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Mina
Sept 28, 2010 18:30:01 GMT 1
Post by melsaunders25 on Sept 28, 2010 18:30:01 GMT 1
Hi Helen great picture Mina looks like she is smiling, apart from your poor hip it sounds like things are going really well for you, i really enjoyed reading your post.
Happy Hacking
Mel x
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Mina
Sept 28, 2010 23:58:59 GMT 1
Post by liz on Sept 28, 2010 23:58:59 GMT 1
Love the pic, Helen Mina looks so chilled and you look very happy - Yay!!!
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Mina
Sept 29, 2010 17:30:36 GMT 1
Post by angelac on Sept 29, 2010 17:30:36 GMT 1
Oh Helen What a lovely picture. Its a joy to look at. You look so happy and Mina looks so well and content I know you are going to have lots of fun times !!
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Mina
Sept 30, 2010 10:19:52 GMT 1
Post by cobblergirl on Sept 30, 2010 10:19:52 GMT 1
Hi Nellie you look and Mina look good in your photo; happy and relaxed. i wish did at this moement, im totally stressed some one i know has offered us great little pony to buy, but the age is a concern ,she's 20 .plus my husband is so againist it . Help!
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Mina
Oct 3, 2010 12:31:40 GMT 1
Post by nellie on Oct 3, 2010 12:31:40 GMT 1
Hiya Sue, I'm so sorry to hear about your stress - I've just put a short post up on your other thread about the pony. From what you have said here it sounds as if it is only the pony's age that is the concern? If it is still available and you really like the pony it is probably worth having second thoughts. The thing with horses and ponies is that anything can happen at any time. I hesitated over buying my old girl - she had arthritis and COPD (brokenwind in old speak or RAO in new!) - but in the end it was a field injury that carried her off, which could have happened to any horse at any age. She also lasted a lot longer than her previous owner had anticipated! So, from one side, I had a horse with some health concerns. From the other I had a wonderful horse who had been there and done it all. She taught me so much, she was a wonderful confidence giver and we had such fun together, I am so glad she came into my life. With any horse when you take it on you are also taking on the responsibility to make all decisions in the horse's best interests - including knowing when the time is right to let it go to the happy hunting ground in the sky. The older the horse the more likely you are to have to make that decision - but in some ways it is easier because you know it has had a good and full life. But more likely your husband is concerned about buying a pony which may go lame or become ill and is then not usable and is also unsellable. Again, although the probability may be higher with an old pony, it can also happen at any time - and possibly better with an old pony than a young one where the decision over what to do next is so much more complicated. As you can probably tell, I'm a real fan of the veteran horse or pony. In fact I'm quite surprised to find myself the owner of one as young as Mina! Where I keep her there is a jolly little pony, 35 years old and still in work - not heavy work but still doing his bit to teach the next generation, that's fifteen years on from the one you are looking at! What I did do with my old girl was to get her vetted to make sure I knew if there was anything else wrong with her. I had a really good, sympathetic vet who listened to what I wanted and vetted her appropriately. Good luck, Sue. And don't worry. I know these decisions are hard but if it is meant to be it will be or there will be another, younger pony round the corner that you all agree on . Good luck and do let us know how you get on. Helen
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Mina
Oct 3, 2010 13:24:09 GMT 1
Post by avril on Oct 3, 2010 13:24:09 GMT 1
You've raised some important points, nellie, concerning the older horse. We continue to quietly champion these most valuable paragons and indeed actively search for them. The common view does them a disservice when looked at purely commercially and from a resale basis. The true value of the older horse and pony is actually priceless as you can't put a figure on happiness, safety, and fulfillment. In reality there are more cases of financial loss and heartbreak for the average rider purchasing a younger horse than for those who choose an older one.
A better way to look at it is to think in terms of investing in yourself or your child. You might pay £2500 for a veteran in return for say a nominal five years riding, which works out at £500 a year. Well worth the £40/ month in return for such pleasure and security.
At a local show recently the first five places in a jumping class were won by horses whose ages ranged from 17 to 26. Says it all really.
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Mina
Oct 3, 2010 13:37:06 GMT 1
Post by sarah on Oct 3, 2010 13:37:06 GMT 1
I am a great fan of the "older" horse. I bought a cob a few years ago now, and although his passport said he was 14, my vet thought he was in his early twenties when she did the vetting. He was the most wonderful pony, totally chilled out, absolutely nothing phased him, and yet he was such fun to ride, always ready to join in a canter, but without any silliness and he would always stop when asked. I have never had so much fun on any other pony, and yet no matter what happened around us, I always felt totally safe. I had several years of amazing adventures with him, then he had a happy year of retirement with my other ponies for company, before I lost him to cancer. I am hoping my next horse will be middle aged too - they have so much to offer and are sadly too often over looked for the wrong reasons.
