WENT TO PICK UP NEW PONY......CAME HOME WITH "BONUS" PONY!!

drdoolittle

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So.....hubby and I have a young miniature gelding..not broke...except to "lead", if you can call it that! He's newly geldded (2 months ago), a complete BRAT when asked to do ANYTHING that isn't his idea!
But we ADORE him and his personality....he really is a loving guy.
Hubby and I agreed to add a pony....former pony-ride pony...to have something safe for our granddaughter (3 years old) to ride. I found an ad 2 months ago by a woman getting out of the pony-ride business and went straight out to pick my pony and place a deposit. I pretty much got my choice as only one of six was spoken for. I chose Sam....a 12-13 year old gelding, a SWEET guy who just wants to please!
Fast forward to yesterday when a couple who are good friends with us borrowed a trailer and picked me up to go get Sam....once there, the owner told me only one little pony had no buyer...one I had considered buying along with Sam....so my friends loaned me the cash and we loaded BOTH ponies!!
I'm over the moon to have both Sam and Wilbur as new friends for Toby (our mini horse), hubby not so much, LOL!
 

drdoolittle

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I know, I do need to get pics of them! I wanted to give more info about the situation (partly why I couldn't leave Wilbur behind), but didn't have time this morning.

When I originally called to set up a time for my friend and I to go look at the ponies, the lady said, "I just want you to know that they are all kind of thin and not in the best shape right now. I had a hard time getting hay this winter."

I thought, ok, a little thin.....nothing to worry about, she takes them in public to local fairs, right? WRONG! These ponies....all except the fat one she was keeping....were EMACIATED! I could see their ribs and spines! Their hip bones were jutting out with barely any flesh on them! I was COMPLETELY sickened! On top of that, she hadn't wormed or vaccinated ANY of them in over a year! I don't know HOW she cpuld get away with all this when she was taking them to fairs! I know one thing is probably certain, I'm sure she NEVER let the public see them with their saddles/pads off!

In spite of their condition, the ponies all seemed alert and Sam especially wanted me to love on him. I fell for him w/in seconds! The only issue was that the lady had contracts with fairs up.until this past weekend, so I couldn't take him until then. I put down a $100 deposit on him (leaving a $400 balance) and let the lady know I'd also be buying his saddle and pad for another $125.

Wilbur was in the worst shape of all the ponies and hadn't completely shed his winter coat....their were pieces just hanging off him all over. I seriously looked at him and thought, "That little guy will be dead in a month!"

The lady told me several "cute" stories about each pony, but wasn't certain of exact ages and had no paperwork on any of them. She had other animals, a "Juliana" pig.....really a starved pot belly (I know because I raised pot belly pigs for years....a lone rabbit in a wire cage with NOTHING to get off the wire (JESUS! Put an f-ing piece of cardboard in there if that's all you have!).....ROTTING vegetables with flies all over them was all it had in the way of food, a few sheep (maybe 5) one of which she said was sick.

I wanted to get Sam out of that place then and there! And call the sheriff on her about the others. But I know from experience that it is difficult for those in authority to do much of anything for "livestock". That's just the way it is. So I decided to bide my time and just be thankful she was getting out of the business! Oh, and her excuse that the ONLY pony there that was in great shape was the one she was keeping for her granddaughter: "She's at the top of the herd and pushes all the others away from their feed." "OK, BUT IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS THE OWNER TO MAJE SURE THAT CAN'T HAPPEN!", I wanted to scream in her face!!

As my friend and I were driving away, I was SEETHING! Then my friend asks, "Did you hear her telling me that one of the ponies starved to death this winter?" OMG!!! I had not heard the woman say that, and THANK GOODNESS or I may have given her a piece of my mind, after which she would have thrown my $100 in my face and told me to get off her property. But I wanted Sam....and was HOPING I could convince her to give me a deal if I bought 2.....

