Annagain
Well-Known Member
I don't think I've come across many downrigtht nasty / cruel owners but I've seen more than my fair share of clueless people who mean no harm but do plenty.
The one that springs to mind was a colleague of my OH who brought her two daughters and her OH (not their father) to see my boy. The girls had ridden a handful of times. They had a sit on my boy on the lead rein and a little trot about. Ok so he's 16.3, not the 13hh ponies they're used to, but they couldn't rise to the trot or get him to do the basics i.e. start stop and turn and he's great with kids and does exactly what even my 5 year old niece asks. The stepdad was really keen to buy them a pony as he 'loved animals and was happy to look after it'. He was trying to buy their affection, you could tell.
I must have spent an hour trying to talk him out of buying one and into spending that money on lessons and really thought I'd managed it. Then a fortnight later my OH told me they'd bought a 4 yr old Section B and were keeping him on his own in a small paddock behind their house. Cue lots of phonecalls complaining about his behaviour and asking could I go to 'sort him out.' They were amazed when I told them I couldn't as I was 5'7" and 12 stone so couldn't ride a young, developing 13hh pony as I was too big for him, that he needed equine company and that he didn't need the recommended daily amount of feed according to the feed bag, or any feed for that matter. They were feeding him a kilo of slow release high energy mix every day as 'that's what the bag said' and the person in the shop recommended that particular feed. I ended up telling them exactly what I thought of them. At least they listened at that point and put him on working livery at a riding school where the girls got lessons on him. It all lasted about 6 months before they got bored and he and the mum split up. Luckily the pony turned out to be a bit of a star and was bought by the riding school.
The one that springs to mind was a colleague of my OH who brought her two daughters and her OH (not their father) to see my boy. The girls had ridden a handful of times. They had a sit on my boy on the lead rein and a little trot about. Ok so he's 16.3, not the 13hh ponies they're used to, but they couldn't rise to the trot or get him to do the basics i.e. start stop and turn and he's great with kids and does exactly what even my 5 year old niece asks. The stepdad was really keen to buy them a pony as he 'loved animals and was happy to look after it'. He was trying to buy their affection, you could tell.
I must have spent an hour trying to talk him out of buying one and into spending that money on lessons and really thought I'd managed it. Then a fortnight later my OH told me they'd bought a 4 yr old Section B and were keeping him on his own in a small paddock behind their house. Cue lots of phonecalls complaining about his behaviour and asking could I go to 'sort him out.' They were amazed when I told them I couldn't as I was 5'7" and 12 stone so couldn't ride a young, developing 13hh pony as I was too big for him, that he needed equine company and that he didn't need the recommended daily amount of feed according to the feed bag, or any feed for that matter. They were feeding him a kilo of slow release high energy mix every day as 'that's what the bag said' and the person in the shop recommended that particular feed. I ended up telling them exactly what I thought of them. At least they listened at that point and put him on working livery at a riding school where the girls got lessons on him. It all lasted about 6 months before they got bored and he and the mum split up. Luckily the pony turned out to be a bit of a star and was bought by the riding school.
