I bought a pony! Meet Lola

Layers, if you have them or can borrow! I realized today that both my mediums are ripped - and we have a 20 degree drop on the way (down to the 30s, cold for here). Most of the horses are fat and furry but I have one coldbacked creature that runs icy despite the hair. He will probably be getting his teknofleece ~50g turnout under a 100g. In the past I’ve shoved a wool cooler under a 100g in a pinch, or a BoT.

Even if not, she looks chunky so if she’s got hay and shelter she should be just fine!

2 Likes

I agree about layers! I am a fan of Horseware blankets and they now have layers that can be used under most of them. However, she is a poneh so can’t wear horse-sized things. Have size 69 blankets for ponies on order – they will have a shorter drop. I have one 100 gram blanket that will be the “if I absolutely can’t find anything else” one. We are having a 30 degree drop in high temperature between today and tomorrow (80 to 50) and may get snow on Wednesday night!

Yes, she is chunky. She is on a ration balancer but 2 pounds per day, could probably be cut to 1. Has first cut hay in a net available most of the time.

1 Like

Ha! My 14.2 maybe pony (haven’t measured precisely enough to know which side she falls on) wears a 76. She’s a 1050 pound horse on pony legs and definitely wears horse-sized things. :rofl:
(It works for me — we trail ride and she is so easy to mount from the ground. And the occasional unplanned landing has less momentum behind it. But sometimes I feel like she’s a bit of a freak.)

Lola is obviously much more in proportion to herself.

3 Likes

Here, too! My 13.3 mare is about the same weight and wears a 74. She’s definitely a horse on a shorter platform! I was afraid the 74 would hang down to her fetlocks, but evidently that girth gives the blanket something to hang on. :laughing:

3 Likes

If all else fails size wise in the blanket department, Saxon blankets fit my welsh pony really well, they have a shorter drop but still fit nicely in the shoulder area. He could pass for a shrunk down Morgan for shape reference.

3 Likes

I always had problems fitting blankets on my horse-on-pony-legs. In spite of his huge barrel, any blanket that fit him hung way down his legs. He was a sensible boy and never seemed to get himself tied up in excess blanket.

Rebecca

Interestingly, I tried a size 72 Saxon that a friend gave me, and it fit, slightly large but well enough. It’s a medium weight but well-used so more like a lightweight. No neck cover. Looking into further Saxons as they are just so inexpensive that if she destroys one, I won’t be too upset about the cost of replacing it.

1 Like

Question: removable neck covers on blankets, or not? Seems like the removable ones destroy manes but give more flexibility.

I’ve found that the removable neck covers are far easier on manes than the attached ones, and seem to stay in place better (but we get a lot of wind and rain too). I like the flexibility of being able to take them off in nicer weather too.

Hi folks - sorry I haven’t updated. The first of the month when all the bills came due knocked me for a loop. I mean, I know the total, but all the front-loaded costs of buying a horse… Um. PPE, insurance, blankets, $125 to my favorite saddle fitter to add flocking to Feronia’s old saddle, dental (see below) etc etc… And now she is going into shoes (also see below.)

I also had a bit of a crisis over Lola being more of a project than I anticipated. She is absolutely a blast to ride - very responsive, quick, and Loves. To. Go. She’s a little nervy, but feels safe. Trainer reminded me that every time I ride her, I have a bigger smile at the end. The trainer still loves her and thinks she could be a very fancy dressage pony.

Our first canter was a mad scramble for only a few strides; the second time, she was all “OK, let’s DO IT!” Not Feronia’s beautiful canter, but enough to work with.

She’s still difficult for me (but not others) to bridle, and standing at the mounting block is a work in progress. Treats help!

Getting her a dental has made a huge difference in how steady in the contact she can be. I do think her teeth were bothering her. She had some sharp points.

I was hoping to keep her barefoot, hoping I’d just need boots for riding outside the arena, but she’s footsore and not getting better. Her soles are thin and soft. And because she is out 24/7, and the way barn work is set up, I can’t get booting done as I’d prefer. So I’m having shoes with pads put on on Tuesday. The farrier thinks this could be temporary, just until she has more sole. I will be able to start taking her to the orchards again. We will have company to start with, and then a lot.of “50 foot trail rides” until I’m sure she’s ok going out alone with me. (She’s been out alone with the trainer, and with someone at the barn where I bought her.)

I’m unfortunately on a bit of a break because I had very minor surgery on Friday, and have 10 stitches in the skin along my spine, and can’t do anything that might cause them to pop (back skin is very tight.) So 2 weeks of no riding and minimal handling, I can’t lift anything heavy, etc.

Oh… She got out Thursday night, my fault for not doing the gate chain properly, but didn’t get into any trouble and was standing outside waiting to be let back in on Friday morning. I think she just hung out with her friends.

28 Likes

Hope your stitches heal quickly!

3 Likes

You are making progress, slow and steady wins the race! I’d love to see more Lola pictures when you have a chance.

2 Likes

Well these are kind of silly, but… I finally got a blanket that fits her upheaded little self from Schneiders. The neck cover, however… covered past the middle of her back! (It’s returnable.)

21 Likes

She looks so pretty with the Fall colored foliage in the background! Tawny.

3 Likes

She has sooty dapples. So cute!

4 Likes

I made bridling easy on Tuesday by removing the noseband. I have 2 basically paralyzed fingers on my right hand that kept getting caught in the noseband, and Lola would take advantage of this and spit out the bit. The trainer often rides horses without a noseband, so she was fine to work Lola without it. She’s introduced a little more to Lola - trot lengthenings are fun, in her opinion. And a tiny bit of counter-canter, which helps her balance at the canter.

She still doesn’t have shoes, because the farrier had a client with a foundering horse on Tuesday. I’m so wishing to take her to the orchards!

9 Likes

Video of me and Lola - not terribly exciting, but you’ll see what a sweetheart she is. (And yes that’s a longe line all over the ground, not good.)

She and Feronia are very, very different. I hope it’s not too anthropomorphic to say that Feronia is an introvert, while Lola is a super-extrovert who’s also super-sensitive. Feronia is the horse that watches for bears - so she’s always just slightly distracted (or more distracted, if need be…) Lola’s “herd job” would be everyone’s bestie, horse or human. Which means corrections have to be really, really gentle. Or as the woman helping me (trainer’s mother) put it, “the kind of correction it would take to get our very chill stallion to take a step back would have Lola flying back on the cross ties, and possibly breaking them.”

12 Likes

I can’t see your video. :slightly_frowning_face:

Try this one:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WRtznVoG6BfWN4Eo7

:blush: She’s lovely. Lucky you!