[OGSponymom]

What was the name/color/story of your first horse or pony?

Mine was Moe. He was dark bay and his mane was the pony version of an afro
He was adorable, and very athletic, but smart and a huge troublemaker.

[M.Rainey]

Peanut......half shetland,and something else. Chestnut and looked like a walking peanut.

Loved to be groomed, strong dislike to being ridden. Wouldn't buck you off or anything, he would just aim for the lowest branch he could find and swipe you off. If you were to stay on you had to outsmart him. I wish I could thank that little guy now, all these years later, because he made me a tenacious, problem solving persistent rider without getting angry. Made me realize there is no "getting angry" at the horse. Think and problem solve, that's what he taught me.
( But he WAS a little stinker )

[Crown Royal]

Guten, my aunt got him as a "free to forever home" kind of thing. He is a German Riding Pony, 12.2 hands, and grulla with a star and four white socks. Super cute and flashy. He had been a show pony for a warmblood breeder's daughters until they outgrew all the ponies and she just wanted a good home for him. He was trained very well, was a fabulous mover and jumper, but had a horrible spook/bolt. I guess that's why he wasn't a good choice to sell as a kid's show pony. I was four when we got him and either rode in the field at my aunt's or was ponied out on the trail until I was old enough to handle him alone. I clearly remember almost every ride (and every ride if we were on the trail) having at least one spook and bolt episode...my aunt often lost a hold on the lead rope on the pony, too. I was never scared riding him though, and I think he's part of the reason I learned to stay on well. Somehow, I never came off that pony. He has been retired at my aunt's for years now and has Cushings. Often resembles a mountain goat.

Ignore the awkward attire in the photo...I was using my aunt's old Stubben all-purpose or dressage saddle (can't remember what it is) and my mom made me use that awful vest for a couple years. Oh yeah, and I thought that helmet cover was really cool!

[knh39]

Mine was named Sweetie. She was a medium welsh mix pony- gray, about 13.2. She was purchased by the barn owner to be a lesson horse, but she was not cut out for the lesson pony life. She was super stubborn and fairly green under saddle, but boy I loved her. She taught me how to use the pulley rein, lol. I leased her for a few years until I outgrew her. Funny thing is I came back years and years later (she was old, probably around 18). The barn owner still had her. I popped on her for fun and jumped her around a little course complete with lead changes, etc. The current instructor at that time was fascinated, as they had no clue that she even had changes- she was mostly used as a leadline pony since her bolting habit never totally went away. I had put changes on her with the help of my instructor when I was a kid. I like to think she remembered me, lol.

[fourmares]

Dicey - she was a grey anglo arab mare... though looking at pictures she doesn't look like an arab or a tb... I suspect she was just a mutt.

[Satin Filly]

My first pony was "Peanut". My Mom was looking at some sale horses and stopped next door to a home that was having a tack sale out of their garage. They asked if we happened to be looking for a pony because they were taking care of one at a neighbor's home, and the home just sold, owners had moved out, and couldn't close on the home until pony was gone/sold. They said she was a Arab/QH cross.

When we went over there, we found her in a paddock attached to a stall, the stall had a good 2-3ft pile of moldy manure in it.
We had stumbled upon a diamond in the rough - a sweet liver chestnut mare with chrome, beautiful, and a great mover! What a find! My mom and her investment partner ended up puchasing her as a sale pony project for I *think* $600-700.

After many rides on her, and doing a couple of shows, I had become extremely attached. I remember the moment like it was yesterday, when I was in my bedroom and Mom walked in and said "I think we've found a buyer for Peanut". I melted into a big mess of tears and sobbed, and said "Mom, I love Peanut SO MUCH, and NOBODY will ever take care of her like we do". I was 6 or 7 years old at the time. A few days went by, and we went out to the barn. Mom had a video camera and said she was going to tape me riding another pony at the barn. Before I walked into the barn, she handed me a letter, it was from Peanut. The last line of the letter read "I'm yours, will you be mine?". I didn't understand what had just happened, until I walked into a barn full of streamers and ballons, and found Peanut with a halter made of ribbons and I said "What in the world is going on!". They said "Peanut's your pony now!" and I said "she is???!!!" and then bursted into tears of joy. Its all recorded on video, and I still have a hard time watching it without crying.

