It's Never The One You Expect It To Be!

Kase has remained interested in the horses and donkeys and their care.
He wants to lead them, he wants to pet them, he wants to feed them, and he wants to love on them.
But he is little and they are big.
They are kind and gentle, but they aren't really kid's horses.
They could be, one day, maybe...
But not right now.

Chad's favorite thing to do was tell me that Kase wants a pony.
And the more you hear something the more you begin to believe it (I think).
I finally decided that he DID need a pony and so I started looking.
Looking on Craigslist...what a bunch of loonies and sad, sad, sad animals...
Who tries to sell a 3 year old small horse stud as a kids horse?  More people than you'd think...

I joined a group on FaceBook group and there were TONS of ponies that could have been contenders had they not been in Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Wisconsin, and Missouri.

I was beginning to feel like this was a really dumb idea looking for a horse of any kind for him.
There wasn't even a half dead lame old nag needing special care and lead-line work that wasn't a pony anywhere withing a days drive I could find...

I finally told Mindy I was looking for a pony.
A new set of eyes and a new approach was just what I needed.
Never would I have looked on the BRn4d classifieds for a beginner kid's horse/pony.
But Mindy did!!
And that's where she found Kase's pony!
Not a broke pony...  But a broodmare-mini mare that has been handled by big and small people and was good with kids on the ground.  A good lead line prospect.



Mindy sent me the add.
I e-mailed the contact.
Chad and I went and looked at the mare.
I made an offer on the mare and we made a deal.
I didn't bring a horse trailer, because I wasn't sure that this was going to be something we'd be interested in when it all boiled down...
She was!!



Kase and I picked her up on a Thursday and I had to decide how to integrate her with the rest of the girls.
The Hee-Haws were in the Jenny Craig For Men Pen, so that introduction will happen at a later date.
I finally decided to lock the old ladies in the back part of the pasture and put Mini Horse, barn Name Nikki, in a stall with small run next to Fiona.
Fiona loves everyone and has been raised with the mini donkeys so she should make fast friends....
Right?
Wrong!



To cut right to the chase, Fiona couldn't have been a bigger ass is she had tried.
At one point I honestly considered sending her to Mindy's for the summer, so I could see if the pony was going to make the cut in peace and all in one piece.
Fi charged the fence.  Struck out.  Pinned her ears and snaked her head while gnashing her teeth and about anything else she could think of.
When Fiona would threaten the pony, the mini horse/pony would toss her head and squeal.
Funny little beast doesn't know she's tiny and wasn't going to take any crap for the big dumb roan.



Fiona has a wee bit of a temper!

I kind of for got about it, but her royal highness took no time in reminding me once Kase's horse came home!
On Friday afternoon I turned the pony/mini horse out for a look around the front part of the pasture and tied Fiona up.  The video is how Fiona handled it...
It's obvious to me that Fiona needs some time tied up...alone, with her bad attitude...  (0:
I'm working on a patience tree right now, so she doesn't destroy the driveway in front of the barn any farther.
I'm not the least bit amused by her behavior, now or then....

I was really happy at how relaxed mini horse/pony was when I turned her out.
She's really got a great demeanor and is pretty self confident.
Kase and I are happy she is here.
And the pony doesn't seem too unhappy about being here!
The little horse couldn't care less about the hot mess Fiona was.  You can't hear it in this video, but Fi was really making a ruckus at the trailer.
The old girls didn't even bother checking on her either.
I guess that everyone thought she was being a fool.



Because the Fiona- Little Nikki bonding didn't happen I decided to introduce the little woman to the old ladies. On Saturday, when I would have a whole day to watch, work on things, worry, pace, and wonder what kind of a fool I am.



I turned mini horse/pony out for about 45 minutes while Fi carried on like her brain was lost, just let her get the lay of the land before the other mares came up close.
I decided to put Horse Girl on a lead rope while Remi was loose.
Remi was interested and kind while introducing herself, Horse Girl got her first sniffs while on the lead, then I let her go too.
The old girls  and the little woman made a few hot laps, did a little bit of squealing- but no striking.  And then just kinda stood around looking at each other.
So I brought out some hay and made 10 one flake piles.

After an hour I brought in Fiona on a long lead line.
She immediately charged towards Little Nikki and got the ever lovin' bossiness removed from her roan hide by the alpha mare.  Me.

I then let Fiona say howdy to Horse Girl and Remi.  The little mare came over to join in the group hug and Fi went all snapper turtle again.  And again the alpha mare gave her some redirection and then Old Horse Girl took a pot shot at her and put herself in between Fiona and Little Nikki.
I took Fiona to the farthest pile and let her start eating.  Once she seemed to be fully involved her food I let her go dragging the 20 foot lead.  I kind of thought it might help slow her roll if things went sideways and also give me something to dive at if I had to.

It only took her 20 minutes to decide to make her way over to where the little horse was, first innocently, then at a head down charge.  That head down charge was foiled by her lead rope and almost sent her ass over tea kettle, but it only really slowed her down.  It was enough for Horse Girl to send Remi out to intercept and to give Horse Girl a chance to come around the other side and remove some tail hair from Fi.

And this is how it went for about 4 hours.
By dinner time poor ol' Horse Girl was flat wore out.  Mini horse/pony was too.  Remi and Fiona seemed fine, but I was running out of daylight.
So Fiona went back to the stall for the night and the other girls stayed out together.
The night was a success, and the morning started where it left off the night before.

But Fiona only got into REAL trouble once, and was then allowed to tell the little horse that she was her "boss" in a less than aggressive way.  Horse Girl allowed her to snap at her, shake her head at her, and take a couple of steps at her.  But once she exceeded the allowable limits set forth, Horse Girl would send Remi in to break things up.  It was pretty incredible to watch.

And now, they all eat together, sun together, nap together...
No more than an ear flick is needed to express what they need.

Thank Goodness!!
I was really ready to ship Fi off!!