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Mina
Oct 3, 2010 22:49:42 GMT 1
Post by em on Oct 3, 2010 22:49:42 GMT 1
Hi Helen I love reading your posts about Mina and your journey together... I was so pleased to see there is a photo however I am clearly being a bit thick as where is the attachment and how do I do what ever I have to do to get to see your photo... It sounds like a wonderful pic kind regards em x
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Mina
Oct 3, 2010 23:11:49 GMT 1
Post by nellie on Oct 3, 2010 23:11:49 GMT 1
Hiya Em, You should be able to click on the file name and that will open a download window (ignore the bit in the middle, just read the words at the top). My computer then asks me if I really want to open the content and if I say "Yes" I get to see the photo - which is all very long-winded. Avril has suggested I shrink the picture so I'm trying that tho my first attempt wasn't very successful : I only work in IT, it doesn't mean I know anything about it, obviously! ;D Helen
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Mina
Oct 3, 2010 23:28:06 GMT 1
Post by cobblergirl on Oct 3, 2010 23:28:06 GMT 1
Hi Nellie you are right in thinking ,that my husband cast lot of doubt into my mind about buying a older pony, which added to the pressure and stress. he,s is more to world of cars and bikes which we have more than the average family!! it was he s support i wanted the most , ;I'm going to have get stronger on my own.on the pony side of things. Sue x
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Mina
Oct 3, 2010 23:29:18 GMT 1
Post by nellie on Oct 3, 2010 23:29:18 GMT 1
Well, I'm really not having any success with getting the photo to show in the post . But while I'm here I must say what a good girl Mina was for the farrier. She picked up her feet beautifully for him at first time of asking and looked as if she was going to doze off! In fact at one point he was sorting the clenches on her front shoe so he had her foot on the tripod while he stood between her front legs and with her head hanging down on the far side she looked as if she was giving him a big sleepy hug! I so wished I had my camera with me . I was impressed with the farrier too: Mina likes to have time to think over your request before she acts and the farrier seemed to absolutely get this, he asked, waited, and up came the foot . He was also very patient with the baby who at 2 1/ 2 years old was having her feet trimmed for the first time (we don't know why her previous owner or breeder hadn't had this done before) but what was desperately sweet was that, when she got upset, Mina would stop eating (yes Avril, really!) and pop her head over her door to nuzzle the baby. I was so moved at her gentleness and kindness.
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Mina
Oct 4, 2010 0:12:51 GMT 1
Post by liz on Oct 4, 2010 0:12:51 GMT 1
What a sweetheart, Helen
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rach
New Member
Posts: 17
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Mina
Oct 18, 2010 23:18:03 GMT 1
Post by rach on Oct 18, 2010 23:18:03 GMT 1
Aww Mina sounds lovely. If you have a photobucket account, if not its easy and free to register (www.photobucket.com) you can upload pictures onto there, under the picture you uploadd will be some codes, copy the one for forums and you can paste the texts in a reply and it should show up
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Mina
Nov 7, 2010 22:59:43 GMT 1
Post by nellie on Nov 7, 2010 22:59:43 GMT 1
In Avril's last but one newsletter she commented on how the rush of grass was boosting the energy levels of her cobs and how they were finding ways to burn the energy off. I so know what she meant! For Mina the grass seemed to act rather like a banned substance might on a human. She was all a-quiver, her head was high, her eyes were rolling and standing still was absolutely out of the question - but moving wasn't much easier and the combination of needing to move and wait calmly through the electric gates out of the field was just about an impossibility: she just knew there were monsters lurking out there, somewhere ! An absolute mile away from the quiet, calm sweety of the week before when Akis had ridden her bareback ! So, I borrowed a Dually halter from one of the other ladies and spent Saturday morning just walking, halting, backing-up and going round and round in circles. We just kept going, and going and going, up and down the drive, along the track in front of their field that leads to the geldings' field (which is very scary) until she was prepared to listen and be a bit sensible, phew! No wonder the physio keeps telling me off for overdoing it . We repeated it on Sunday in the pouring rain, just reminding and building on the previous day and she softened much quicker (just as well given the weather and that Akis was with me! We still got absolutely soaked but I wasn't going to stop until she was prepared to return to the field calmly). So I have invested in my own Dually and we have been playing Grandmother's Footsteps as I have been leading her to and fro the field. Then, yesterday, I took her in the school and we played again but this time including changing the speed - and it was amazing! She really tuned in. To top it all off, at the end of the session, I popped her on the lunge and for the first time when I have lunged her she had an ear listening to me (instead of all her attention being focussed on gazing out across the fields as she wandered round). She went forward, she trotted round when asked, stopped when asked, didn't go wandering off, it was wonderful! All in just half an hour ;D! I love my fluffy pony ;D!
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Mina
Nov 9, 2010 20:52:05 GMT 1
Post by angelac on Nov 9, 2010 20:52:05 GMT 1
Glad to see you are back in action. Hope you are making a good recovery. Horses seem to throw up these interesting episodes don't they? Sounds like it is going really well though. Will look forward to the updates Angela
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