KC

KC was given to me along with her dam Gloria about 2 years ago. She came home on a cattle truck as she was 8 years old and had been more or less untouched. being a TB she had been branded early on, but other than saying hello in the paddock that was more or less it.

I haltered her, and taught her to lead, have wormed her regularly, trimmed her front feet, and she now also floats easily, thanks to some lengthy sessions of walking through my walk-through float.

She will be leaving us shortly to take up residence in Nelson, and should be the first mare to carry a foal to our perlino Section A welsh colt Binky (Brecon Bach Paladin).

Of course nothing ever goes exactly to plan, and KC having never had an injury in the time we've had her has managed to wire cut a hind cannon shortly after her move to Nelson was confirmed. This has however meant that she is now quite good about having her hind legs handled, where she has always been pretty awful about it until now.

She will depart from here once she has been scanned as in-foal, and we will be watching with interest to see the level of quality of the foal she produces.

This is what happens...

when riders spend too much time playing with standardbreds.

Saffy, taken the day I decided to try her in the rather small pony jogger with full breastcollar harness complete with breeching, rather than the standardbred gear and workcart I normally work her in. It hasn't been done since as while I find her very trustworthy, I'm not really keen on sitting quite that close to any horses arse!

I bought Saffy (Sapphire and Steel) as an unbroken project pony just over a year ago. I wasn't the first to have done so as the woman I bought her off had bought her intending to start her under saddle, but had become pregnant before getting started.

Funnily enough I discovered I was pregnant the day after I had been on her back for the second time, so again her education was interrupted. I decided rather than leave her sitting in the paddock to send her out to be backed elsewhere, and friends took her on upon her return. She was somewhat contrary and stubborn initially, and clashed with the friend who had her so I asked another friend who is a wonderful instructor with a lovely approach to green horses and ponies to take on Saffy and Jack as by this stage I was getting fairly large, and slowed down somewhat.

She returned to me following the end of my pregnancy going nicely under saddle, but I had put so much weight on I was not sure I really should ride her, and as she showed enormous interest in the workcart I had on out trotter mare when on the hitching rail beside her, I thought "Why the hell not?"

It turns out she is absolutely unfazed by the cart, has no issues with crupper, breeching, in fact any of it. I suspect she rather likes the idea of rolling my fat arse along on wheels as opposed to having to actually put up with it on her back.

When I advertised her at Trademe I added some workcart photos thinking it was an extra string to her bow, and it turns out there was far more interest in her as a cart pony than for riding.

She will be heading off to Tauranga next week for my standard 6 week trial, and with any luck will make a great little carriage pony.

A relatively productive day

We took Poppy to the track this morning for fastwork, and returned home just in time to present Saffy to a prospective buyer.

Poppy will have her first racestart back this Thursday, and Saffy will go north Monday week to embark on a new career as a carriage pony in Tauranga.

Jack returned home last night, 5 weeks into a 6 week trial, on the basis that the (non)buyer decided he was too small, and has unfortunately come home with a nasty skin infection over his forehead and ears which has originated from a fairly severe (and probably prolonged)sunburn. He also has a couple of saddle/pressure sores on his wither, so will need a few weeks off before he is marketable again. He will however be available once those issues have healed.

We will take Indi out to the alternate grazing today to get some better grass into her, and bring Molly back to start preparation for backing her.
Molly is a 14hh 4 year old standardbred bred to trot but simply too small.
Hopefully we can convince her that being a lessons pony is a far cushier life, and worth cooperating for. She is not a resale prospect as if/when we no longer want her she is to be returned to her breeder.
We picked her up a couple of weeks ago and have had her turned out on some pretty specatacular grass since, so she is looking more like a plump pony than a trotter now.

Experimental First

Testing, testing,1,2,3

Because I am too cheap, and generally too computer illiterate and incompetant to actually sort a proper website I am going to cheat and us this instead.

By the way that is Poppy taken a couple of months back, still damp from a washdown after work.