TROUBLES OF A FOOTSORE PONY It's Spring again, the grass has grown I've eaten too much, my stomach groans Each of my hooves is tender and sore, I just can't help it - I have to eat more! The pain's so great, I cannot walk My owner leads me, but I balk She sees the problem she must fix Sighs, green grass and ponies - a terrible mix So I'm locked up in a barren yard the gate and it's lock are kept under guard The vet comes to give me a shot and tells my owner my bells too pot The rest of the spring a diet I'm on I can't eat the grass that’s growing so long But now I feel a whole lot better and to you horse lover, I write this letter. Don't let us get fat, cause then we'll go lame, a dreaded condition - Founder's its name. Although we'll be hungry, for a short time it's better than being sick in our prime. My first ever blue ribbon in a rider class, Ticki helped me win that!!!!! The natural Games Pony!!!!! Ticki gave me my love of Showjumping!!!!! I had a little pony, His name was Dapple Grey, I lent him to a lady to ride a mile away. She whipped him, she lashed him, She drove him through the mire, I wouldn't lend my pony now for all the ladies hire! A MILLION HORSES Don't cry for the horses That life has set free A million horses Forever to be Don't cry for the horses Now in God's hands As they dance and they prance To a heavenly band They were ours as a gift But never to keep As they close their eyes Forever to sleep Their spirits unbound On silver wings they fly A million horses Against the blue sky Look up into heaven You'll see them above The horses we lost The horses we loved Manes and tails flowing They Gallop through time They were never yours They were never mine Don't cry for the horses They will be back someday When our time has come They will show us the way On silver wings they will lift us To the warmth of the sun When our life is over And eternity has begun We will jump the sun And dance over the moon A Ballet of horses and riders On the winds to a heavenly tune Do you hear that soft nicker Close to your ear? Don't cry for the horses Love the ones that are here Don't cry for the horses Lift up your sad eyes Can't you see them As they fly by? A million horses Free from hunger and pain Their spirits set free Until we ride again ~ Author Unknown ~ Ticki was a born sometime in 1976. He was a 13 hand bay gelding of the Heinz variety, (mixture of many different breeds). He was a really brilliant little pony who gave me back my confidence. (When I was 9 on one of my first rides at a riding ranch the horse bolted and I was dragged.) Ticki could do no wrong, well almost no wrong. He was a lovely ride and for the 4 years I had him, I competed with him in many shows and horse events. We also competed in the team games - this is a team of 6 riders who compete against other pony clubs in 6 different events. There was one year when Ticki decided to play up in the events. In most of the games we competed in Ticki would buck his way through them, and in one particular game he decided that he didn't want to move. We would take a few steps then he would back up. In the end Kristy grabbed his reins and rode her horse making Ticki do it as well at the same time. The bucking this day we later found out was due to the bad part of his back going out. Which it did reguarly and kept the chiropractor in a job. Ticki had a couple of faults; every horse has its faults. One of those faults was his back. There was a spot behind the saddle that was weak and would constantly slip out of place. This made him hate having 2 people on his back at once. Having 2 people on his back or sitting too far back would make Ticki buck. He wasn’t bucking out of a mean nature, but just because it would hurt him. Another of Ticki's faults was he absolutely hated to be stomach drenched, (wormed with a tube through the nose down into the stomach with worming paste). It would take about 5 men to hold Ticki as he would fight and then gallop off leadrope dragging to the far corner of the pony club. Ticki also had his good points, which made up for his bad faults. He was quiet and eager to please. At every show we went to that had a Fancy Dress class we would enter. My dad would make up costumes and in we would go, as a pirate, a knight even convicts. That was the one event we were never once beaten in. In most fancy dress classes only the person would dress up, Ticki was also dressed up when I went in. I was a pirate, Ticki the pirate ship, etc. We had also been convicts and knights, and much much more. It was Ticki's 2 main bad faults that were to become his downfall (One being his hatred of being lunged, the other was his love of eating too much). I grew out of Ticki after 4 years and I had to sell him and move onto a bigger more challenging horse. I sold Ticki to a friend, who I knew would look after him and love him like I did, or so I thought. Kathy kept him at Pony Club, while I moved Condor my new horse to a new paddock. I still went to Pony Club for the rallies twice a month. It was the day before a horse show, I went with dad to the Pony Club to help set up the rings. While I was there I decided to go say hello to Ticki, he was out in the paddock with all the other horses. Ticki was lying on the ground enjoying the sun, or so I thought when I went over to him. He was in fact, foundering so badly, (Founder is a painful condition that affects the feet of ponies and sometimes horses, caused by overeating, especially in springtime and can be fatal), that he couldn't get up off the