I've never met another horse of such a sound & brave mind. She was a power house, athletic, but a bit of a mare, and wasn't the easiest ride, but she'd jump anything you put in front of her!! We did fox hunting, a little eventing, but mainly horse showed. We went to pony finals in 1997.

She was very sadly sold when I was 16, and I had lost contact her new owners.

Back in 2008 or '09, I took a shot in the dark and posted a thread here on COTH, looking for my old pony. VERY much to my surprise, someone said "We have your pony!!". She was leased out to Janet Salem of Patchwork Farm. My husband and I took a trip down there and I was re-united with my childhood best friend, Peanut. She is now about 25 years old and retired, the woman we sold her to still has her. When she bought her she told Peanut "If you take care of my son, we'll keep you forever".

Here's Peanut:
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto..._2306184_n.jpg

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto..._1346717_n.jpg

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...57790877_n.jpg

IHJA Medal Finals 1996
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDiQWqaxuP8&feature=plcp

From reunion visit in 2009
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...79801609_n.jpg

I miss that sweet soul.

[Event4Life]

http://thumb16.webshots.net/s/thumb1...3cVafaJ_th.jpg Stan the Man. Best first pony a kid could ask for - Palomino QH, been there, done that - most easygoing pony ever.

[Dewey]

Satin Filly, your story about Peanut made me tear up. I watched the video, and she was a lovely jumper. What struck me was how much it looked as though you were enjoying yourself. You were obviously so proud of your pony! The reunion photo was very touching as well.

[Lynnwood]

Meadow Mouse. He was a tiny Shetland or Shetland X. He was that Chocolate/liver Shetland color with a flaxen mane and tail. Had one of those really thick double manes that flopped on both sides of his neck.

He was trouble with a capital T. Bucked when you asked him to canter, darted out open gates , laid down fully tacked if all his other tricks failed to get the appropriate response of child in tears headed back to the barn.

I won my first W/T blue ribbon on him , won my first SS blue on him. Loved him like no other.

[DreamBignRide]

My first pony was "Peanut". My Mom was looking at some sale horses and stopped next door to a home that was having a tack sale out of their garage. They asked if we happened to be looking for a pony because they were taking care of one at a neighbor's home, and the home just sold, owners had moved out, and couldn't close on the home until pony was gone/sold. They said she was a Arab/QH cross.

When we went over there, we found her in a paddock attached to a stall, the stall had a good 2-3ft pile of moldy manure in it.
We had stumbled upon a diamond in the rough - a sweet liver chestnut mare with chrome, beautiful, and a great mover! What a find! My mom and her investment partner ended up puchasing her as a sale pony project for I *think* $600-700.

After many rides on her, and doing a couple of shows, I had become extremely attached. I remember the moment like it was yesterday, when I was in my bedroom and Mom walked in and said "I think we've found a buyer for Peanut". I melted into a big mess of tears and sobbed, and said "Mom, I love Peanut SO MUCH, and NOBODY will ever take care of her like we do". I was 6 or 7 years old at the time. A few days went by, and we went out to the barn. Mom had a video camera and said she was going to tape me riding another pony at the barn. Before I walked into the barn, she handed me a letter, it was from Peanut. The last line of the letter read "I'm yours, will you be mine?". I didn't understand what had just happened, until I walked into a barn full of streamers and ballons, and found Peanut with a halter made of ribbons and I said "What in the world is going on!". They said "Peanut's your pony now!" and I said "she is???!!!" and then bursted into tears of joy. Its all recorded on video, and I still have a hard time watching it without crying.

