EquiEquestrian556
Well-Known Member
A nice height. Please post a photo of her once you're riding her, I'd love to see the two of you together 
P.S. What's her registered name? x
P.S. What's her registered name?
x
Tell me about you New Forest ponies
- Thread starter Sprig
- Start date
Sprig
Well-Known Member
Yes, will do. I am just in the process of sorting out a saddle for her at the moment. I think she is the perfect size for me, I don't know why people want big horses (says she, having just retired an almost 16.3hh TB!)
Her name is Buckland Arizona.
Her name is Buckland Arizona.
EquiEquestrian556
Well-Known Member
Haha, I'm only 5ft atm, but besides riding my little sister's 11.3hh and my own 13.3hh, I also ride my Mother's & Father's two Andalusian mares, Maria 16.2hh, & Nasha, 15.3hh. I do like big horses, but small ones or ponies are just as good, if not better in many ways!
LuandLu24
Well-Known Member
I loaned a New Forest pony for 6 months called Star and one word to describe her: moody. She is the moodiest horse I've ever met, but I still love her. She is totally bomb proof and amazing to ride, you just have to watch your fingers in case she bites them off. I no longer loan her but I see he almost every week as she lives next door to my yard
Peregrine Falcon
Looking for the light
What a lovely pony. Look forward to hearing about your progress together.
Elf On A Shelf
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Marleydenes Shiraz went Champion M&M at HOYS earlier! First Newfie in a long long time to do that - fantastic wee pony!
Mixedbag
Well-Known Member
Sprig, I am so jealous! I spotted Callie on NFED and as I have a NF and an Appy I fell instantly in love. She is the spitting image of my appy girl. I would have beaten you to her if I had won the lottery last week! Please keep us all posted about how you get on with her.
Sprig
Well-Known Member
Oh, sorry Mixed bag! She is rather lovely.
Mixedbag
Well-Known Member
Thanks for your comment Sprig, I have no money, no time and no space for another horse! Would definitely have needed a lottery win to solve all three problems. I thought that she looked to be a very special little lady and I am just so pleased that she has gone to someone who obviously appreciates her. As the owner of both a NF and an Appy I am naturally curious to find out what the combination will be like. Do please keep us all up to date with lots of pics of your gorgeous photogenic girl. Best of luck.
Sprig
Well-Known Member
There were a few of you who were interested in hearing how I was getting on with the new pony so here is a (hopefully not too long) summary. I chose her on her temperament and it has been a sound principle. While not always the easiest horse she is always 100% genuine and you can't ask for more than that. It means a lot to me to feel safe as a lot of the time I didn't on m previous 2 horses.
When I got her in Oct she was very unfit, pretty fat (although she didn't particularly look it, but she was wobbly to the touch and worryingly cresty) and hairy. The clippers came out early on and she had a tidy up.
It was interesting to see how grey she is underneath and also she has some little dark patches on the other side where she almost looks wet.
We spent the first couple of months just hacking and playing around(we are on Salisbury Plain so hacking is fab and easy to find a patch of grass to school on), getting to know each other. Then I decided we should get out and about so picked a quiet dressage comp to go to at the start of Feb. We don't have a school and neither did previous owners so this would be her first time at a show and first time in a school. Luckily someone in the village lent me their school for an hour on the Thurs before the dressage so at least she got a chance to see what one looked like. I was amazed with how good she was at the dressage. Warmed up beautifully in the large outdoor with other horses, some of which were being very silly (we always do everything solo at home as only other horse on the yard gets ridden at different times) and then went in to the indoor school, just had a quick look at some jumps round the outside but knuckled down to do a decent test for 63%-ish (despite me going the wrong way - twice!). Ended up hanging around for hours for the second test and warmed up for too long (got on early as it was freezing weather, but then they were running late) so went a bit backwards so not a good score but not naughty in any way.
Our first endurance ride was 32km in the Forest of Dean in March. As you can see she was chilled out by the trailer after her 2hr drive to get there.
Again she was beautifully behaved all day and she got a Grade 1, which is the highest score she could get, with a great heart rate. I was thrilled that the horse that could barely canter for 30 seconds in October managed a ride of more than 3hrs on terrain that really doesn't suit her (she loves cantering around on grass like we do at home, not having to trot on stony forest tracks) and trotted up so well at the end.
Had a quiet few weeks and then did another 35km endurance ride around the Cotswolds. I knew this would suit her much better in terms of going, so was really looking forward to it. She certainly has worked out what endurance rides are all about. She was towing me along (in her very polite way) for the first five miles or so, before settling into a lovely steady pace. Not such a good score this time as it was a very, very wet and windy day, which she hates, so her heart rate was not as good at the finish (flappy plastic tape marking the lanes in the vetting area didn't help either!). She went round in a great time though and trotted up with a spring in her step at the end.