ground. One look was all it took for me to burst into tears at the state he was in. I immediately got dad and we forced him to get up off the ground and slowly walked him to a fat yard, (a paddock with no grass). Dad was angry and he went around to see Kathy's parents. The reason he was not put in the fat yard was utterly silly. Because 2 horses had recently died in there no one would use it, as they all felt their horses would die if they were left in there. Ticki was very lucky he didn't die from being left out in thick lush grass. The consequences were that her parents made her sell Ticki. When I had bought Ticki, he was a happy easygoing pony who loved his cuddles. My dad would stand there with his hands on his hips and Ticki would squeeze his head in the crock of your elbow wait for pats while going to sleep. When Kathy sold him, he was a sore terrified pony whose only real worth now would be for meat. A couple of the girls told me that Kathy would force Ticki to lunge, (run around in circles on the end of a long rope, a good way of exercising your horse), by beating him with a whip across the head. She would whip him to move and whip him to stop, making Ticki extremely headshy, now no one could touch him around his ears, not even me or my dad who Ticki had always trusted in the past. He was completely ruined. Dad was all set to buy Ticki back when Laura's mother came up to me and asked me all about Ticki and what he was like, as she wanted to buy him for Laura, another friend of mine. They bought him for next to nothing and firstly got the vet out to see Ticki about his founder. He was extremely bad and the vet said had he been left for a few more weeks he would have been to far gone to save and it would have been kinder to put him down. Ticki got better as he got all his excess weight off and once fit he was ridden in shows and at one day events he still went to Pony club twice a month, but now, with Laura. Laura grew out of him and once again he was neglected. It got to the stage that Ticki would founder, then get locked up , get better then straight away founder again continuously. By this time he was getting old. This was when his good luck came along. Ticki now also had bad arthritis and he was up for sale again, by this time Ticki was living at the same paddock as Condor. There was a lady there who had a daughter who had a pony she was terrified of. After talking to me about Ticki having been told I was the original owner of him, she decided to buy Ticki for her daughter. She didn’t worry about his old age, she only wanted a safe quiet ride for her daughter (surprisingly, after all the abuse he was still a great beginners pony and except for the head shying he was still as bomb proof as ever. Though not as trusting as he had once been.) They bought Ticki and have since paid out alot of money on remedies to help him with his arthritis and keeping a close eye on his weight. All I know of Ticki now is that he has moved up to Albury with them (they plan on keeping him until he dies), and if he is still alive now he would will hopefully be living happily in retirement in a paddock with not much grass getting lots of well earned cuddles. I have learnt a valuable lesson from this. There are many people out there who abuse horses, that is a fact, like all other animals. But to see your much loved pony on deaths door due to mistreatment and neglect is something I wouldn't wish on anyone, even more horrible is being the one to find your old friend like this and to have this done by a good friend is almost unthinkable, then to see it happen all over again a second time. I will never again sell any of my horses to a friend, no matter how true that friend is and how much I trust them. I would rather not know what is happening to a faithful old horse once sold on, I would rather like to imagine that he is being well looked after. Out of this I lost 2 friends, but in my opinion, good friends would never do that to any animal, I for one am would be happy if I never saw them again, I don’t want anything to do with them anymore. Ticki did not deserve anything that happened to him, I truely wish now we had brought him back when we had the chance too as he would have now been happily living in retirement with Condor. Though I do know he was well looked after by his third owners after me, finally Ticki found a family that loved him like I did. I still know that my biggest regret was not buying him back when I had the chance, that is something I have to live with that can never be changed. I wonder what Ticki is doing now if he is still alive..... Written by My (Condor) Mummy (Ticki's Old Owner), the one who truely cared for Ticki. Fancy Dress Here We Come!!!!! THE UNBEATEN CHAMPIONS!!!!! A Horses' Loyalty - by Savannah Oh how I wish I could run free, so much to do, so much to see. To hear the thunder of my hooves on open plains, To feel the wind whistle through my tail and mane. To run free and wild all day, No, with my owner I will stay. I love to hear her sheer delight, when I soar over a jump with all my might. I still remember her sobs one tragic day, when in my paddock, motionless I lay. Darkness. Now, I will run, forever free, with hope she’ll always remember me. Over open plains I’ll always run, My life on earth, is forever done. Click here to return to the HomePage
TROUBLES OF A FOOTSORE PONY
It's Spring again, the grass has grown I've eaten too much, my stomach groans
Each of my hooves is tender and sore, I just can't help it - I have to eat more!
