Hello from Kinglake Australia

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Lindy Hagar

Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2021
Messages
15
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43
Location
Kinglake Australia
Hi. I'm Linda from Kinglake Australia.
I'm fairly new to Miniature ponies. I've always had Welsh Mountain (section A) ponies, and many other bigger horses of varying breeds.
I got my first mini pony (an aged ex-broodmare) early in 2021, as a companion for my seriously injured yearling Welsh filly & I've fallen in love with them.
Our Welsh filly needed a sensible companion, in the stable at night next to her, as she had to be confined 24/7 for up to 5 months due to a fetlock fracture, surgery & intense rehabilitation.
So along came Gidget, who has proved to be an exceptionally natured pony & we love her dearly. She appeared to have Cushings, and rather than blood testing her, I wanted to first try her on Chaste Berry Tree powder & after a few months she has improved brilliantly. We'd had her teeth done, including an extraction of a ginormous wolf tooth that was starting to ulcerate the sides of her mouth. A good worm drenching, farriery, good mineral supplements & plenty of grooming (by 2 of my grandkids & a whole lot more.
Now we wonder how we ever did without her. She is a little darling to have around. She'll live with us for the rest of her life.
We were told that she "may" be in foal, that she'd been shown a lot. We knew very little about her.
We had her blood tested but the results came back at nly 11% so it was "highly unlikely" she was in foal.
To our surprise & shock, one sormy day she delivered a stillborn colt.
Our wonderul vet came immediately. He said "that's a full-term foal & we figured he was "overcooked" as we weren't expecting her to foal. She may have lugged that dead colt around in her belly for over a month.
He was born well out of foaling season & we had no way of knowing when she was served.
He was a beautifully put together boy; buckskin with a white spotted blanket.
Gidget seemed rather relieved even though she was of course distressed initially when she couldn't get him up, then coped very well once we'd taken his little body away (we'd left his body with her for a few hours, until she became more interested in her feed bin.
We were told she was about 10 years old but the dentist said "oh looks a little bit older than that".
I don't know (yet) if she is registered but we believe so. I'm not even sure if she is technically a true miniature pony or not and/or crossed with a Shetland. We don't care at all though.

We all concluded she was around 15. We won't be putting her back in foal.
My husband & I love her dearly & the 2 yr old filly learns a bit of 'horse language' from her.

2 weeks ago we took her to our local pony club, where my youngest granddaughter is a member, for the end of year Christmas Gymkhana for gentle lead rein handler classes, fancy dress & a few other casual club events & Gidget behaved like an angel for our grandchild who won her first-ever ribbons. She was thrilled to bits.
Our filly with the fracture has healed better than expected, even though we can't let them share a paddock as the filly is a still baby (now 2) & the fetlock is still building back the ligaments that we non-existent at the time of surgery, so we know she'd tear around the paddock & being the klutz that she is, we're trying to avoid over stressing the joint.
Nevertheless, Gidget is here to stay & I've become entranced with mini ponies.
My dear friend, who arranged for her to be given to us, breeds some of Australia's best minis & wins national highpoint champion year after year.
We have some excellent guidance but I'm so glad to have the advice of these members available.
Thank you to you all.
 

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Welcome! It sounds like you have found a real gem in Gidget, and that Gidget has found a wonderful home. Looking forward to seeing and hearing more of her.
 
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Welcome Lindy! Thank you for sharing your story. Gidget sounds a perfect sweetheart. She is very fortunate to have a lifetime caring home.

As a grandmother myself, I appreciate your comments on your adorable granddaughter and her fun with Gidget. A lifetime of memories ahead!

Yes! Looking forward to hearing and seeing more!
 
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Welcome and thanks for joining.
 
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Welcome to the forum Lindy:)

Im on the peninsula , so not too far from you. Enjoy the wonderful world of minis & the great wealth of knowledge from everyone here :)
Thank you so much Ryan. Yes, I'm only about 90 mins from you! I'm very grateful to be here, and yep there's a great weath of knowledge. xxLinda. Ta for the kind welcome.
 
Hi kimbalina! I only just saw this post now - a bit slow on the uptake, yeah I know. Well hello & thanks for saying you like my story. Where in Australia are you??
Hi Lindy, We are in Sydney, pretty far away... Loved your picture of your grandchild with Gidget, what a pair of perfect poppets!
 
Aw thanks heaps Kimbalina! Yeah little Gidget has been outgrown pretty quickly & Olivia will outgrow the new gelding I have just bought within the next couple of years...but Nanna is very sneaky & I actually bought the new horse that's big enough (14.2) to ride herself at Adult Riders in Kinglake. But he'll be "hers" for 2 more years. 14.2 is the biggest height I can ride coz I'm only 5 feet tall. Gidget has such a divine nature that she'll be with us for life.
xx Linda.
 
I love your sneaky Nana plan and aspire to be as good of a sneaky nana as you! What a lucky grandkid Olivia is!!!! I do have a sneaky mamma plan though that is actually quite similar! My 5 year old, Bear, will outgrow our little Apaché so soon and I plan to get him a bigger pony that I might ride too! I am reasonably tall but skinny... 60kg. I love taking the kids out for trail rides but it’s a bummer for whoever has to walk along waiting for their turn... and there are tears and tantrums sometimes about whose turn it is. Plus my 2 year old Dusty likes to be carried by mum when it’s not his turn so I have to carry him while leading and I will tell you that is NOT my favourite thing to do... (don’t tell Dusty though... he thinks I love it!!... well I love him... not so much the sore arms). Look forward to seeing the two of them both mounted up together on their steads!

We are currently on the market for a new home and I would love something more rural but it’s a negotiation with the husband. He is a senior specialist at big hospital and doesn’t want to go too far away from work. We are looking at a house across the road from Ingleside Riders club. Just an acre but close to beach too so very dreamy!
 
I love your sneaky Nana plan and aspire to be as good of a sneaky nana as you! What a lucky grandkid Olivia is!!!! I do have a sneaky mamma plan though that is actually quite similar! My 5 year old, Bear, will outgrow our little Apaché so soon and I plan to get him a bigger pony that I might ride too! I am reasonably tall but skinny... 60kg. I love taking the kids out for trail rides but it’s a bummer for whoever has to walk along waiting for their turn... and there are tears and tantrums sometimes about whose turn it is. Plus my 2 year old Dusty likes to be carried by mum when it’s not his turn so I have to carry him while leading and I will tell you that is NOT my favourite thing to do... (don’t tell Dusty though... he thinks I love it!!... well I love him... not so much the sore arms). Look forward to seeing the two of them both mounted up together on their steads!

We are currently on the market for a new home and I would love something more rural but it’s a negotiation with the husband. He is a senior specialist at big hospital and doesn’t want to go too far away from work. We are looking at a house across the road from Ingleside Riders club. Just an acre but close to beach too so very dreamy!
That would be nice A ride/ walk along the beach with your minis😀
 
That would be nice A ride/ walk along the beach with your minis😀
Wouldn’t it be a dream?? Though I don’t actually think horses are allowed on those beaches!! But a tiny mini, maybe early in the morning and pick up his poo if he does one... I couldn’t imagine the police turning up to arrest me... 🤣💦

The truth his he wouldn’t do a poo. Does anyone have a mini that is as fussy about where he poos? Apaché has never ever pooed while out on a ride or lead EVER. Except twice when he pooed at the playground when I tied him up there. He generally does all his poos in one big pile: I’ve never owned or known a horse as fussy about it as this one!
 

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