Um help......

[Mama1980]

Ok please don't flame me for being crazy. I seem to have um been sort of given a 6 year old welsh pony apparently 12.2 hands.
Basically it's sort of known around here I have tendency to take in waif s and strays, I have 3 rescue cats, a rescue dog, tortoise and fish. This pony was abandoned at our local stables, which saved her from the meat wagon which. Is otherwise where she was headed but they cannot afford to keep her.
Apparently she is nervous and they think pretty traumatised, but looks okish.
The woman said she's (forgive the phrase) nothing special just a 'scrappy' pony the rescues and centres around here are full of them. The woman who came to see me asked if I'd take her or at least help. (My son rides there)
I have called the vet out to her, basically I need a list of questions to ask things I need to know......anything really I'm totally clueless.

No flaming here. I would want to check she was sound and I'd want teeth and feet checked. I'd also want her age verified.
Traumatised sounds worrying. Can she be handled?

Thank you so much for replying! She just said pony is very wary, they've done nothing more than feed and attempt to brush (which apparently didn't go well) won't take food from the hand. They think pony has been tethered? Which I guess means tied up for a while . But would allow a slow approach without panic.
The vet is coming out at 3 to take a good look. They are guessing at the age I think.
Is there anything else I should be asking?

They are saying traumatised based on the fact pony won't be touched and is pretty thin.

What exactly does 'sound' mean? Sorry probably the most ridiculous question in the world

Do you have any experience of handling/caring for horses at all? Sorry, that's not a snarky question but if not I would really really question whether to take her on as an inexperienced owner of a mistreated pony is really not a great combination. If you have no experience one of your first priorities should be finding someone experienced to help out on a day to day basis.

And 'sound' means not lame basically.

Honestly? Unless you're very experienced, don't touch it with a barge pole. The are too many things that can go wrong, including you or your son getting hurt. If it's been badly treated it will need loads of time and work and even then you might end up with a sad mouth to feed that you can't handle, much less ride or enjoy in any way. Or which can have an enjoyable life.

Sorry to be brutal.........

Haklyut is right, I have seen lots of people take on these projects, get overwhelmed by the issues and then pass them on which leads the pony being passed from pillar to post, 9 times out of 10 ending up on the meat wagon anyway.
Looking after a pony is so so different from small animals.

Thanks so much. No brutal is ok I wouldn't dream of taking on for my son to ride, it would simply be because the alternative is awful
without boasting or seeming casual I can easily afford to just keep the pony for no other reason than to let it live.
I have no experience whatsoever. Where could I begin to look for someone experienced/qualified? If the vet says life is the best option, assuming the poor pony isn't too sick, lame or badly injured.
How people can treat any animal like this is quite beyond me .

If your son rides, could no one at the yard recommend a trainer/livery yard where you could get lots of support? You can't just keep ponies in a field. It would need rugs, feeding over winter, possibly restricted grazing over the summer to stop it from getting fat (leading to related serious illnesses) etc etc. I think the only option for you would be a good livery yard. I know you say you can afford it but a decent livery yard where they provide services until you know what you are doing could be £400+ month.

Or if you feel really strongly would you be willing to pay for the people who have her at the moment to continue looking after her if their only obstacle is money?

Ok thanks I really so appreciate the reply. I will see what exactly the situation is when I get there.
I appreciate the advice truly I can afford what it may cost. I just don't know what is best.

It's lovely you are so prepared to pay for this poor little mare and I really hope it works out for you. But if for any reason it doesn't work out, I would beg you not to pass her on unless you are as sure as you can be that she is going somewhere where she will have a secure future. If you can't be sure of that it would be kinder to take the decision to PTS yourself.

There is a huge problem in the UK with indiscriminate breeding and ponies being neglected and passed around. They rarely have happy endings

As you say, it's not the cost, it's what's best for the pony. And for you! My dd has been bringing on a youngster for the past couple of years and it has been ssooooooooo much harder than she expected. And he was a happy, well handled cuddly chap when she got him, and she had helped several other people do the same.........

Well done to you for attempting to save her. Surely, it is worth a shot. It might not work out but at least you will have known you tried. I'm sure the pony would be grateful for you giving her a chance.