The pain's so great, I cannot walk My owner leads me, but I balk
She sees the problem she must fix Sighs, green grass and ponies - a terrible mix
So I'm locked up in a barren yard the gate and it's lock are kept under guard
The vet comes to give me a shot and tells my owner my bells too pot
The rest of the spring a diet I'm on I can't eat the grass that’s growing so long
But now I feel a whole lot better and to you horse lover, I write this letter.
Don't let us get fat, cause then we'll go lame, a dreaded condition - Founder's its name.
Although we'll be hungry, for a short time it's better than being sick in our prime.
My first ever blue ribbon in a rider class, Ticki helped me win that!!!!! The natural Games Pony!!!!! Ticki gave me my love of Showjumping!!!!!
The natural Games Pony!!!!!
Ticki gave me my love of Showjumping!!!!!
I had a little pony, His name was Dapple Grey, I lent him to a lady to ride a mile away. She whipped him, she lashed him, She drove him through the mire, I wouldn't lend my pony now for all the ladies hire!
She whipped him, she lashed him, She drove him through the mire, I wouldn't lend my pony now for all the ladies hire!
A MILLION HORSES
Don't cry for the horses That life has set free A million horses Forever to be Don't cry for the horses Now in God's hands As they dance and they prance To a heavenly band They were ours as a gift But never to keep As they close their eyes Forever to sleep Their spirits unbound On silver wings they fly A million horses Against the blue sky Look up into heaven You'll see them above The horses we lost The horses we loved Manes and tails flowing They Gallop through time They were never yours They were never mine Don't cry for the horses They will be back someday When our time has come They will show us the way On silver wings they will lift us To the warmth of the sun When our life is over And eternity has begun We will jump the sun And dance over the moon A Ballet of horses and riders On the winds to a heavenly tune Do you hear that soft nicker Close to your ear? Don't cry for the horses Love the ones that are here Don't cry for the horses Lift up your sad eyes Can't you see them As they fly by? A million horses Free from hunger and pain Their spirits set free Until we ride again ~ Author Unknown ~
Don't cry for the horses Now in God's hands As they dance and they prance To a heavenly band
They were ours as a gift But never to keep As they close their eyes Forever to sleep
Their spirits unbound On silver wings they fly A million horses Against the blue sky
Look up into heaven You'll see them above The horses we lost The horses we loved
Manes and tails flowing They Gallop through time They were never yours They were never mine
Don't cry for the horses They will be back someday When our time has come They will show us the way
On silver wings they will lift us To the warmth of the sun When our life is over And eternity has begun
We will jump the sun And dance over the moon A Ballet of horses and riders On the winds to a heavenly tune
Do you hear that soft nicker Close to your ear? Don't cry for the horses Love the ones that are here
Don't cry for the horses Lift up your sad eyes Can't you see them As they fly by?
