Dear Alice...

[AdorableAlice]

My Dearest Alice,

I have nurtured you for five years, you have had precise instructions for your career of lightweight show cob. I have not overfed you, indeed I have not fed you at all. You have lived out so no mod cons or comforts. I left you late to break to avoid any sudden spurts of growth, indeed your growth rate has been at snails pace.

You have been an accident prone baby and troubled my bank account on three occasions, the vets have you on speed dial. Your farrier has tended your feet with care to ensure your limbs are in perfect order for you to be a show cob.

You are smart in both body and mind, you move beautifully with elevation and purpose, your shoulder is superb and your cannon bones short. Indeed you are darn near perfect and 2016 was looking promising. We have discussed the no hair business, it is doable, after all Mummy had no hair for 12 months and look at me now, all grown back. Yours would have grown back too.

Dearest Alice you are over height and Mummy is extremely displeased with you. All pocket money is stopped and you can put yourself up free to a bad home.

 

[crabbymare]

I can offer a terrible home could she crouch down to get under the height or perhaps remove her fetlocks until she is measured?

 

[AdorableAlice]

I can offer a terrible home could she crouch down to get under the height or perhaps remove her fetlocks until she is measured?

Now that is a thought, unscrew her at the fetlocks..

 

[be positive]

Poor Alice, she forgot that part of the deal was to stop growing at 15.1, she blames Ted for this as he is so big she wanted to try and keep up, could she be a Maxi cob it seems to be the latest fad and she thinks it would be good to be en trend, she never gets any pocket money so will not miss it but will try and be better in future.

That is such a shame for you, another career must be found, breeding cobs must be almost the biggest lottery, get the right type and they go over, they stay under and don't have the quality.

 

[Auslander]

It' because she wants to come tome and be a dressage horse, just like her idol, the incomparable Alf!

 

[Hanson]

She is beautiful, don't be rotten, we all get a little oversized at times!

Perhaps she would like a career as a dressage diva?

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Oh dear, how much over has she gone? At five, mine was 14.2hh: he is not this height any longer. Shall I stop writing now? :tongue3:

 

[AdorableAlice]

She was being a twit to measure, 15.2 and front end high at the moment. At three she was much more of a small hunter stamp, so kept trim and fit we might give her a try as a small.

She is going to be an all rounder so it is not the end of the world, just slightly annoying !

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

If she would like to pack her suitcase then Tiny Fuzzy says she can come to us, as long as she shares hay and keeps mother happy with drag hunting and RC etc

Seriously AA, what a bummer xx

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Bad pony/horse type thing! How frustrating when everything else has worked out! And as you say it's not as though you fed her to make her grow bless her lol!

Oh well! Hunters it my be for the time! She just wanted to keep the hair! Though I hope she doesn't have a proper cob mane else I pity the poor person who has to plait it...

 

[Luci07]

Working cob? Sure my friends was bigger than 15.2', sidesaddle?

 

[Gift Horse]

Given her name, maybe a "drink me" potion would help!?
How annoying she is too big - she's lovely

 

[CrazyMare]

My pony is 4, he is out of a 14.2 by a 14h. I don't know how big he is, but I know he is clearly much bigger than my 14h pony.

I can't find his Miracle Gro, but he must be drinking it at night!!

 

[Sven]

Introduce her to a hot date, wait till she goes week at the knees, then measure her ��

 

[AdorableAlice]

Introduce her to a hot date, wait till she goes week at the knees, then measure her ��

It is funny you mention such a thing, this afternoon she hacked with a very hot date, 17.2 of ginger ninja show hunter, he whispered sweet nothings to her, she kicked him in the ribs. She is still secretly in love with Ted.

I am sure the cobs I have watched in the past are bigger than she is. She looks tiny without her tack and massive with it and a rider on board. She won't be subjected to the tricks some of the pro's get up to regarding measuring that is for sure.

 

[be positive]

It is funny you mention such a thing, this afternoon she hacked with a very hot date, 17.2 of ginger ninja show hunter, he whispered sweet nothings to her, she kicked him in the ribs. She is still secretly in love with Ted.

I am sure the cobs I have watched in the past are bigger than she is. She looks tiny without her tack and massive with it and a rider on board. She won't be subjected to the tricks some of the pro's get up to regarding measuring that is for sure.

Without using some of the tricks it could still be worth trying, if she is uptight she may "grow" as much as a couple of inches when the stick comes near her, you say she was being a twit so the first aim is to get her totally relaxed with the stick so you get a more true measurement, don't forget it is 155cm which is slightly over 15.1 so a bit of wriggle room. If she were mine I would be aiming to do a few novice shows this season just locally where a height cert will not be required just to get her out and about, it may be that she will not grow any more and you can get her measured once she accepts the stick is not going to harm her, I have seen them virtually shrink when they are completely happy being measured, a good vet doing it really helps matters.

 

[Ladyinred]

Did you never read the James Herriot books?? There is a story in one of those about a pony at a show who everyone said was well overheight for the 14:2 classes. He was pulled out of the ring to be measured... as they put the stick on him he buckled at the knees and measured below 14:2... every time.

Surely with your skills you could teach Alice this trick?

 

[Shay]

Problem is what you have to do to them to get them to buckle like that! Although it would be a neat trick to teach painlessly - mostly its achieved by pricking their withers over and over with pins so they duck down under the stick. Be positive is right that she might relax a bit more to get her height cert? I have a 148 JC who needed his LHC when we first got him. He was - and is - quite close to the height and so stressy I really didn't think we'd make it. We practiced a lot at home so he got the idea the stick wasn't that scary - even repeatedly measuring him whilst he ate. I found a really calm vet who was willing to let me lunge him on arrival (Except it snowed the night before and the round pen was slick with ice so we couldn't.) Pony came off the trailer like an Exocet missile, cold and seriously on his toes. But the vet was so calm - just gave us a little time to settle and he made 147.5 the first time. No messing and no nasty tricks. Just giving him the time to calm down.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Thank you for good advice, we worked her this morning and then measured her again. Still silly but not as daft as yesterday and sure enough the stick was a couple of cm's less. It will be worthwhile getting her utterly bored with the measuring process. She is a lazy mare when she is totally relaxed and has no presence, so measured in her normal slovenly stance she would be smaller.

Party trick - 11 hands !

Our plan is to aim for a local show with a novice hunter or cob class and give her an outing. Her mane will stay on and be pulled short. It doesn't matter for local cob classes if she is not hogged. I have a feeling that she is just not going to be worth showing at all, maybe a small if she was slim and fit. A proper small is a scaled down middle, she does have substance and moves well. A summer coat and a trim might give us more of a clue. She will be a nice fun horse if she does not show.