Don't Buy a Pony!

Yeah, I've been riding. It's been the usual stuff though and really not exciting to write about. Sometimes, training rides are soooo interesting. Who wants to read long descriptions of developing a straight way of going? Not me. Maybe if Reiner Klimke writes them, but otherwise, no.

Today was a bit eventful with a new pony and a runaway and an emergency vet call. I was chatting with the vet while she stitched my mare and she described an emergency call to a colic that was so far along that the horse was thrashing too badly for her to be able to safely euthanize him and the poor thing had to die that way, all because his owners were new to horses and did not recognize the signs he had been giving them. My vet could see that he had been thrashing in his stall for quite some time and they thought he was misbehaving (???) and took him outside and tied him up to something (a tree? A trailer? I don't remember) which is where he was when she arrived.

Anyway, it's right along the lines of something I've been thinking about recently which is that I sincerely wish that most people would just not own horses. Or, if they really must have one, and they are new to horses, they should keep it at a boarding facility and not in their own back yard.

I got a phone call about riding lessons earlier this week. The woman told me she had three daughters between the ages of six and nine and wanted to know about pricing and schedules and such for lessons. Then she said, "I bought them a pony a few months ago and they're scared to ride it!" This seemed shocking to her. The way she said it, she could have substituted "bicycle" or "skateboard" for "pony", as though a pony is something you can just work out for yourself and be on your way. Yeah, the pony outweighs the kids by several hundred pounds and has teeth and hooves. And a brain. Any kid who is reasonably aware of their own mortality would be wise to have a little fear in this situation. Then the mother went on to say that she also wanted the girls to learn how to take care of the pony because she had been doing all of that herself. Now I have visions of the poor pony, a herd animal all alone in someone's yard, which in January is filled with cold, Oregon mud. I actually Googled their phone number and found their address and now I'm tempted to drive by, just to see if I can check on the condition of the pony from the road.

A pony is not a Golden Retriever. You can't learn how to take care of one from books. You might learn a lot, but it takes years of hands-on experience to recognize the subtle signs of a horse in serious trouble. If a new owner could not recognize the signs of a violent, fatal colic, how can they be expected to see a laminitic pony rocked slightly back to get weight off his front hooves? Or the slight depression that can be sensed in a horse who has an unseen puncture wound buried under winter hair but is beginning to run a fever from the infection? Horses are masters at masking pain and injury. My mare Isabelle had a gaping wound in her side today but from the other side, you would never have known there was anything wrong. She stood calmly in her paddock without showing any signs of pain or distress.

I also sometimes get students who are taking lessons in preparation for buying a horse or pony to keep at home. This is a little better, and I hope in these situations that I can provide a realistic view of what is involved with owning horses. Here are some questions I would pose to anyone seriously considering purchasing a horse to keep at home, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.

• You do know that you need more than one horse, right? Horses are herd animals and will not function normally in isolation. A second horse can probably be found for free if you are willing to take a retiree or a broken-down show or race horse, but expect to pay more for feed and vet care for an animal like this.
• What kind of shelter will you provide? Horses do quite well in summer sun as long as there is adequate water and a three-sided shelter or some big trees for shade, but in the winter they need somewhere to really get out of the rain and the mud. Heavy hooves will churn the ground into sucking mud anywhere the horses spend much time which will be where you feed them, where they go to get out of the rain, and at the gate, unless you have gone to great care and expense to put in gravel and drainage in these areas. Expect to have to redo this drainage every so often as the high clay content of our soil will block it up. (I know this from experience. The path from the barn to the arena... yuck.)
• Where will you ride? Seriously? In summer you might be happy to tool around the pasture and maybe you'll be lucky enough to have access to trails. In winter, even if it hasn't rained in weeks, there will be the mud. (See my previous bulleted point. I can't emphasize the mud enough.) Of course since we're talking about Oregon here, it will likely be too wet and rainy to ride outside from about October to May.
• You realize that the horses will still need to be fed and groomed and vaccinated and dewormed (outside, in the mud, remember) for these seven or eight months, even if you can't ride them, right?
• Do you know that trained horses and ponies rapidly deteriorate to the level of their riders? That wonderful push-button horse you tried, loved, and purchased at a training barn may very well become sour and difficult after being ridden only by beginners. I've heard clients say, "find me a pony like Ginny" or "we want a pony just like Rocky". Ginny and Rocky are fantastic ponies. They both have full, busy lesson schedules with children because they're forgiving and sweet and well-trained, but even Ginny and Rocky get tuned up regularly.
  

If you can honestly say that you are prepared for all of these things, that you can handle the mud and you're building a barn and you'll trailer out for lessons or training and you're willing to spend a few years with a good instructor so that you can recognize a healthy horse and know when things are wrong, by all means buy a couple horses. There are certainly a lot of horses out there needing good homes. If you're in love with these animals like I am, there is nothing better than walking into a quiet barn and hearing nothing but horses chewing hay, or filling a water bucket while the horse in that stall puts her muzzle on your face and steams up your glasses.

However, if the idea of this sort of responsibility sounds too difficult, or time-consuming, or muddy for you, take lessons. Lease something. Buy something and board it somewhere reputable where someone else will worry about your horse for you and make sure he is fed and his stall is cleaned and his water is topped off just before bed, even if it is twenty degrees outside. (The only good thing about twenty degrees outside is no mud!!!)

So, there you have what's been going through my head. I know not every horse needs Rambo rugs, a twelve-by-twelve stall, and an acupuncturist, but every horse deserves the basics of appropriate feed, vet care, farrier care, companionship, protection from the weather, and a caregiver who will check on him frequently and recognize signs of illness or injury. I fear that a great number of people underestimate the time, energy and knowledge that goes into meeting these most basic needs.