New lead-rein pony one week on

lindsay1993

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Following on from my last post

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?729661-Have-I-just-found-the-perfect-pony

I'm pleased to say I think he may actually be the elusive 'perfect' pony!!

We got him home last Friday and he settled in so well. We have two big Thoroughbred geldings, who after a brief 10 minute gallop about the field, seem to have accepted him with no fuss at all. :)

The next day we took my daughter out for a wander along the lane on him. His owners told us he hadn't done anything for pretty much a whole year, so we weren't expecting him to be perfect. I must say, he didn't put a foot wrong. I was in charge of pony, boyfriend walking beside to give our daughter a little more security incase of emergency. We only did about 15 minutes along the lane and back, we met cars, motorbikes, dogs and screaming children. For some reason on this exact day, our quiet country lane seemed very busy indeed!! Fluffy took it in his stride, no problems at all.

He seems to listen well to voice commands and is very responsive, no messing about, he stops and goes when told. The owners said he was fidgety, which was discussed in my last post. I must say after being told in no uncertain terms that he is going to stand still and that he's not just allowed to do what he wants while we are trying to groom, tack up etc, he was fine and stood like a rock. I think he maybe has had a little to much free rein in this area! Still needs some improvement, but we can work on that!

My daughter is away on a trip to Chester Zoo this week with my family, so I have been long-reining Fluffy in the evenings after work. I have just been walking him about all the places we are likely to be hacking. He is doing well and listening to me ,he even managed gates whilst I was tangled in a mass of ropes and stood no bother until I had sorted myself out! Naughty me, been a long time since I long-reined!!

He seems to be very aware of where he's putting his feet and can think for himself on rough ground. I took him along the river bank, which has a few rutty, sandy up & down parts and he managed without a fuss at all. We also passed a lady on her rather large horse who kicked up a right fuss and decided that it wanted to stay with the pony. The lady had a rough time trying to get her horse to walk on. Fluffy, however, just pricked his ears towards the horse as it faffed about and walked on by without any encouragement! Very pleased. The lady on her horse eventually got it to walk on as we got out of sight.

He is pinked skinned on his face, so we have been coating him in suncream, as he has a few scabby patches on his nose and below his eyes. I have ordered a UV mask for him, which should be here soon.

There is one thing that is slightly worrying me though. I cannot fault the pony so far, he has done everything asked and has a lovely attitude. I had a look in his mouth, as the bit the owners had supplied is far too thick as he has quite a large tongue. Upon this, I discovered he has an upper canine tooth on both sides that are just starting to poke through. Now, I'm no expert at all in horses teeth, but I thought that the canines came through at around age 4 or 5. Is this correct??

The owner still has his passport and is going to send it on once we are certain we want to keep him, so I haven't been able to double check it. He was advertised as being 9 years old and I'm slightly concerned that he may in fact be much younger than that. We are arranging for the dentist to come out as soon as he can, but as we are quite rural, he will only come when he has others to do in the area.

Apart from this one issue, I'm very pleased with him so far and my daughter loves him!

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AceAmara

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what a star of a pony!! Your daughter looks so happy.

The teeth could just be wolf teeth, they can be very small. Even if he’s younger, he still seems to fit the bill? The passport should really be with you by law, that would concern me.
 

lindsay1993

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what a star of a pony!! Your daughter looks so happy.

The teeth could just be wolf teeth, they can be very small. Even if he’s younger, he still seems to fit the bill? The passport should really be with you by law, that would concern me.

I always thought the wolf teeth were further back? These are just behind the front teeth.
He is just what we wanted, so no the age isn't a problem if he is younger.

The passport is also concerning me. The owner was worried that we wouldn't like him or my daughter would be frightened of him so we are on a weeks trial at the moment. This ends tomorrow so I will be ensuring the passport is given to us immediately, she said she will hand it over as soon as we are 100% that we want him. We have to go and collect all his other tack, rugs and his driving harness/cart anyway so I will be making it very clear that I want it when we go down.
 

nicelittle

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If he does what you want, I wouldn't be too worried about his exact age, and he drives too! Sounds like great fun for everybody!
 

Annagain

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He is adorable and the smile on your daughter's face says it all!

Filtabac is excellent as a sunblock / soother for sun burn. It's quite thick and gloopy so stays put a lot longer than normal sun cream and a little bit goes a long way.
 

lindsay1993

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He is adorable and the smile on your daughter's face says it all!

Filtabac is excellent as a sunblock / soother for sun burn. It's quite thick and gloopy so stays put a lot longer than normal sun cream and a little bit goes a long way.

Thanks I'll have a look into that. I'm using a Nivea baby sun cream that's a Factor 50 waterproof one. It's blue as well so I can see where I've been! Poor Fluffy looks hilarious with half a blue face though!!

I've just done a 30 minute long-rein hack with him and he was perfect. I managed the gates this time without getting tangled up. Tomorrow I may take him a little further onto the big fells where there are a couple of water crossings and see what he thinks of them.

