All posts in category Pony Stuff

For Sale Ad Photos – 2012

I am still looking for a second pony.

I am looking for specifically a 13.1-13.3h pony with the right build.  Any shorter and I don’t have enough pony under me.  Any taller and I can’t reach things for games.  And since I need a pony to use for games, I need to reach things.  I am finding very few ponies that fit that range.  And it really surprises me how many *perfect* 14h ponies I have been finding.  And yeah, that one inch is a breaker.  13.3 is already pushing it height wise.  We are talking 13.3h with tall withers will just make the cut,  so a nice round quarter horse with a solid stocky build at 14 hands is just going to be too tall.

While shopping I am still seeing terrible for sale ad photos.

Now I realize not everyone has a quality camera or a good eye.  Or maybe they just do not understand what buyers want to see in sale ad photos.  But these photos make me wonder exactly what the seller thinks the photo is for in the first place.

And no, the ad was not for a lot of saddles and a horse. Just the horse (with a lot of saddles on it). I suppose this shows how calm the horse is? balanced? not sure.

Super helpful angle. And this was the only photo of the horse in the ad. I suppose we know he loads!

Not a photo, but you just got to love the “Welch” pony. I wonder if he is grape or strawberry flavored (haha get it, like Welch’s jam).

fantastic angle. You can see the color though! And yes, again, this was the only photo in the ad.


 

Not the worst photo, but the ad above it made me laugh out loud.

Another fantastic angle.  And again, the only photo in the ad.

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by riderofchaos on October 22, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Pony Stuff

Posted by riderofchaos on October 22, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/10/22/for-sale-ad-photos/

Do You Want to Sell Your Pony or Not? – 2012

About two weeks ago I saw a craigslist pony for sale ad that appeared to meet all of my criteria.

A stocky gelding, that is the exact height I want, English/western, sounds like he is ready to go and he fits into my meager price range.

I followed the ad’s instructions and sent a text message inquiring about the pony’s age and location.  The age comes back as 8/9 and he is two hours away.  So I text back asking if I can call that afternoon.  “yes” is the response.

After work I give a ring and leave a voicemail.

Over the rest of the week I try another voicemail and another text.

No response.

So I figure they sold the pony and are just too inconsiderate to reply “sold” to my text.  Those 4 letters, so hard to text.

This Monday I see the ad renewed on craigslist.

What the… ok, a little irked now.

So I call back, I send another text and I reply to the craigslist post via email.

At this point, I already have red flags circling this pony, but I really want to know what the deal is.

Of course, there is no response.  So I try making a call at lunch time, and to my surprise, I get an answer.

Well, specifically, I hear the phone pick up and someone yelling to someone else for a minute while I say hello a few times. Then she comes on the phone and the whack-job alarm officially goes off.
During our very brief conversation she changes the ponies age from 9 to 7 and then to 6 years old.  She is sure if he is 13.2, and after asking twice, no she has not actually measured him, but she is “good at guessing”.  She insists he is not a kids pony, “he has too much spunk”.  I explain I am an adult and shopping for myself.  She continues with how great he is, he jumps, he trail rides, he goes English and western, and would make a great show pony for a kid.  I ask if he neck reins, “well I don’t know.  I haven’t ridden him”.

K, so what do you mean by, he goes western??? He carries a western saddle?

Then she mentions his “only vice”, which is that she can’t catch him.  Everyone else can, but she can’t.  “Which is the only reason he is not kid safe.  He is too hard to catch”.

Yeah, ok.

Next she says I can come try him out.  I say, “Would next Wednesday afternoon work for you?” and she says “I guess I can try and find someone to meet you this Friday morning, maybe.” I am literally making an ‘WTF’ face at my phone, but tell her I am busy until next week.  Then she tells me that she has had him for sale for a whopping two weeks and, get this, NO one has come to see him.  So she is taking him to an auction this weekend in Pennsylvania.  I roll my eyes and tell her, “well never mind then.  I wanted to come see him last weekend but you didn’t return my calls so I guess this just won’t work out.”

Then she says “well we might no sale him if we don’t get what we want.”  And that  I can “give her a ring next week”.  Yeah, cause calling her for the past two weeks was so effective.  Then she comes in with “I can find you a different pony.  I can work for you.”

It was all I could do to politely end the conversation with a “No Thank you”.

I mean really, how is she supposed to sell the pony if she doesn’t answer her phone or return calls?

And the pony shopping continues…

***If you click on this image of the ad, it gets big enough to actually read!

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by riderofchaos on October 10, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by riderofchaos on October 10, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/10/10/do-you-want-to-sell-your-pony-or-not/

Will I still have a Husband, a Pony and a Ferrier in The End?