A million horses Free from hunger and pain Their spirits set free Until we ride again
~ Author Unknown ~
Ticki was a born sometime in 1976. He was a 13 hand bay gelding of the Heinz variety, (mixture of many different breeds). He was a really brilliant little pony who gave me back my confidence. (When I was 9 on one of my first rides at a riding ranch the horse bolted and I was dragged.) Ticki could do no wrong, well almost no wrong. He was a lovely ride and for the 4 years I had him, I competed with him in many shows and horse events. We also competed in the team games - this is a team of 6 riders who compete against other pony clubs in 6 different events. There was one year when Ticki decided to play up in the events. In most of the games we competed in Ticki would buck his way through them, and in one particular game he decided that he didn't want to move. We would take a few steps then he would back up. In the end Kristy grabbed his reins and rode her horse making Ticki do it as well at the same time. The bucking this day we later found out was due to the bad part of his back going out. Which it did reguarly and kept the chiropractor in a job. Ticki had a couple of faults; every horse has its faults. One of those faults was his back. There was a spot behind the saddle that was weak and would constantly slip out of place. This made him hate having 2 people on his back at once. Having 2 people on his back or sitting too far back would make Ticki buck. He wasn’t bucking out of a mean nature, but just because it would hurt him. Another of Ticki's faults was he absolutely hated to be stomach drenched, (wormed with a tube through the nose down into the stomach with worming paste). It would take about 5 men to hold Ticki as he would fight and then gallop off leadrope dragging to the far corner of the pony club. Ticki also had his good points, which made up for his bad faults. He was quiet and eager to please. At every show we went to that had a Fancy Dress class we would enter. My dad would make up costumes and in we would go, as a pirate, a knight even convicts. That was the one event we were never once beaten in. In most fancy dress classes only the person would dress up, Ticki was also dressed up when I went in. I was a pirate, Ticki the pirate ship, etc. We had also been convicts and knights, and much much more. It was Ticki's 2 main bad faults that were to become his downfall (One being his hatred of being lunged, the other was his love of eating too much). I grew out of Ticki after 4 years and I had to sell him and move onto a bigger more challenging horse. I sold Ticki to a friend, who I knew would look after him and love him like I did, or so I thought. Kathy kept him at Pony Club, while I moved Condor my new horse to a new paddock. I still went to Pony Club for the rallies twice a month. It was the day before a horse show, I went with dad to the Pony Club to help set up the rings. While I was there I decided to go say hello to Ticki, he was out in the paddock with all the other horses. Ticki was lying on the ground enjoying the sun, or so I thought when I went over to him. He was in fact, foundering so badly, (Founder is a painful condition that affects the feet of ponies and sometimes horses, caused by overeating, especially in springtime and can be fatal), that he couldn't get up off the ground. One look was all it took for me to burst into tears at the state he was in. I immediately got dad and we forced him to get up off the ground and slowly walked him to a fat yard, (a paddock with no grass). Dad was angry and he went around to see Kathy's parents. The reason he was not put in the fat yard was utterly silly. Because 2 horses had recently died in there no one would use it, as they all felt their horses would die if they were left in there. Ticki was very lucky he didn't die from being left out in thick lush grass. The consequences were that her parents made her sell Ticki. When I had bought Ticki, he was a happy easygoing pony who loved his cuddles. My dad would stand there with his hands on his hips and Ticki would squeeze his head in the crock of your elbow wait for pats while going to sleep. When Kathy sold him, he was a sore terrified pony whose only real worth now would be for meat. A couple of the girls told me that Kathy would force Ticki to lunge, (run around in circles on the end of a long rope, a good way of exercising your horse), by beating him with a whip across the head. She would whip him to move and whip him to stop, making Ticki extremely headshy, now no one could touch him around his ears, not even me or my dad who Ticki had always trusted in the past. He was completely ruined. Dad was all set to buy Ticki back when Laura's mother came up to me and asked me all about Ticki and what he was like, as she wanted to buy him for Laura, another friend of mine. They bought him for next to nothing and firstly got the vet out to see Ticki about his founder. He was extremely bad and the vet said had he been left for a few more weeks he would have been to far gone to save and it would have been kinder to put him down. Ticki got better as he got all his excess weight off and once fit he was ridden in shows and at one day events he still went to Pony club twice a month, but now, with Laura. Laura grew out of him and once again he was neglected. It got to the stage that Ticki would founder, then get locked up , get better then straight away founder again continuously. By