The other thing that bothered me that day is that it was 4 in the afternoon.....the woman had stated, "Well, you can see they have hay they are eating. I fed them a bit late today." At the time, I was thinking, "Don't you mean you fed them EARLY?" I thought she had just given them their 2nd meal of the day.....WRONG! I fpund out when kicking them up yesterday that she must have only ever fed them ONCE a day! It was 2pm and she told us, "I haven't fed them yet today." WTH?!?! Any person who knows anything about grazing animals knows they MUST be fed at the minimum of twice a day!!! I was so disgusted with her yesterday, I coukd have punched her face! She cared NOTHING for these ponies except what they could give her financially!
That's why I just COULDN'T leave Wilbur behind! Both ponies still look a little rough. The woman did manage to get weight on them....too fast if you ask me....but their toplines don't look good. I can see and feel their spines and hips.....but their bellies are big. Wilbur has loose stools....actually I think they both do. She excused it by saying, "It's from me feeding them straight alfalfa." BULLCRAP! I believe she was feeding crappy hay and TONS of grain! And they probably have worms!
I wormed them both tonight and vaccinated Sam for Tetanus and West Nile (I only bought vaccines for him as I didn't plan on bringing a 2nd pony home). I'll get Wilbur vaccinated for those and realize I need other vaccines as well.....
It's going to be a long road, but I believe they will be so much happier (and healthier) here. All the other ponies went to their new homes....only the one she kept for her granddaughter and a miniature mare (also in better shape) remained. I'll pray for those two....
 

Mini Horses

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If they have obvious spine & ribs, with big bellies, it's more likely malnutrition. So, while they need the calories and nutrition, go easy on grains at first or they will be in trouble. Get the BEST hay you can find, some alfalfa in it is best, or use some alfalfa pellets. In 10 days, worm again.

So glad you got them both out of the situation they were enduring. They will be great in a short while! :) Actually 3 is a good number. Then, if you take only one out for your granddaughter to ride, they other two will be company for each other. :D =D

Did she have pasture for them?? Once a day haying is ok ONLY IF it is enough to LAST all day, or have good pasture to graze. I'd say this was not her way of doing it. :(:mad:


ETA: I read your disappointment with not getting a mini stud you had been inquiring about. But, these two needed you to find them SO MUCH more!! The "right" ones did come along!! :love:clap
 

Baymule

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I am so glad that you got those two. They have hit the jack pot! Start them on feed S L O W L Y. We got a starved horse not so long ago and I gave her feed 1 cup at a feeding, slowly increasing it. She got free feed grass hay. She didn't stop eating hay for weeks. She was so starved and in such bad shape that I waited for her to put on some weight before worming her. When an animal is BAD wormy, the massive die off releases toxins and can make the animal sick or even die. We took our mare to the vet to see if she was strong enough to be wormed.

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/meet-pearl-new-horse.38633/#post-576362
 

drdoolittle

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If they have obvious spine & ribs, with big bellies, it's more likely malnutrition. So, while they need the calories and nutrition, go easy on grains at first or they will be in trouble. Get the BEST hay you can find, some alfalfa in it is best, or use some alfalfa pellets. In 10 days, worm again.

So glad you got them both out of the situation they were enduring. They will be great in a short while! :) Actually 3 is a good number. Then, if you take only one out for your granddaughter to ride, they other two will be company for each other. :D =D

Did she have pasture for them?? Once a day haying is ok ONLY IF it is enough to LAST all day, or have good pasture to graze. I'd say this was not her way of doing it. :(:mad:


ETA: I read your disappointment with not getting a mini stud you had been inquiring about. But, these two needed you to find them SO MUCH more!! The "right" ones did come along!! :love:clap


Thank you for the great advice! I do buy very good grass hay from a farmer near me, and I was already thinking I needed alfalfa pellets. I got a horse several years ago (who since went to a new home) that was so starved she could barely hold her head up. I researched putting weight on starving horses and by the time she went to a new home 2 years later, she was so BEAUTIFUL!
No, the woman who owned these 2 ponies did not have them on pasture.....just a dry lot. Which is what we have here, but I feed my animals properly.
And yes.....I was already planning on worming again in 10 days....I am just so disgusted that people treat animals this way.
After getting home I looked at the saddles I bought with the ponies more closely ($125 each) and am upset with myself for buying them. I'm not sure she even gave me the one for Sam that she originally showed me. I was just in such a hurry to get the hell out of there. (And she made the comment that she'd probably be bugging me about how they're doing and want to come see them! NO WAY IN HELL!
I'm a bit nervous....thinking I'm going to be overwhelmed with 3 and these 2 needing so much care, but I'll take it one day at a time.
 

drdoolittle

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I'm planning on spending most of this next weekend brushing out the ponies and using a dry shampoo on them. I will also be cleaning up their saddles/pads as much as possible.....she did not take care of thise at all either.
 
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