I've never met another horse of such a sound & brave mind. She was a power house, athletic, but a bit of a mare, and wasn't the easiest ride, but she'd jump anything you put in front of her!! We did fox hunting, a little eventing, but mainly horse showed. We went to pony finals in 1997.

She was very sadly sold when I was 16, and I had lost contact her new owners.

Back in 2008 or '09, I took a shot in the dark and posted a thread here on COTH, looking for my old pony. VERY much to my surprise, someone said "We have your pony!!". She was leased out to Janet Salem of Patchwork Farm. My husband and I took a trip down there and I was re-united with my childhood best friend, Peanut. She is now about 25 years old and retired, the woman we sold her to still has her. When she bought her she told Peanut "If you take care of my son, we'll keep you forever".

Here's Peanut:
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto..._2306184_n.jpg

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto..._1346717_n.jpg

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...57790877_n.jpg

IHJA Medal Finals 1996
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDiQWqaxuP8&feature=plcp

From reunion visit in 2009
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...79801609_n.jpg

I miss that sweet soul.

Oh wow I loved that! The video was so cool to watch! First off loveee the course design and you two made such a pair. I love how it was obvious you were riding!! not just being packed around, that's what it's all about and on top you earned third place, so cool!

[bits619]

Haven't owned one, but the pony that weasled his way into my heart was Patches, a large Pinto pon, at the lesson barn where I began riding (Woodlawn Stables in northern Virginia, which has been in the news lately- victim of land development). Patches was kind of a turd for the younger and littler riders. He had the crestiest neck and thickest mane, i remember shaking it left and right, hehe. When our lesson group was older we would often have schooling lessons on the ponies to keep them in line, and give them a chance to canter courses and stretch their legs. I was always put on patches for those rides. I think he enjoyed the change of pace, though he would test your resolve! The only hint at stopping or ducking he would give was his two bitty ears underneath all that mane, flattening backwards like a devilish rank little punk. Loved him. The best were the bareback rides in the winter time on the ponies. I was too tall for him, but he was a thick pony and I just loved his ponitude ;-)

[bits619]

OK satin filly, I'm going to have to explain my red eyes to the allergies! Such a wonderful story :-)

[hunterrider23]

First one I rode/leased was Tucker Up a little rascal of a welsh/tb. He was super flashy and fancy and I eventually did him in the children's ponies. He was dark bay with a huge round star and 4 socks, and was 14.1 or so and about 10-13 when I rode him. Sadly he coliced and passed away in 2006 when I was about 10 and I quite riding until I was 12.
The next one I owned was Jelly. He's a bay with a star and a single right coronet band, and I basically use him as my practice horse and he's in the lesson program at my barn. I ride him about once or twice a week so that my show horse can have those days off, but before I got my show horse, he was completely mine, so I rode him 4 days a week. Lessoners ride him 3 times a week.

[keepthelegend]

A medium called Bubblegum. He as a former fair pony and had about 10 inches of tail that he held straight up like a flag. Some white spots all down his spine. Couldn't cross tie him, he was spooky to the jumps, spooky to things outside the ring, bit me all the time. I thought he was the greatest, lol. My first horse shows with him were at the Kachina classic and Goodyear shows in AZ and I fell off so much it was ridiculous.

[Resilient]

I got my first horse 5.5 years ago. I remember walking into the barn that first night he was there and how we walked past his stall and he lunged at the stall door with his teeth bared. A couple days rolled past and my trainer met me at the car sharing the news that she had this fantastic horse for me to try and it was with a sinking feeling that I knew which horse it was. He didn't know anything, couldn't pick his feet, wouldn't go near a mounting block (he was right off the track lol). He was dead quiet to ride despite the fact that he didn't know much, he never spooked/bucked/bolted/etc. I hated him so much but I was afraid we wouldn't buy a horse if I decided I didn't like him. Had everyone convinced I loved this horse to pieces.
He was always a good boy (aside from the stuff on the ground) and he's super flashy and a wonderful hunter so we kept him. It wasn't until I'd bought another and had him for sale that I realized how much I loved that horse. A week following the sale of my other horse he needed emergency colic surgery. Ended up developing a nasty infection and was at the clinic for 6 weeks. Came back a few months later and even though we only made it to one show that year we ended up with a 7th place year end award in the Junior Hunters. Had a couple more colic scares (collapsed spleen, twisted intestines, etc) and somehow he's pulled through every time.
I love that horse so much and he's never going to leave my possession until the day comes for him to cross the rainbow bridge.
And there's my Rascal:
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...u/IMG_4266.jpg