this time he was getting old. This was when his good luck came along. Ticki now also had bad arthritis and he was up for sale again, by this time Ticki was living at the same paddock as Condor. There was a lady there who had a daughter who had a pony she was terrified of. After talking to me about Ticki having been told I was the original owner of him, she decided to buy Ticki for her daughter. She didn’t worry about his old age, she only wanted a safe quiet ride for her daughter (surprisingly, after all the abuse he was still a great beginners pony and except for the head shying he was still as bomb proof as ever. Though not as trusting as he had once been.) They bought Ticki and have since paid out alot of money on remedies to help him with his arthritis and keeping a close eye on his weight. All I know of Ticki now is that he has moved up to Albury with them (they plan on keeping him until he dies), and if he is still alive now he would will hopefully be living happily in retirement in a paddock with not much grass getting lots of well earned cuddles. I have learnt a valuable lesson from this. There are many people out there who abuse horses, that is a fact, like all other animals. But to see your much loved pony on deaths door due to mistreatment and neglect is something I wouldn't wish on anyone, even more horrible is being the one to find your old friend like this and to have this done by a good friend is almost unthinkable, then to see it happen all over again a second time. I will never again sell any of my horses to a friend, no matter how true that friend is and how much I trust them. I would rather not know what is happening to a faithful old horse once sold on, I would rather like to imagine that he is being well looked after. Out of this I lost 2 friends, but in my opinion, good friends would never do that to any animal, I for one am would be happy if I never saw them again, I don’t want anything to do with them anymore. Ticki did not deserve anything that happened to him, I truely wish now we had brought him back when we had the chance too as he would have now been happily living in retirement with Condor. Though I do know he was well looked after by his third owners after me, finally Ticki found a family that loved him like I did. I still know that my biggest regret was not buying him back when I had the chance, that is something I have to live with that can never be changed. I wonder what Ticki is doing now if he is still alive..... Written by My (Condor) Mummy (Ticki's Old Owner), the one who truely cared for Ticki.
We also competed in the team games - this is a team of 6 riders who compete against other pony clubs in 6 different events. There was one year when Ticki decided to play up in the events. In most of the games we competed in Ticki would buck his way through them, and in one particular game he decided that he didn't want to move. We would take a few steps then he would back up. In the end Kristy grabbed his reins and rode her horse making Ticki do it as well at the same time. The bucking this day we later found out was due to the bad part of his back going out. Which it did reguarly and kept the chiropractor in a job.
Ticki had a couple of faults; every horse has its faults. One of those faults was his back. There was a spot behind the saddle that was weak and would constantly slip out of place. This made him hate having 2 people on his back at once. Having 2 people on his back or sitting too far back would make Ticki buck. He wasn’t bucking out of a mean nature, but just because it would hurt him.
Another of Ticki's faults was he absolutely hated to be stomach drenched, (wormed with a tube through the nose down into the stomach with worming paste). It would take about 5 men to hold Ticki as he would fight and then gallop off leadrope dragging to the far corner of the pony club.
Ticki also had his good points, which made up for his bad faults. He was quiet and eager to please. At every show we went to that had a Fancy Dress class we would enter. My dad would make up costumes and in we would go, as a pirate, a knight even convicts. That was the one event we were never once beaten in. In most fancy dress classes only the person would dress up, Ticki was also dressed up when I went in. I was a pirate, Ticki the pirate ship, etc. We had also been convicts and knights, and much much more.
It was Ticki's 2 main bad faults that were to become his downfall (One being his hatred of being lunged, the other was his love of eating too much). I grew out of Ticki after 4 years and I had to sell him and move onto a bigger more challenging horse. I sold Ticki to a friend, who I knew would look after him and love him like I did, or so I thought. Kathy kept him at Pony Club, while I moved Condor my new horse to a new paddock. I still went to Pony Club for the rallies twice a month.
It was the day before a horse show, I went with dad to the Pony Club to help set up the rings. While I was there I decided to go say hello to Ticki, he was out in the paddock with all the other horses. Ticki was lying on the ground enjoying the sun, or so I thought when I went over to him. He was in fact, foundering so badly, (Founder is a painful condition that affects the feet of ponies and sometimes horses, caused by overeating, especially in springtime and can be fatal), that he couldn't get up off the ground. One look was all it took for me to burst into tears at the state he was in.