My ferrier was suppose to come out this evening, to reset Simon’s shoes before I leave for a weekend of mounted games compeitition tomorrow.  But the weather is calling for rain to move in just after lunch time.  Since we do feet outside at my place, my ferrier, being the smart guy he is, rescheduled for lunchtime ahead of the rain.  Which is fine, I can slip out of work for a while and meet him.  But since I was out of work on Monday for another event, I did not rack up any extra time throughout the week to make up for it.

In comes the husband.  He has the day off work and offered to meet the ferrier for me.  I accepted this very generous offer.

Rich is a very capable guy, he is not squemish about dirt or pony slobber or anything like that, but he is not exactly equine experienced either.  And Simon is generally a very easy pony.  He stands pretty well, but he does have a tendancy to nip at his holder for attention and get a little fidgety about half way through the process.

Its been about an hour and I am waiting for the, ‘all done, it went great, that was so easy’ call.

I sure hope I still have a huband, a pony and a ferrier when this is all done.

Have you seen this photo circulating around? It is usually captioned with something along the lines of, “This is what happens when the husband helps out”. I am sure Simon looks pretty similar right now.

A few hours later…

Follow up report: I do in fact still have a husband and a pony with four freshly shod hooves and I still have a ferrier too!  Woo, success!

I asked Rich, if Alex, the ferrier, had to reprimand Simon or tell him to “knock it off” or anything.  Rich said, “no but he did have to take the treats away.”  Which made me ask, “what do you mean”.  Rich explained that when I told him there were treats in the barn if he needed them, he thought I meant he should bring the whole container with him.  So he planted the bucket, lid off, between his feet in front of Simon.  He said that it wasn’t that much of a problem for the first two feet because he kept Simon on a short leash.

I laughed pretty loudly picturing a poor drooling Simon pony, desperate for treats that were being kept just out of reach.

I am very thankful I have a husband that is willing to step up and help with pony stuff in a pinch.

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by riderofchaos on September 27, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by riderofchaos on September 27, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/09/27/will-i-still-have-a-husband-a-pony-and-a-ferrier-in-the-end/

Teeth Float Time

Yesterday Simon got his teeth done.

Now his mouth is nice and square and at maximum chewing capacity.

It will also keep him happier with a bit in his mouth.

My vet is also an equine dentist and I am really lucky to be one of his clients.  He does a great job and is always very kind with my ponies.  He is also very practical and honest which I appreciate.

For those who are unaware, here is a very brief overview of horse teeth:  Horses have front teeth, which are up in the lip area.  There is a open area of no teeth, called the bar, behind the front teeth.  Horses also have back teeth, way back in their heads behind the bar.  And get this, horse teeth grow.  Strange right?

As the horse eats, they grind down their teeth.  No horse chews perfectly and over time the teeth will become uneven and get sharp edges that can make chewing (and eventually having a bridle and bit on for riding) less than comfortable.  It will also make their chewing not as effective, so that the horse gets less food solidly chewed and swallowed.  So to keep the teeth nice and square and smooth an equine vet or dentist will “float” aka, file them on occasion.

Some people get their horse’s teeth done routinely every year. Some people get them done every few years as needed.  Some dentists use an older method of hand filing the teeth, which is a lot of hard work.  And some dentists use a power tool, which is still hard work, but not to the same extent.  It looks a lot like a drill with a really really long bit on it with a file on the end.  My equine dentist uses a power file.  Its pretty neat to watch and doesn’t take long at all.

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by riderofchaos on September 18, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by riderofchaos on September 18, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/09/18/teeth-float-time/

Pony Shopping “Adventures” – 2012

In the past I have completely enjoyed pony shopping.  But this time around it has been more like shopping for pants (ladies will know what I mean).  None of these ponies fit right!

I found one pony that sounded really promising, 13.2h, stocky, fully under saddle, but mostly used on trail.  After a few emails back and forth and some additional photos, I called the owner.  She seemed pretty honest and told me he was an adult’s pony, and has some get up and go but has been out of work for a bit.

Perfect.

We discussed me coming with my trailer since it was a four hour drive to reach her farm and arranged for me to come up Saturday evening.

Saturday morning she sent me the address and I was very excited.

I headed out at 2pm that day, straight after working the farmers market, with trailer in tow, and traveled the first two hours to Hagerstown, Maryland to meet my friend Lindsey, who was kind enough to join me on the adventure.

She pulled into the mall parking lot and jumped out of her car to climb into my truck.  I popped the key into the ignition and… click click click.

hum.  That’s not good.

After a second unsuccessful attempt, we climbed back out and I popped the hood.

I admit, a full wave of total panic flooded over me.

Lindsey asked if I had jumper cables and I am completely embarrassed to admit that no, I did not have jumper cables in that truck.  I really hope my dad is not reading this because he would be extremely disappointed in me.  If you are reading this dad, I have remedied this and now have jumper cables in both trucks!