Sometimes the best possible outcome for an animal is to be PTS. Honestly. And a nervous, traumatised undernourished pony could very well be one of those animals.

I really would let the vet see her. Where in the country are you? Horseworld is another charity who can help.

mama seriously - its not just about the money, horses need hoof care, so therefore need to me handled and therefore caught by the farrier. She should have her hoofs picked very day, which requires you to pick up her feet.....

You say she is skinny - she could have something like cushings, which require ongoing medication.

Even a small pony can really hurt you, and actually potentially kill you with a kick......

the stables have seen you coming and are taking advantage.....

The problem is - if you can't care for her properly, even if it is due to her being traumatised, you can be prosecuted for neglect. A pony is not a dog, cat or tortoise.

You say you are not planning to ride her, but some huge % of injuries to do with horses happen on the ground (i.e. leading in from field, catching, grooming, picking out feet etc)

please think again.

You've done the right thing by calling the vet, that's the best place to start. If all is fine health-wise (or at least easily fixable with tlc) then he may have some advice about where you go next. It may be that she is traumatised and it would be dangerous for you to try and handle her, but she might not be as bad as she has been painted and worth a bit of effort. I second phoning a sanctuary for advice as they will have lots of experience with ponies like this. If you can afford it you could possibly pay an expert to do the basic groundwork with her and get her more sociable for you to handle yourself. In the meantime you could have some lessons in horsecare and handling.

It's lovely that you want to help her, just be aware that it's a big commitment, even if you want her to be nothing more than a field ornament.

I have to agree with everyone else. PTS is not an awful alternative, the pony will be a lot worse off being passed on from pillar to post. I would even go further and say that the livery yard were irresponsible to 'save' the pony from PTS when they cannot look after it and are immediately looking for a new owner.

Have you considered all financial aspects of horse ownership? A pony can easily live up to 30 years or longer during which time it will need a nice field, hay, sometimes hard feed, worming, trimming, vaccinations, dentist and insurance as a minimum. Even if left up ridden the pony has to be handled regularly so you can check her overall condition and make it possible for the farrier and vet to deal with her. You will also need to check the pony in the field at the very least once a day or pay someone to do this for you.

Bluntly, and speaking from experience, I "personally" would not touch this pony with a barge pole and PTS is possibly one of the better options for it.

I'm "experienced" in that I've had horses all my life, have had a number of waif and stray horses from bad rescue situations and am experienced at coping with "difficult/wild" horses. I'm in the position I can keep them at home, so cost and space is not so much of an issue and I have extensive animal behaviour experience.

In 3 cases out of 5, (of the 5 horses I have rescued from similar situations to the ones you describe), I have ended up putting them down for one reason or another.

It's not as simple as "letting the pony live her life". If you have no idea about horses (and you have admitted you have no experienced) then this pony is an accident waiting to happen. You need to be able to handle it safely at the very least, for the reasons others describe. Having a horse that not even a vet can get near, is an issue. What would you do in an emergency, say colic? Or what if it injured itself and needed treatment? If the vet can't touch it, and you can't handle it, you have problems. Compounded if you don't know anything about horses.

The stables have seen you coming. Obviously an opinion from a stranger on the internet is just that, but please think very, very carefully about taking the pony on.

So sorry about the ridiculously late update, (I hate it when people don't update ) I forgot I started this.
Pony has been seen by the vet 2 behavioural experts and assessed by the local rescue centre, bottom line being it all sounded much worse than it actually is. Her teeth are ok, her feet had a few issues but can be resolved and she's on special food and medication for the foreseeable future, but behaviourally she is much better than Was feared. She was not in a bad enough state for the rescue to take her on.
She allowed herself to be examined, the behaviourist thinks she's been tethered for a while, and is wary but probably not actually hurt because she can be approached and is very slowly showing signs of improving. We have a whole list of things to 'practice' and help her with and she will be assessed again next week.

She is on full livery at the stables, and we are seeing her as often as we can, my eldest especially is keen and helping out with supervision of course.
Thanks again everyone

hi how are you all? Can you believe Alex is going to be 2 in a couple of months?! Other than being a little dot still he's walking, and talking now and is utterly inexhaustible