We're now looking to do the A/O's in the next couple of years (or whenever the money tree allows it).

[To the MAX]

Her name was Bailey - she was a 14.2 hand chestnut welsh/tb with four high stockings and a big blaze. She was the cutest pony in the world and took me from mini-stirrup to children's ponies before I outgrew her. Packer extraordinaire and just mare-ish enough to make you ride a little bit. She would jump anything though, only ever stopped with me ONE time, although it was halfway over a jump so I'm not sure if that even counts as a refusal!

God I loved that pony. I wish I knew where she was now (if she's even around anymore).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU...yer_detailpage

[TheJenners]

Not really a pony, my first horse was a three-year-old *gasp* Arabian *gasp* when I was seven *gasp*.

Aisha

We did Pony Club (oh yes we did), 4H (both English and Western), endurance rides, parades, foxhunting, Aisha was ridden in the Paralympics by a US rider in 1996 in Atlanta, and best of all, she was my best friend for many, many years. She wasn't perfect, she certainly wasn't cuddly, but she had a heart and mind all her own.

A few months before she was PTS due to founder.

[I'dRatherBRiding]

Mine was Buddy. Gray, 12.1 hand gelding, definitely welsh, and very typey. The back story was he was an old "Devon" pony brought to our barn for lay-up because he was lame...he had been there for years and along the way the family stopped paying for him. One day my trainer said, "you know what, I think that Buddy pony is sound, why don't you get on him?". TRUE LOVE. My parents leased him for me for the next 2 or 3 years, we were SS Grand Champions Too bad I was a new rider at that point and wasn't good enough to make him a division pony again for myself!

P.S. I just remembered, I submitted a picture of me jumping him in the Children's Ponies to Jumping Clinic with George Morris when I was a kid. George LOVED him! Could not say enough about the pony's form. Man I wish that 25 y.o. photo was digitized.

[Dewey]

P.S. I just remembered, I submitted a picture of me jumping him in the Children's Ponies to Jumping Clinic with George Morris when I was a kid. George LOVED him! Could not say enough about the pony's form. Man I wish that 25 y.o. photo was digitized.

If you don't have your own scanner, take the picture to Office Max. They'll scan it for you for a very reasonable price. Be sure to take a CD or jump drive to put the digital photo on.

[Dewey]

My first pony was Misty, a blue roan mare of unknown breeding and unconventional conformation. I saved my allowance and birthday money for years and paid for her at age 7 with my own money: $150. She had the proverbial heart of gold. She was bombproof...anyone could ride or or do anything with her. She was also smart as a whip and could undo just about any latch or knot she could reach. I have so many happy memories of her...we used to play Indians in the woods and camp overnight...I also remember earning money as a teen giving pony rides at birthday parties with her. I also dressed up as the Headless Horseman one Halloween, and Misty and I toured the neighborhood. I wish young riders today could have as much fun with their ponies as I had.

After I outgrew her, she was ridden by many other children in our Pony Club, including my younger sister. She died at a Pony Club games rally at an advanced age. That was one of the hardest days of my life.

Both pictures date from the late 60s...the second one is from a Pony Club rally. Misty had just stopped at the fence, and I narrowly avoided a fall by clinging on around her neck. I clambered back on to the cheers of the crowd. The photographer captured our second attempt. I like to think you can see the determination in my face.

http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...DadsSlides.jpg

http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z.../Mistyjump.jpg