

I arranged for transportation of Pokey from Georgia to our farm (thanks Aunt Kim for your help!!!). Pokey travelled 950 miles in two days. When he arrived, he was standing stiffly in the trailer with his friend Lil Dot, a blind, white pony mare. Lil Dot was going home with the transporter, who took pity on her after listening to her cry out to Pokey when he was loaded into the trailer in Georgia. Lil Dot was upset at being left alone in the trailer without Pokey, but would soon have a home of her own as well. If you've never heard a horse cry before, it is a lonesome sound that I don't wish to ever hear again. It is evidence of how emotional horses really are.

We did everything we could to make Pokey comfortable after his long ride. We let him stretch his legs a bit and then retired him to a stall. Our stalls have a special flooring system in them, which provide a very comfortable place to rest. He met his new big brother Cisco, who couldn't believe his eyes when he saw his new playmate. He lavished him with kisses for the rest of the afternoon.

So much for the idea of quarantine!

Then we brought our daughter, who had been napping during delivery of Pokey, out to meet him. She was ecstatic! She hugged and kissed him and I finally had to drag her out of his stall a few hours later when it was time for dinner. She is madly in love with her new friend Pokey, and I think the feeling is mutual.

Some people just don't get it...

The farrier visited us recently. She comes to our barn approximately once every six to eight weeks. For those of you who don't know what a farrier is, the farrier trims a horse's hooves. If the owner so desires, the farrier also puts shoes on a horse. The farrier's work is art as much as it is science. And, just as with anything else related to horses, there are many different methods of trimming and shoeing.


In general, these methods can be split into two distinct groups: barefoot and shoes. The barefoot methods subscribe to the premise that a horse's hooves are healthiest when left without shoes. These methods rely on the movement of a horse and natural forces to strengthen the hooves to allow them to withstand the rigors of life and work. Above is a wild horse's hoof.


The shoeing methods rely on a piece of metal to provide protection, and in some cases correction, for the hooves. This piece of metal is traditionally nailed to the hoof, although some farriers are now experimenting with various glues. Some horses spend their entire adult lives in shoes and others are only shod for the riding or show seasons.

When we first talked about getting horses, I did what I usually do when tackling a new hobby. I spent hours on the internet reading everything I could find related to horses. Reading about hooves made my head spin. Memorizing the terminology was easy. However, who would have thought such a simple task - trimming a horse's hooves - could produce so much controversy? For a person who likes black and white and has an innate desire to always be right and do the right thing, these shades of gray were disconcerting to say the least.

The ins and outs of each method are beyond the scope of this blog (and a person could write several books on the subject, so I'll spare you that), but what it really boils down to is a nature versus man discussion. I'm a strong believer that mother nature knows best. I believe the answers to all of mankind's problems can be found by looking to nature. I believe we can live and thrive on this planet without destroying it if we would just look to nature for answers. We can be a part of nature, rather than apart from it. This belief might seem idealistic or simplistic, but I think in time we'll find it to be true. What on earth does this have to do with horses, you ask? Everything.


I've noticed that, just like the farrier controversy of barefoot (natural) versus shoes (unnatural), the horse-owning community is divided into folks who subscribe to a more natural life for horses versus an unnatural life. Those who subscribe to a more natural life generally believe a horse should live outside in fields or paddocks instead of in a stall. They also believe a horse shouldn't be clipped (shaved) and blanketed, but rather allowed to grow its winter coat to protect it from the elements. They believe in a natural feeding regimen requiring many small meals of mainly hay during the day rather than a few large meals of processed grains. And, of course, they believe in leaving a horse barefoot, rather than putting metal shoes on it.

Although the stall, the clippers and blankets, the processed grains and the metal shoes were all invented and designed in order to "improve" a horse's life, research shows these things do exactly the opposite! Research shows horses need to move constantly in order for their digestive and circulatory systems to work properly. Life in a stall doesn't allow that. Life in a stall also increases the risk of developing respiratory problems. Research shows a horse's ability to thermoregulate is hampered by blankets. Research shows large meals of processed grains can cause a variety of ailments in horses. And, research shows a horse's foot is healthiest when left barefoot. So, all in all, despite man's inventions, research shows horses are healthiest when allowed to live as nature designed them to live.

And so, being a believer in the idea that natural is better, I of course subscribe to the more natural methods of horse care. For the life of me, I can't understand why a horse owner would do it any other way. In fact, some people who don't subscribe to the more natural methods will actually argue against the research with no factual backing of their own. Why they prefer paying the bills for all the unnecessary extras in light of knowing the facts, I'll never know. Stall bedding, blankets, clippers, shoes and grain are not cheap.

Now back to the farrier's visit. I love our farrier. I found her name on a list of barefoot trimmers and after a few emails, she agreed to take on our horses. At first her reserved nature bothered me. I wanted her to tell me what I was doing wrong and right (OK, I mostly wanted her to tell me what I was doing right). She didn't. She came to our barn and quietly did her job. She kept her opinions to herself. If I had questions, she pleasantly explained. I did most of the talking. I suppose I should have appreciated that she wasn't telling me what to do and how to do it, but I was hoping for a more assertive personality. I wanted to make sure I was doing everything right. Her reserved nature has grown on me, and I've learned to appreciate it. I've also learned to keep my mouth shut just in case she has something important to say.

During her most recent visit, I brought up the subject of shoeing horses. I ranted on for a few minutes about why I couldn't understand this unnatural practice. Her response, "Some people just don't get it."

I like that explanation. It's simple but true. It holds true for the whole large-scale issue of natural versus unnatural too. "Some people just don't get it."



Maybe if everybody "got it," we'd be on a much faster track to solving some of mankind's problems.