Is there a second thread for the horse/obsessive ex owner?

[ExtraordinaryQuince]

Just that really.

I never had a pony growing up

My best friend used to live on a farm and had several so I spent most of my time bombing round on one of hers.

When we bought DD’s first pony - she was absolutely desperate, had been asking for ages. We kept saying no, not yet, can’t afford it, etc.

We’d asked her riding teacher to let us know of anything suitable and she came up trumps with a little grey Connemara.

We took her up to the yard as normal (she volunteered up there pretty much whole weekends in exchange for hacks and beach rides).

We went to pick her up as normal and as we got there she was asked if she would pop to the field and get the little grey pony in, he had a new owner who was going to meet him this afternoon.

DD brought him in and popped him in his stable - not noticing the new name plaque on his door - Pony Name and DD’s Name.

When she finally noticed it, I think she stopped breathing as well. Then burst into tears.

That was the last we saw of her for about 4 years

She sadly totally grew out of him a few years ago and he hated not having a job to do so he went on another family where he’s been teaching another little girl to ride.

I was a pony loving child with no access to a pony. I started riding when I was 40 after DS2 asked for riding lessons and bought my first horse for us to share 5 years later. The riding school changed hands and the new owner bought 3 new horses from a dealer. 2 grooms were trying thermally 2 out in my sons lesson. One was quite smart looking, the other was scruffy and a bit thin but had such kind eyes. A few days later my group were the first clients to try them out and I asked to ride the scruffy one. At the end of the lesson I heard a familiar sounding voice asking if they would be prepared to sell her! The RS owner said ask.again in a month when she's had more chance to settle down. Good job I got in quick - there was a waiting list by then. I had her for 5 years before arthritis meant she struggled to get up and I so loved that mare. By then I'd bought the horse I ride now for my son and we had another elderly pony that he had outgrown.

@plominoagain

For you Gremlin , as I can’t link it -

When I was a kid , I was that pony mad kid , every Christmas , every birthday since I was about eight , all I ever asked for . But parents weren’t horsy and we just couldn’t do it . Anyhow, I finally managed to find a pony to share . I would do Saturday to Tuesday, the owner did the rest . I adored her, in the way thirteen year old girls do. And then one Saturday morning, went to the yard to find the owner had taken the pony and done a moonlight flit, owing everyone money. I was devastated. Properly distraught.

About three weeks later, I was moping about at home and mum badgered me into going shopping with her. On the way back , she remembered that I’d left a load of stuff at the stable yard and suggested we pick it up. When we got there, the owner casually said , “Oh I shut it all in your old stable, you’d better go get it “ . I went to the doors , opened them up and at that point I think I stopped breathing. For there behind the door , with her ears pricked was the most beautiful palomino pony I’d ever seen. It transpired that my parents and the yard owner had been so outraged at what had happened, that they had colluded with a local dealer, to find my own. She was my best friend for over thirty years.

This has warmed the cockles of my cynical, jaded heart.

I've actually had to wipe away a tear.

she came out with her tail over her back, spooked at a blade of grass (whilst doing a massive fart)

Horses are such graceful dignified creatures . . .

I've had a little mini weep at these lovely stories.
My dad bought my first pony when I was 14 in a similar situation to upthread where someone started sharing my loan pony but taking over and taking his tack home so I couldn't ride my parents weren't horsey at all so he had to wait till I could be trusted to look after one myself.
He worked weekends doing a second job to pay for him and I had a wonderful late childhood because of my amazing boy. I lost my Dad a couple of months ago to Covid but he lived long enough to see my eldest DD the happiest girl in the world with her own little Welsh pony.

I had been looking after my first pony whilst she was being sold. She had just been backed, what I see now is I was sort of adding value to her as I was hacking her out, having lessons on her and getting her used to being handled as she was still very green. I spent hours with a bucket in her field as she wouldn’t be caught and was terrified but also in very poor condition so desperately hungry. She’d been left in a field, used as a brood mare. Plucked out and spent two weeks being lightly backed and then put back in a field.

I was riding her and a friend of a friend was on the yard and took a shine to her. Then realising she was for sale starting trying to gather info. I was trying not to give too much away as I adored her by this point.

Anyway, owner/yard owner was a fan of mine as I helped her a lot with this sort of thing. She did a bit of wheeling and dealing. I just loved horses and so mucked them all out and become known as a test jockey as I was so happy to ride I rode anything!

Yard owner offered my parents first refusal and more than halved the price for them. They agreed to buy her for me but neglected to tell me! So someone else on the yard congratulated me as I was sobbing as I thought she’d go to this other lady who had spent a while watching me ride and was pretty taken by her.

I was so confused and went home to ask if she was mine. “Yes, didn’t we tell you” was the response! I still have her 17 years on. My mum always said I didn’t stop smiling for about a fortnight.

@LaPufalina A mini weep? I'm fully crying.

These stories are just gorgeous

[quote PunishmentSnart]@LaPufalina A mini weep? I'm fully crying.

These stories are just gorgeous [/quote]
You got me. Definite sobs

@HeronLanyon

Gardens and horses do not mix ! Nor peacocks, escaped pigs, llamas, wild pony herd (is herd the word?), calfs. I’ve dealt with all before. After the drama (and laughs, partic pigs - the grunting and charging! ) the devastation has been astonishing. ‘Honoured’ by damage caused by badgers, fox dens, wild deer - I seem to have a hierarchy of what I to accept.

