Pony Swap Gone Horribley Wrong

I met a local horse friend through the wonders of social media and I went out to Cindy's barn for the first time last month and just loved it. She's about 5 miles away from me and has the happiest farm full of ponies complete with mobs of kids crawling all over them. Watching her riding arena during lessons reminds me of happy Thelwell sketches with Elementary aged kids putting their ponies through their paces. I talked to her at length about Ben and how we brought him with us as a horse for our kids and as he came into a healthy weight he wasn't working out that way.

Cindy had a student who is a fearless rider looking for something with a little more than her pony was offering. A little more willingness to work, a little more responsive when asked to change the pace up. She had, instead, a pony that is as sweet as can be but isn't in a hurry to get more laps in around the ring.

We worked out a trial period for her pony to come here and Ben to go there. Ben has for weeks now been too much for my kids (and at times myself) to handle or ride. His major vice, being herd bound to Whisper, would immediately be remedied once he was moved. Ben was too much for my baby beginner rider kids, and their pony wasn't enough of a ride for the more experienced students.

Their pony, Spotlight, is a 10 year old POA who is super cute. For the first time in a long time Sage asked for more time to ride instead of getting worried and wanting off as soon as she was in the saddle. Hunter did great on him, trotting around and working nicely.

With Ben's original rescuer's blessing, we tried it out. Unfortunately the morning of the pony swap as I went to catch up the horses, Ben didn't want me to be near him or Whisper. He kept himself between Whisper and I and ran. Lake became swept up in all the running and was kicked. Hard. I could hear a clear cracking sound as contact was made to Lake's shoulder. He immediately went dead lame unable to bear weight on the leg. I thought I was going to vomit.

I finally caught Ben and Whisper to bring up to the barn. Lake hobbled as best he could then broke into a canter since he could hold a 3 beat gait and not use his leg at all.  When he got to the stall I palpated each joint and couldn't find anything specific. He seemed ouchy just under the actual kick location on the outer shoulder but rested bearing weight on it. I called the vet and he was hopeful it was mostly soft tissue given the location and his reaction so we agreed to bute, rest, watch. Lake didn't seem to mind and dove into his hay.

A few hours later, Ben's new little person arrived to begin his trial period.

And we turned out the new pony.

Spotlight went straight to work mowing my pasture and I turned Whisper back out with him. As evening came I went out to the pasture with ropes and Spotlight walked right to me to be brought in, followed by Whisper. It was a nice change from all the daily battles I'd had since Ben bonded so strong to Whisper making everyone hard to catch and handle since we'd moved here with the two. My relief was short lived though as Lake called from the barn and my heart hurt for him that he had been injured today. I hope he is back on turnout again in the next day or two so he can enjoy the new normal too.