Hi Hazel -
Yes, you've seen it most recently started by me and maybe in the past as well... I had started it in frustration - to vent - as I was soooo tired of folks coming to me wanting to buy anything that wasn't over 10 yrs old, perfectly "broke" to drive &/or ride, and under $500... Or constantly saying that anything over 10-12 was too old to bother with.
To me, 14 yrs of age is a great age to give your mini a new job!!
I started two mares in 2010 that were 18 & 19 yrs of age that year. One of those was a barely handled, not halter trained mare to my standards, that was always a broodmare and the other while she'd been worked with some - the more work I did with her, the more "holes" I found in her training. She became my "squeaky wheel" that got LOTS of work - and is no longer "squeaky"! Now they are 20 & 21.
Bell, closest mare w/ head turned, is 20 this year. Her full sister on the farthest side is 21. The mare in the middle (dark silver pinto w/ blaze) is 14 this year and was started in single harness last summer as a 13 yr old and hitched as a pair w/ Bell in October.
They work single and as pairs with other ponies and when I say work - they WORK - like little draft ponies most of the time they are hooked. I don't have an elegant cart or carriage for them. The single jog cart was injured by the "squeaky wheel" mare when she exploded on a trail drive and is now in OH getting completely rebuilt. I have a farm wagon, a Pioneer Forecart (a Hafflinger size - due to wanting only one and needing it to work with larger ponies as well - they do OK with it) and a homemade pasture drag from chainlink. My neighbor has Firmosa trees that for the first time last year decided to seed - into our back pasture. So 1 or 2 x a year, I have them knocked out of the ground by the roots and the girls and I drag them to our burn pile up near our barn and water source (about 1/4 mile of dragging). So far, we've done this individually, as pairs and this year for the first time I added a 3rd pony - making it a 3 abreast hitch!
So, go ahead and give your little one a new "job" and add your info to the Training post or post anew!!! Love to hear of the ponies and minis that are still "working" (driving) after their 20's!! And turns out there are more than a few on this forum!
If you want to see LOTs more pics of these girls at work,
Photo Gallery. Bell, Bit, Koalah & Stuffy are the older ponies. Kechi, KoKo, Flower and Comet are younger ponies just starting to ground drive (Comet was only 5 months old when the pics of him wearing a mini harness and ground driving were taken. He hasn't been ground driven at all this spring/summer yet as a yearling). We are having some problems with our website right now - haven't figured them out (updated domain name and switched hosting) and it's not up when you click on the link.... GGGRRRR.