I immediately got dad and we forced him to get up off the ground and slowly walked him to a fat yard, (a paddock with no grass). Dad was angry and he went around to see Kathy's parents. The reason he was not put in the fat yard was utterly silly. Because 2 horses had recently died in there no one would use it, as they all felt their horses would die if they were left in there. Ticki was very lucky he didn't die from being left out in thick lush grass.
The consequences were that her parents made her sell Ticki. When I had bought Ticki, he was a happy easygoing pony who loved his cuddles. My dad would stand there with his hands on his hips and Ticki would squeeze his head in the crock of your elbow wait for pats while going to sleep. When Kathy sold him, he was a sore terrified pony whose only real worth now would be for meat. A couple of the girls told me that Kathy would force Ticki to lunge, (run around in circles on the end of a long rope, a good way of exercising your horse), by beating him with a whip across the head. She would whip him to move and whip him to stop, making Ticki extremely headshy, now no one could touch him around his ears, not even me or my dad who Ticki had always trusted in the past. He was completely ruined.
Dad was all set to buy Ticki back when Laura's mother came up to me and asked me all about Ticki and what he was like, as she wanted to buy him for Laura, another friend of mine. They bought him for next to nothing and firstly got the vet out to see Ticki about his founder. He was extremely bad and the vet said had he been left for a few more weeks he would have been to far gone to save and it would have been kinder to put him down. Ticki got better as he got all his excess weight off and once fit he was ridden in shows and at one day events he still went to Pony club twice a month, but now, with Laura.
Laura grew out of him and once again he was neglected. It got to the stage that Ticki would founder, then get locked up , get better then straight away founder again continuously. By this time he was getting old. This was when his good luck came along. Ticki now also had bad arthritis and he was up for sale again, by this time Ticki was living at the same paddock as Condor.
There was a lady there who had a daughter who had a pony she was terrified of. After talking to me about Ticki having been told I was the original owner of him, she decided to buy Ticki for her daughter. She didn’t worry about his old age, she only wanted a safe quiet ride for her daughter (surprisingly, after all the abuse he was still a great beginners pony and except for the head shying he was still as bomb proof as ever. Though not as trusting as he had once been.) They bought Ticki and have since paid out alot of money on remedies to help him with his arthritis and keeping a close eye on his weight. All I know of Ticki now is that he has moved up to Albury with them (they plan on keeping him until he dies), and if he is still alive now he would will hopefully be living happily in retirement in a paddock with not much grass getting lots of well earned cuddles.
I have learnt a valuable lesson from this. There are many people out there who abuse horses, that is a fact, like all other animals. But to see your much loved pony on deaths door due to mistreatment and neglect is something I wouldn't wish on anyone, even more horrible is being the one to find your old friend like this and to have this done by a good friend is almost unthinkable, then to see it happen all over again a second time. I will never again sell any of my horses to a friend, no matter how true that friend is and how much I trust them.
I would rather not know what is happening to a faithful old horse once sold on, I would rather like to imagine that he is being well looked after. Out of this I lost 2 friends, but in my opinion, good friends would never do that to any animal, I for one am would be happy if I never saw them again, I don’t want anything to do with them anymore. Ticki did not deserve anything that happened to him, I truely wish now we had brought him back when we had the chance too as he would have now been happily living in retirement with Condor. Though I do know he was well looked after by his third owners after me, finally Ticki found a family that loved him like I did. I still know that my biggest regret was not buying him back when I had the chance, that is something I have to live with that can never be changed. I wonder what Ticki is doing now if he is still alive.....
Fancy Dress Here We Come!!!!! THE UNBEATEN CHAMPIONS!!!!! A Horses' Loyalty - by Savannah
Oh how I wish I could run free, so much to do, so much to see. To hear the thunder of my hooves on open plains, To feel the wind whistle through my tail and mane.
To run free and wild all day, No, with my owner I will stay. I love to hear her sheer delight, when I soar over a jump with all my might. I still remember her sobs one tragic day, when in my paddock, motionless I lay.
Darkness. Now, I will run, forever free, with hope she’ll always remember me.
Over open plains I’ll always run, My life on earth, is forever done.
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