Lindsey, keeping her cool, told me she was going to run around the corner and pick some jumper cables up and would be right back.  She calmly instructed me, “deep breath, Ill be right back”.

I stood there for about 20 seconds, looking lost with the hood up, and a very good samaritan pulled up and offered his help.

Thank everything that is good in this world for honest to god good people.

He hopped out, jumper cables in hand, popped his hood and connected my truck to his car.  Then, as if that was not fantastic enough, he whipped out a battery tester and confirmed that my battery was indeed, in the crapper.  After a few minutes we got my truck started and Lindsey and I headed across the parking lot and got the battery replaced.

The whole ordeal from truck not starting to us being back on the road with a new battery took 40 minutes.  Not bad!

Ouch

We had called the pony owner lady from the repair station and left a voice mail about our car trouble and delayed arrival time.  And we were now back on the pony adventure road, laughing and having a truly ruckus time.  We found ourselves traversing some crazy back roads, going through 25 mile an hour towns, twisting and turning all over the mountains.  And not a gas station in sight.  We were not even sure at what point we left the state of Maryland and entered the state of Pennsylvania.  Can we say, Deliverance?

We were told this rout would be faster than the oh-so-efficient, PA Turnpike, Not.

The next bump in our adventure came about thirty minutes from our destination (it is worthy to note, we should have already arrived about 30 minutes earlier) in the form of a phone call from the pony owner’s husband.  He informed us that he and his wife were going through marital issues, and would not be unable to meet us.

Say what?

He told us this was the first he had heard about us coming, he apologized for the trouble and informed us he had arranged for his non horse friend to meet us.

uh, OK.

So we pulled into the farm, quite a bit later than expected and it was nearly dark.

Goal, get tack on the pony and spin it around a few times.

Luckily I had a saddle in my trailer, but unfortunately no useable bridle could be found in the barn.  Non-the-less, I climbed on, in the then, full dark, and Lindsey walked with me as we lapped the round pen one time.  At that point the field of horses behind us began thundering around, unseen in the dark, freaking the pony out.  Great.

In that full minute of sitting on the pony, he did feel good under me, but that’s about all I got out of it.

I dismounted and we took the pony to the well lit barn.  Unfortunately the stalls were all inhabited with wildly barking dogs that you couldn’t see and don’t forget the uncountable number of cats that were jumping out of and laying everywhere.  The pony was not happy and was becoming more and more freaked out.

The adventure just kept getting more and more awesome.

We checked him over and jogged him out and decided to take the gamble and throw him in the trailer.

Easier said than done.  20 minutes of unsuccessful loading and we had made very little progress.  The non horse person who was selling us the pony for his friend, and had thus far shown impeccable patience, became a bit impatient, and decided he was going to get the pony on the trailer.  His professional method of dragging a thousand pounds of pony by the lead rope, proved, as expected, less than successful, and resulted in the lead rope breaking.  Which sent the pony off, lapping the neighborhood in full dark, near a busy road.

Did I just buy pony burgers?

Thirty minutes later the pony came trotting back up the driveway and right up to us.  We clipped on a new lead and headed back to continue our loading attempts.

This time we attempted the age old loading technique of offering feed to the pony.  Interestingly, no pony feed could be found in the barn, so we were working with rabbit chow, but the same result was being met, and we made minor progress over the following ten minutes.  Shortly, the non horse friend again became impatient and hit the pony in the head a few times before grabbing the pony’s head in a suspected wrestling move, again, sending the pony away from the trailer.

Forward progress, ended.

At that point I decided that it was just a bad situation, and mother-karma was all but bitch slapping me in the face to, NOT buy that pony, so I gave in and said enough.

I got my money back, Lindsey and I got in the truck and drove away, pony-less.

We were careful to take the turnpike for the drive back.  Score!

Toll booths, we giggled wickedly!

toll ticket! note insane expression, WOOO!

I arrived at home at 2am, and headed straight to bed.

Him loving being loved on

Ironically, and totally fitting for how my life seems to work, the next day I planned to head to the Orange Horse Auction an hour away.  I started my day off by loving on Simon and telling him he is the best pony in the world.  I then ran a few errands, driving my other truck, which also died and needed a jump and consequently a new battery.

Yes, both of my trucks needed new batteries in under 24 hours.

That’s just how my life rolls.

the little truck gets a new battery

After outfitting the little truck with a new battery, I headed home and decided that I was not meant to purchase a pony that weekend, and should probably spend the rest of the day lazing about on the couch with Daisy.

Cheers for pony shopping adventures.  Lets hope the next, and hopefully last one, is less exciting.

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by riderofchaos on September 17, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Pony Stuff
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Posted by riderofchaos on September 17, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/09/17/pony-shopping-adventures/

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