Sunny and I

Sunny and I

Sunny and I

Sunny and I

Juicy in his 15 minutes of fame on the stripper pole.

Juicy in his 15 minutes of fame on the stripper pole.

Cole and his donk

Cole and his donk

Cole and Gunther

Cole and Gunther

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Purple Pony Halter

Dear God,

Here is today's prayer:

Please give me the strength to deal with my pony Juicy without having a stroke, nervous breakdown, meltdown, or wanting to kill him. I know I cannot do it without your help.

Yesterday, I saw him in the neighbor's yard helping himself to the leftovers in their garden. "Don't mind if I do" I could almost hear him thinking.

This morning, he chased my 40 year old mare, Nanners. Right after I caught him, he took off and dragged me through the mud, causing my hat to fall off right in a big puddle.

AS I was driving down the road this afternoon on the way to meet my son's bus, I looked over and spotted Juicy peeking through the trees/foliage that is a natural barrier between my property and the road. It didn't hit me until about a mile later that I had just seen him, not only loose out of the pasture, but that he was in the middle of a ten foot jungle of sorts. Oh well, to be honest, my next thought was that all of the foliage should slow him down from wherever he decides to go next.

Juicy actually didn't do anything wrong tonight. I should be grateful; however I know that he is most likely storing it up for tomorrow morning.

And God, I won't go into all that this little beast of a pony has put me through in the past. That would take months and I don't think either of us wants to relive it.

So, please, help me maintain my sanity until I find this pony a new home.

Thanks God, and good night.

The Keebler Chronicles

Keebler is the very malnourished black stallion that we took in in late August/early September. I was told that Keebler, formerly named Jack, was a smallish 3 yr old thoroughbred stallion. His former owner made no mention of him being underweight or having any issues in any way. Thaaaaaanks a lot, lady.
So, Keebs is actually about 500 lbs underweight. He has a normal horse size head that looks ridiculous on his shrunken little body. His legs are as long as my 17.2 hand tb jumper, although Keebs is actually only about 14.2 hands.
It appears that he has been starved since birth. He is most likely three according to the dentist, and had a horrible club foot on his right front that caused him to walk funny both with his right front and actually resulted in his back being so crooked that he swayed like a drunken sailor.
When he walked out of the barn on the day we picked him up, I didn't know what to say. His chest had to be only about 6 inches wide. His owner had a chain over his nose and he leaped straight up in the air the second he walked out of the barn. Unbelievable.
When the vet saw him two days after we got him, he said he wouldn't even recommend castration as the anesthesia could kill him. That's how skinny he was. And he said that him still being a stud was most likely the worst of my worries as he didn't think Keebs could even mount a mare with his back issues.
It's pretty unlikely that Keebler was ever turned out with other horses. Or handled much. Or fed on a regular basis, come to think of it.
After a while he looked kind of cute cavorting around like a little elf. Hence the name Keebler.
Now, several months later, with his teeth done(two broken teeth pulled), club foot being remediated, and gaining about two hundred lbs and maybe an inch in height, Keebs looks and feels like a new man.
Strangely, he is actually incredibly well mannered. He did have a nipping problem once he became comfortable with us; however, that was handled and doesn't seem to be a problem any longer. We usually handle him with only a lead rope tossed over his neck, not even a halter, and definitely not a chain.
My five year old son has even hopped on him for a quick walk, something Keebs didn't make one second of fuss over. Amazing.
And today, Keebs proved that he can mount a mare. Sheesh. We are in trouble.
Crazily enough, it would seem that the club foot was causing the right front to move abnormally, which caused his back to go out of alignment. One trim from my competent farrier and look what he can do now!
This little stud is proving a lot of people wrong. And I think he is only going to get better and better. He has a great personality and has made lots of friends in the pasture. Can't wait to see how he evolves in the spring.