I just caught the old retired boy in the herd, Domino, giving him a good grooming! Quite nice to see that as Domino is the boss and isn't always keen on new arrivals.
 

lindsay1993

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If he does what you want, I wouldn't be too worried about his exact age, and he drives too! Sounds like great fun for everybody!

I know, I can't wait to get him out driving! I've always wanted to try it, but I may need a few lessons first! It's also an excuse to get my other half more involved. He always says he is only interested in things with wheels...... well this pony does have wheels! No excuses now :) :)
 

EBHouse

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Your daughter looks so happy!! He sounds like a good sort. Hope all goes well for getting passport etc
 

MileAMinute

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I love the fact he is called Fluffy!
At my daughter's nursery there is s guinea pig called Fluffball. Just too cute.

He looks like he is worth his weight in gold, OP. Best of luck with him, and hope your daughter enjoys the zoo. I'm lucky enough to live a couple of miles away from it, it's a fabulous place.
 

Windston

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I love him! Your daughter looks so happy and he sounds like a cracker. Best of luck, not that Fluffy will need it ❤️
 

rowan666

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I've been waiting to see an update, was begining to think we wernt going to get one haha
I'm so glad he's turned out to be so perfect for you/your daughter, I did think he seemed pretty fabulous on his ad and he is soooo cute!
 

lewis2015

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Ah he's adorable and love his name! Makes me want to get a lead-rein for my niece but I've only just got a second horse and she's only 14 months lol ;D So think I better wait!
 

be positive

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I always thought the wolf teeth were further back? These are just behind the front teeth.
He is just what we wanted, so no the age isn't a problem if he is younger.

The passport is also concerning me. The owner was worried that we wouldn't like him or my daughter would be frightened of him so we are on a weeks trial at the moment. This ends tomorrow so I will be ensuring the passport is given to us immediately, she said she will hand it over as soon as we are 100% that we want him. We have to go and collect all his other tack, rugs and his driving harness/cart anyway so I will be making it very clear that I want it when we go down.

Wolf teeth are further back and rarely visible without effort, the canines usually come through fully by 6 but some small ponies only ever get a tiny canine come through, so he may well be 9 , the incisors are a far better guide to the true age but if he is everything you want age is not really relevant.
It does seem strange that they have not shown you the passport, I would double check it when you pick it up just to make sure it really is his, although one little grey is fairly indistinguishable from many others there should be a few whorls to compare but they are not always done correctly.
 

chillipup

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Congratulations L, your first pic says it all, your daughter appears absolutely thrilled to bits. He's such a cute gorgeous little guy and I'm just loving the rainbow head collar, he looks like a little unicorn (minus the horn of course) :)
 

lindsay1993

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Thanks everyone!

Passport is being collected along with his other bits sometime next week. The owner asked me if I wanted it to show him and seemed a bit confused that I just wanted it to keep with him and his other relevant info. Maybe she isn't too clued up on the law regarding passports etc.

I found another dentist who can do him, she's the only female dentist I could find, as he's slightly wary of men. She is busy but can fit me in in a couple of weeks.

We also discovered Fluffy isn't all that keen on our hens and has struck out at a couple of them quite violently. The poor hens got quite a shock as the other horses don't mind them. They are keeping their distance at the moment.

Daughter had an amazing time at Chester Zoo and has brought back all kinds of teddies and balloons! She asked me if I had been looking after her pony properly while she was away because she didn't want him to be lonely! Cheeky little madam.

Will keep you updated with Fluff's progress :)
 

PollyP99

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He is very cute! On the hens, I guess he sees them as after his food, I noticed they were in the feeding pic, I've seen the same with confusion a yard cat at one place would go in stables with horses and poke nose into feed etc, horses didn't mind, new pony thought no chance and actually threw the cat out bodily! Little ones can have issues with little things I think!
 

Rollin

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So cute. We have a grandson 18 months, we annoyed our son no end, when his wife was pregnant, saying 'we have ordered the shetland pony'. I was in my 40's when I purchased my first horse and cannot imagine anything more yummy than a leading rein pony. I hope you have oodles of fun.
 

Annagain

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Oh bless them. We have hens at our yard. A will happily share his tea with them and M will actually be chased off it by them, which is a turn up for the books considering no horse or pony is allowed within 5 m of an eating M!
One night a hen somehow go stuck in his stable. We found him in the morning pinned to the back wall of his stable looking very perturbed and a hen sitting on top of a big pile of uneaten hay in his hay bar. There was a very odd shaped egg there, so she must have had a fright too!
 

lindsay1993

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He is very cute! On the hens, I guess he sees them as after his food, I noticed they were in the feeding pic, I've seen the same with confusion a yard cat at one place would go in stables with horses and poke nose into feed etc, horses didn't mind, new pony thought no chance and actually threw the cat out bodily! Little ones can have issues with little things I think!

He wasn't feeding in that picture. It's an empty bucket that another horse had taken out of its manger and dragged out into the field, so he had stuck his head in it to see what he could find!

He struck at the hen when he was stood at the gate after I turned him back out. I guess he's just not used to them. I haven't seen him do anything else so far and he's very good around our dogs.
 
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