I am glad to note that you do not mention my personal choice of pet, @HeronLanyon - a tiger.

Dh is Not Keen, and thinks the neighbours would object too - but I think that, if I got it as a cub and raised it as a big house cat, a tiger would be just fiiiine as a pet.

I think it is the greatest injustice of my life that I do not have a pet tiger.

My parents bought my sister and I a pony, when we were in our early teens, but we, and they, were utterly clueless, and the pony we bought was completely unsuitable for two novice kids to ride, and the experience was so offputting that we never tried again.

She was a complete twatbag - she even pushed my dad backwards into the stream at the bottom of her field.

Not according to the deletion messages from mods over on Bunbury. Comments that reference other threads are being taken down, they aren't banned threads being discussed.

STDG HA HA ! agree if I could widen it and say it is easy if the great injustices of my life that I am unlikely ever to see a wild tiger. And that we have done that.
Even given all of that I would not appreciate your tiger plan if I were a neighbour (I assume an escaped tiger territory might be rather huge - you may need to build in an alert for whole swathes of your local region).
How about tiger lilies ???

I am glad to note that you do not mention my personal choice of pet, @HeronLanyon - a tiger.

Dh is Not Keen, and thinks the neighbours would object too - but I think that, if I got it as a cub and raised it as a big house cat, a tiger would be just fiiiine as a pet.

I think it is the greatest injustice of my life that I do not have a pet tiger.

But the litter tray, Wolf . . . . the LITTER TRAY

Plus, the s/he sits on your knee and starts "purring and paddling" . . . .

You are all big meanies!

@SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius I'd let you have a tiger on the proviso that I can have a wolf pack

@SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius

You are all big meanies!

I am NOT a meanie!

I have even made you a catnip impala for it to play with, but I can promise you that it will destroy your flowerbeds and cost you a fortune in Dreamies . . .

SDGT

If you get a tiger, I will swap you a catering sized tin of Whiskas for a shovel or twenty of tiger plop.

The cats found here have made my veg bed their chunty.

I’m sorry, @SchadenfreudePersonified - you are the heart and soul of generosity!

@BlueEyesWhiteDragon - yes, of course you can have a wolf pack - can I come and snuggle a wolf cub, please?

And @SheldonesqueIsUnwell - the tiger poo is yours!

I may have a couple of megacondas.

I think my neighbours may well change their minds about all night gatherings if they see a giant snek heid teeting at them over the fence occasionally.

It may also scare off the cats but I’ll take the tigger poo gladly thankee.

Ideally I’d live on a remote scottish isle with rescues. Horses are a dream away.

[quote BlueEyesWhiteDragon]@SchadenfreudePersonified nah I didn't mind at all. As I said I'd pondered making one because I've enjoyed the chat and it's been especially lovely to see other fans of track systems :)

@plominoagain that's amazing and similar to how my parents tormented me with my old girl!

I was 14 and had been volunteering at the stables for 4 years before my parents agreed to let me have a pony of my own. We'd got our own land at home but my parents aren't really horsey and it had always been rented out so the plan was it would be kept on livery at the yard and id work there to earn its keep.

On my regular lesson my usual chap was lame and so they brought out Gemima - a dun Welsh x Arab for me to ride instead and lord we had fun. I think I gave her my heart right at the second she came out with her tail over her back, spooked at a blade of grass (whilst doing a massive fart) before calmy walking to the centre of the ring. I asked about buying her but she was apparently on working livery and not for sale. I rode and did the care of her every chance I got.

One Friday about 6 weeks later I'd been dropped off at the stables as usual and when I went round to her stable to see her she wasn't there. I asked and they said he owners didn't want her on working livery any more and had moved her. I trudged through the chores and usual lesson a bit on autopilot. Mum picked me up and the second I was in the car I just sobbed my heart out the whole drive home. So we get home and off I go upstairs to throw myself on the bed disney princess style and cry some more! I'm sitting at the table telling my tale of woe between sniffles to dad and brother when he causally looks over to mum and says "oh isn't that the horse in the stable here" ....

She was my best mate for 24 years and the joy she brought me was unmeasurable.[/quote]
That is THE loveliest story

Farting horse! 🤣🥰💜

@plominoagain and @BlueEyesWhiteDragon they are amazing stories! I too was the horse mad kid, but my mum was scared off by the neighbouring child knocking out all of her front teeth falling off. I waited til I was 38 to buy my own.

Do you think a tiger would molt a lot? That would be a lot of fluff on your sofa!

• moult- I thought that didn't look right!

Hi I was popping in to see if there was any news on crazypants ex-owner. Relieved to see that there isn’t any. @ExtraordinaryQuince I can answer your question about tigers moulting because I have patted one once and it was one of the best experiences of my lifetime!!! I was at a theme park for a party and the Tiger trainer hadn’t been told that we were there. He had one out for walkies after hours, and when he saw the group of us coming his way, he made us stop, and the Tiger chose to come and smooch me. It’s head and feet were so big, and it’s fur was the softest thing I have ever encountered. Underneath though... those muscles were iron. I was utterly smitten, though. The other girls I was with were both terrified and jealous but didn’t approach, so it was only me who was lucky enough to get Tiger snuggles. I did have some Tiger hair on my dress - and enough Tiger scent to drive my dog bananas when I got home. It certainly wasn’t as much as cat hair, but the big guy wasn’t in my lap or crawling all over me. (I should be so lucky!)

I would love to snuggle a tiger. sigh.