I think from this pic that I look a bit big on her now. She has lost 75kg since I got her and gone down a width fitting in saddle so she takes up the leg a bit less well. I am going to see how we get on but at the moment I am happy with how she feels carrying me. She certainly did not feel like she was struggling around the Cotswold hills.
I have just bought some jumps and the field is now dry enough to put them out so we had our first jump session today (we have popped a few logs in the woods over winter). She is very sweet, always looking for the next jump. Clearly very green as only did a tiny amount in her last home so the plan is for us to get some lessons as I am hugely out of practice jumping and the last thing I want to do is ruin her.
My son has also had a sit on her, which he did not want to with my other horses, I wonder how long until he steals the ride?!
She is entered for a 40km endurance ride towards the end of May but we may well go and do a bit of clear round jumping or XC schooling in between.
When I got her in Oct she was very unfit, pretty fat (although she didn't particularly look it, but she was wobbly to the touch and worryingly cresty) and hairy. The clippers came out early on and she had a tidy up.
It was interesting to see how grey she is underneath and also she has some little dark patches on the other side where she almost looks wet.
We spent the first couple of months just hacking and playing around(we are on Salisbury Plain so hacking is fab and easy to find a patch of grass to school on), getting to know each other. Then I decided we should get out and about so picked a quiet dressage comp to go to at the start of Feb. We don't have a school and neither did previous owners so this would be her first time at a show and first time in a school. Luckily someone in the village lent me their school for an hour on the Thurs before the dressage so at least she got a chance to see what one looked like. I was amazed with how good she was at the dressage. Warmed up beautifully in the large outdoor with other horses, some of which were being very silly (we always do everything solo at home as only other horse on the yard gets ridden at different times) and then went in to the indoor school, just had a quick look at some jumps round the outside but knuckled down to do a decent test for 63%-ish (despite me going the wrong way - twice!). Ended up hanging around for hours for the second test and warmed up for too long (got on early as it was freezing weather, but then they were running late) so went a bit backwards so not a good score but not naughty in any way.
Our first endurance ride was 32km in the Forest of Dean in March. As you can see she was chilled out by the trailer after her 2hr drive to get there.
Again she was beautifully behaved all day and she got a Grade 1, which is the highest score she could get, with a great heart rate. I was thrilled that the horse that could barely canter for 30 seconds in October managed a ride of more than 3hrs on terrain that really doesn't suit her (she loves cantering around on grass like we do at home, not having to trot on stony forest tracks) and trotted up so well at the end.
Had a quiet few weeks and then did another 35km endurance ride around the Cotswolds. I knew this would suit her much better in terms of going, so was really looking forward to it. She certainly has worked out what endurance rides are all about. She was towing me along (in her very polite way) for the first five miles or so, before settling into a lovely steady pace. Not such a good score this time as it was a very, very wet and windy day, which she hates, so her heart rate was not as good at the finish (flappy plastic tape marking the lanes in the vetting area didn't help either!). She went round in a great time though and trotted up with a spring in her step at the end.
I think from this pic that I look a bit big on her now. She has lost 75kg since I got her and gone down a width fitting in saddle so she takes up the leg a bit less well. I am going to see how we get on but at the moment I am happy with how she feels carrying me. She certainly did not feel like she was struggling around the Cotswold hills.
I have just bought some jumps and the field is now dry enough to put them out so we had our first jump session today (we have popped a few logs in the woods over winter). She is very sweet, always looking for the next jump. Clearly very green as only did a tiny amount in her last home so the plan is for us to get some lessons as I am hugely out of practice jumping and the last thing I want to do is ruin her.
My son has also had a sit on her, which he did not want to with my other horses, I wonder how long until he steals the ride?!
She is entered for a 40km endurance ride towards the end of May but we may well go and do a bit of clear round jumping or XC schooling in between.
EquiEquestrian556
Well-Known Member
She's looking fab Sprig! What a beauty she is. Her weight looks spot on, and she sounds perfect!
Thank you for the update, I was wondering how you both were getting on.
Please keep us updated, and good luck for your next endurance ride - I'm bet it will be easy for her.
My girl also has excellent stamina and is incredibly fast - she adores hunting! Perhaps the stamina thing is something NFs have!
P.S. You should try hunting her, I bet she'd love it!
What a beauty she is. Her weight looks spot on, and she sounds perfect!Thank you for the update, I was wondering how you both were getting on.
Please keep us updated, and good luck for your next endurance ride - I'm bet it will be easy for her.
My girl also has excellent stamina and is incredibly fast - she adores hunting! Perhaps the stamina thing is something NFs have!
P.S. You should try hunting her, I bet she'd love it!
Sprig
Well-Known Member
I am sure she would love hunting. Maybe next season.