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Respecting your pony elders
Nov. 4th, 2008 09:46 amI really do wish the little mare, Stella, would warm up to me. She's such a funny and cute little pony. Stella tends to be very standoffish and even grumpy around people she doesn't know well, but once she gets to know 'em, she's very affectionate. Trouble is, she only sees me on Sundays, so she's not likely to ever really warm up to me.
The main reason I like her is that she's such a very protective pony. For whatever reason, she's taken it upon herself to be the protector of the older horses in the school herd. I'm not sure how old Stella is, but I believe she's in her early to mid teens. Not an old pony by any means, but she does hang around with the older crowd.
It's not just any of the older horses. She only takes care of the ones who tend to get picked on by the younger horses, specifically Bonnie, Wheatchex, and Mickey. The high ranking elders like Firecracker or Baby Doc she ignores, unless they try to pick on one of her buddies.
This behavior led to what I found to be an amusing incident on Sunday. At the end of the day, we turned out most of the school horses as usual. Some of them stayed in though, since they're on a different turnout schedule. Rather than leave them spread out all over the school side of the barn, we move 'em all up together into stalls at one end of the barn. That way nobody is 'alone' without any other horses near them. So, up at the back end of the Aisle were Stella and Maverick on one side and Bonnie, Clay, Wheatchex, and Mickey on the other. I noticed that Bonnie's halter was twisted, so I went into her stall to fix it. As I came out, Clay, who was in the stall next door, must've figured that Bonnie was getting food or attention instead of him, or maybe he just decided that was a good time to show her he outranked her. He bounced a little and make bitey motions at the bars between their stalls.
Across the aisle, Stella (who can barely see over the bottom half of the stall door) took notice and just about went nuts. She was snorting and bumping against the door, glaring across at Clay. I could almost hear her shouting "Lemme at im!" wanting to go beat the bigger horse up for picking on her friend.
It makes me glad to see that the old ponies have someone watching out for 'em. I find it extra amusing since I've referred to Stella as being Bonnie's evil twin. They're both baldfaced ponies and Stella looks like a smaller version of Bonnie, only she's black instead of sorrel.
In related news, Wheatchex has an infection on her near shoulder that still hasn't healed. Almost 3 weeks ago, she came in from the pasture with what looked like a smallish puncture wound. That's not unheard of. They bump into stuff and poke and scrape themselves sometimes when outside. This one was swelling a bit and oozing pus. Wheatchex was getting antibiotics and the would was being cleaned a couple times a day.
Last Sunday, it was still there and possibly even looking worse. I commented to Sandy that the fact that it wasn't healing quickly made me think there could be something in there still. The size of it made me wonder if she hadn't been shot with a pellet gun or something. Last week, the vet came out and cut into it, but couldn't find anything in there. That left Wheatchex with a larger open wound with a couple stitches that's really draining a good bit. The vet apparently is suspecting there could now be a bone infection involved. I really hope not. Wheatchex is a sweet old lady and though she's retired, she's still a fixture at the barn.
Someone got a new saddle pad for Mickey. It's a bright, almost kelly green, so there's not likely anyone will mistake it for someone else's pad. Mickey actually seemed to be proud of it. He was almost prancy after we put it on him and walked him down the aisle.
The main reason I like her is that she's such a very protective pony. For whatever reason, she's taken it upon herself to be the protector of the older horses in the school herd. I'm not sure how old Stella is, but I believe she's in her early to mid teens. Not an old pony by any means, but she does hang around with the older crowd.
It's not just any of the older horses. She only takes care of the ones who tend to get picked on by the younger horses, specifically Bonnie, Wheatchex, and Mickey. The high ranking elders like Firecracker or Baby Doc she ignores, unless they try to pick on one of her buddies.
This behavior led to what I found to be an amusing incident on Sunday. At the end of the day, we turned out most of the school horses as usual. Some of them stayed in though, since they're on a different turnout schedule. Rather than leave them spread out all over the school side of the barn, we move 'em all up together into stalls at one end of the barn. That way nobody is 'alone' without any other horses near them. So, up at the back end of the Aisle were Stella and Maverick on one side and Bonnie, Clay, Wheatchex, and Mickey on the other. I noticed that Bonnie's halter was twisted, so I went into her stall to fix it. As I came out, Clay, who was in the stall next door, must've figured that Bonnie was getting food or attention instead of him, or maybe he just decided that was a good time to show her he outranked her. He bounced a little and make bitey motions at the bars between their stalls.
Across the aisle, Stella (who can barely see over the bottom half of the stall door) took notice and just about went nuts. She was snorting and bumping against the door, glaring across at Clay. I could almost hear her shouting "Lemme at im!" wanting to go beat the bigger horse up for picking on her friend.
It makes me glad to see that the old ponies have someone watching out for 'em. I find it extra amusing since I've referred to Stella as being Bonnie's evil twin. They're both baldfaced ponies and Stella looks like a smaller version of Bonnie, only she's black instead of sorrel.
In related news, Wheatchex has an infection on her near shoulder that still hasn't healed. Almost 3 weeks ago, she came in from the pasture with what looked like a smallish puncture wound. That's not unheard of. They bump into stuff and poke and scrape themselves sometimes when outside. This one was swelling a bit and oozing pus. Wheatchex was getting antibiotics and the would was being cleaned a couple times a day.
Last Sunday, it was still there and possibly even looking worse. I commented to Sandy that the fact that it wasn't healing quickly made me think there could be something in there still. The size of it made me wonder if she hadn't been shot with a pellet gun or something. Last week, the vet came out and cut into it, but couldn't find anything in there. That left Wheatchex with a larger open wound with a couple stitches that's really draining a good bit. The vet apparently is suspecting there could now be a bone infection involved. I really hope not. Wheatchex is a sweet old lady and though she's retired, she's still a fixture at the barn.
Someone got a new saddle pad for Mickey. It's a bright, almost kelly green, so there's not likely anyone will mistake it for someone else's pad. Mickey actually seemed to be proud of it. He was almost prancy after we put it on him and walked him down the aisle.