respect our ponies

AMW

AMW

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16 January 2008
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Aberdeenshire
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I have so much admiration for my ponies & all the others living out.

My 2 welshes(1yo & 2yo) have gone from being sleek shiny show ponies that did very well at shows in the summer including the yearling winning a WPCS medal, to very hairy shiny living outside ponies. They endured temperature of -17 last night and still had smiley faces this morning, they are in snow up to their bellies but have created a network of paths in their field, sussed out where to shelter and sleep. All summer they were rugged to keep their coats right, now they just have 200g rugs on, they were naked until the really wet spell we had preceeding the snow and a bit harsh to take rugs off now. Their manes have split to both sides, who needs a neckcover when you have a thatch of waterproof hair.
I think it is fantastic how they have this built in knowledge, even the 2 foals I also have seemed to instinctively know to dig for grass through the snow, the older ones teach them a lot. They seem to come with so much built in knowledge.
They were evolved to survive and no matter what given the right living conditions they can still do this. and pampering does not make them soft, the older 2 were stabled at night all last winter and during the summer. I was to get another 2 stables put up this month but igloos are more likely at the moment.
a pointless post maybe :)
(They have plenty hay etc so not just relying on finding grass)
 
I also have a welshie and she's totally naked- granted there's no snow lying anymore but it is still very cold. She is even perkier in this freezing weather than she is during summer! She has a shelter and hay but it's amazing how well adapted she is to these conditions. She's lost hardly any weight (sigh!) so far throughout this freezing weather- hasn't been as cold as it is with you but still -8. Definitely respect to the ponies :D
 
none of our natives are rugged this year yet, most of them won't be at all but there are a couple who tend to lose a little condition later on in the winter so they may need to be depending how they go! It is lovely to see them out with their big fluffy coats doing what they are made to do, all are toasty warm and hopefully the 2 (whispers....the FAT ones.............) that need to will lose a little weight before much longer. No doubt we will be judged as cruel for not rugging them, poor babies!!
 
Our 'out' lot are all unrugged, 5 section Bs, a riding pony, a shetland and welsh part bred. They're all very cosy :) In the summer they disguised themselves well as competition ponies :eek:
 
[QUOTE=AMW
a pointless post maybe :)

I dont think so...I think this is a lovely post. Especially the smiling faces in the morning still. They deserve our respect..they are just happy being what they are. Never grumbling or judging. Beat human beings all day long dont they.
 
Indeed they know best. Sometimes I do wonder if my hairy native mammoth would keep warmer overnight living out at the moment. I think he probably gets colder overnight standing in a stable than he would if he was able to move around at night in a field with appropriate shelter. His coat is amazing. When I bought him one of my lines of thinking was that I needed a horse that could cope with living out if there came a time when I couldn't afford to keep him on a DIY livery yard. Over the last couple of weeks I only have to think of the ponies surviving on Exmoor and the steppes of Mongolia or the Tibetan Plateau and I know he'd be OK here!
 
Lovely post :)

I think its amazing how horses/ponies, and other animals, can evolve through the seasons and adapt to the changes in climate.
 
Great post, my highland is living out, naked. He is my first port of call in the morning, he has frost on his mane and whiskers, if not a layer of snow on his back but he is always toasty warm under his amazingly thick coat. I take my gloves off and warm my hands on him before starting the morning jobs :)
 
need a like button :)

I have two exmoors-living out in over 2ft of snow. wherever possible they break the ice on the water, dig down to the grass and enjoy their hay which isnt ad lib, no rugs. they have tracks all over the field and hollows in the snow where they've slept. they have a shelter and do use it a bit-mainly because I have a trug of water in there as trough is frozen solid. they are always cheerful :)
 
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