Let’s hear about the naughty horses and ponies of your youth!
Aug 20 2010
Here is a fun topic for this Friday! Now that we’ve seen Ed and the worst he could throw at little Ross, let’s talk about what happened to us with naughty horses/ponies in our youth.
The first horse I ever rode in a lesson was named Heidi. Heidi was a stout black Morgan/Welsh mare who had been teaching lessons for a long time. The main lesson she taught was that pony mixes are always hungry. The arena at the barn had hay stored at one end, blocked only by pieces of plywood. Heidi would wait for the perfect opportunity to bolt to the end of the arena, iron neck firmly braced against any pathetic attempt to turn or stop her, sink her teeth into a bale and begin Hoovering it up. I recall that on one occasion she picked up an entire bale in her mouth while I was on her.
When my riding skills had become more advanced, one of the horses I rode was an Appendix gelding named Butch. Butch was a former polo pony who was not thrilled with his retirement career. He had learned to root in a most violent way. You’d be cantering along and all of a sudden the head would dive to within 3 inches of the ground as Butch veered into the middle of the arena at light speed. What really made him happy is when someone was in the middle, tightening their girth or whatever, and he could body-slam them. Needless to say this was very frustrating, and put me in tears on more than one occasion! Finally, we got a decent instructor named Liz (This was very rare at this barn, where most instructors were 15 year olds) and she taught me to actually lean back so that Butch couldn’t pull me. The next schooling show, Butch and I won the high-point trophy! 
(And to this day, I know exactly how to deal with horses who root!)
(And to this day, I know exactly how to deal with horses who root!)
So, let’s hear your stories. What did those old lesson horses or your first pony throw at you? Who won, you or the equine?
Another cutie from Mid-Atlantic Horse Rescue! Check out Dubai if you’re looking for a young prospect and are near Maryland.
Another cutie from Mid-Atlantic Horse Rescue! Check out Dubai if you’re looking for a young prospect and are near Maryland.
149 comments to “Let’s hear about the naughty horses and ponies of your youth!”
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“I loved Willa ‘cuz she always knew which kids got under my skin. Those were the ones she bucked off.” This is my 25 year old son talking.
Thursday, I had to put down our 30 something year old Tb mare. She was the bomb. Sweet, gentle and every so often she tossed the bratty kids – sometimes directly into a water bucket. I swear it’s true! We all loved her so much. Is it bad to love the naughty ones the best? Here’s the tribute we wrote, it got picked up by the local newspaper. I guess she touched even more lives than we knew. http://www.squarepegfoundation.org/blog/2010/08/farewell-to-willa/
I used to ride this gorgeous old mongrel horse who was owned by a friend of mine (I don’t own my own horses, unfortunately, because I have no grass at my place, lol). His name was Bullet – and doesn’t that just say it all? They bought him at the sales – he had no teeth so we had no idea how old he was, but he was well into his twenties. He was this hairy black pony who was the definition of fugly, he really was. He could have been this site’s posterchild. He Had a really thick winter coat, a long body, sway back, a huge head and an ugly roman nose, and these short little legs – but he went like blazes! He was one of those horses who’d done everything, but he had a knack for being a little ratbag! He used to line up your foot so he could stomp on it, and he’d bolt the minute you weren’t paying attention. But god I loved him. He was a legend. He had to be put down last year. I miss him terribly. But he had a good life, and I loved him very much.
ah… the ponies of my youth. My first, and the one who taught me to outstubborn a horse… was a little shetland palomino pony named Goldie. She’d previously been one of those merry go round ponies you see at the fair… and hated to be bitted. In fact, the only time I ever saw her bitted and saddled was when my grandpa did it… and it was quite the pony wrestling match. Me… I just rode her with a halter and lead rope, bareback, all over the neighbourhood. It was very difficult to get her to do anything but graze, but after a summer of daily riding, I finally had to her mastered to where she would always walk, usually trot, and twice even loped for me.
Funniest story: I rode her to a neighbour’s house, and their daughter wanted to ride. I knew my pony wouldn’t hurt her, would likely just stand and graze, so I put her up. I can still remember her yelling and pulling on the “reins” as my little pony calmly strolled into her mother’s vegetable garden and started to graze.
Since then, I’ve had ponies rub me off on barbed wire fences, leaving me upside down with my leg stuck up on the fence, been under them, had one try to brush me off on a tree, had them suddenly turn out from under me, and even run away with me. I treasure every memory, and, to this day, still have a soft spot for ponies.
I used to ride a Haflinger who was as pony as you could get. He was green broke and four years old. He was a pet for an older gentleman who did work at the barn and got free board for him and his horse in exchange…. I was 14 at the time, with ten years experience under my belt, but I was used to riding push button horses. My favorite horse was being used for a beginner, so they threw me up on Luke the Haflinger… Never had my hands been so raw! He yanked the reins out of my hands every chance he got. The indoor arena was under construction and big wire crossbeams were all that stood of siding in someplaces, and this little pony would take off and gallop under the wires. He cleared them fine, but I had to throw myself backwards, forwards and sideways to avoid losing my head…
The put me on him again the next day, and I could barely hold the reins. They taught the half-halt and one rein stop to me, which helped considerably once he learned he couldn’t take off on me. By the last days at camp, he was a perfect gentlemen and all the kids were clamoring to ride him… He of course, gave them the ride of a lifetime….
He’s now an all around pony (dressage, jumping) and is a therapeutic riding horse… and I now own my very own, headstrong Haflinger