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The run away pony
One summer day i was riding my pony down near a river it was really hot
and he wanted to go for a swim, so he bucked me off, and he cantered
off in the middle of the river it took me & my brother ages to find him.
Olivia
Poor Bella
The other week, i just got home from school, i walked in the gate and
closed it behind me. i looked up at the horses which were in the 'night paddock' and
they seemed to be interested in something on the ground. what ever it was the big brave
bella was shieing away so mysti and lj decided to put poor bella at ease by chasing
this thing out of their territory. next thing i see is this little black creature
zig-zagging down our paddock with bellas two brave soilders closely following behind,
nostrils flaring. as it gets closer i realise that it is actually a little black pig
with two white legs. the poor thing looked very distroit, as these huge hooves were
becoming dangerously close to smooshing the little thing. it stopped infront of me and
snorted a few times before lj and mysti chased it into next doors paddock. the horses
stood gaurd at the fence while i laughed my head off at what i just saw.
it turns out that the neighbours had just bought the pig the day before and it broke
out during the night.
fortunatly it stuck around after being chased by the neighbours cows, my horses, my dog
and myself, and is now safely back in its cage.
(i dont no why bella was scared of it, it muchly resembled her except black and small!!
hahahaha)
Rachael xox
How i lost my Best FRIEND
I would like to tell you the story of how my best friends life started and ended in tragedy. His name was Shorty, he was a 13.3 3/4 hh bay Arab Gelding with a white socket on his offside hind leg. He was born on Christmas day.
His mother died shortly after he was born so he was left to be hand raised. When he was born, he was born under a fence and when he went to get up, he got tangled up in the fence and cut his hind leg right to the bone. So the whole time that he was a foal he was cooped up in a stable so they could keep bandages on his leg and stop him from walk around all the time.
The man that had him didn’t have time to look after him and he was going to destroy him but a man said to him “NO” don’t destroy him my daughter will look after him. At first site the lady that took him, “Jenny” fell in love with him and would never let him go. She had two boys called SEAN and CODEY. When he was broken in they used to ride him around the paddock bareback rite up until he was about 10 ½ then they stopped, for a year and a ½ he spent grassing in a paddock being wasted. Until one day, Jenny rang my mum and said that she has a horse here for her, that she need to come and have a look at because he was being wasted. Mum went and looked at him and as soon as mum saw him she fell in love with him and as soon as I know he was on the float coming to my house. When mum took him of the float, he was all raged and looked dreadful we put him in the yards with some yummy feed and a flitch of hay.
In the morning I came up and feed him, later on in the day I gave him a bath and trimmed him all up. He looked so much better after a bath. After that I started training him to be a sporting, jumping and hacking horse. After about three months of train he was ready for his first Gymkhana, where we won first trophy and high points overall. After that there wasn’t any horse that could catch us, we either got first or second trophy. Ho looked well in the show ring but the judges didn’t like him because he had a scar. But I didn’t care about that, he was my best mate and he was hansom enough for me. We finished our first year of competing and throughout the summer we would go swimming in the creek together.
The next season came and I had got a new horse in September last year called Ebony, she was a black Anglo Arab about 4 yrs of age and I had been working on he through the summer getting her read for shows and other events. But Shorty and I where on our way to the first Gymkhana of the year. We where in our first event and we turned the peg but Shorty slipped and came up lame, he had pulled his shoulder out so I couldn’t ride him for at least a year cause every time I would go to ride him he would still be lame. By the ended of the year I would be too big for Shorty, so that’s why we got Ebony. So the hole year I rode Ebony and did very well on her and I kept riding her the year after as well. I decided not to do any more Gymkhanas with Shorty.
So Shorty ended up being our mustering horse. He loved rounding up the cattle until about 2 years ago a cow had her baby planted in the grass somewhere on the flat and she kept braking away from the herd. Dad was trying to bring her up with the car but she kept on braking away. Suddenly dad was moving her up the hill when she came from the front of the car and charged at Shorty and I. She hit Shorty rite in his pelvis where it knocked her out and plunged him to the ground. It through me up the hill but if it hadn’t I would have been rolled on by both of them and been badly danged or dead. He got up with a little limp and she got up a while later. We left Shorty for a few days so that he could rest.
After that I kept working him almost every second day through winter and summer so that he wouldn’t get stiff. But this year I didn’t have time to work because I was working my Black mare Ebony and working a pony that I had just broken in. Through the winter Shorty started falling away and he lost heaps of weight. We took him out of the paddock that he was in and put him in another paddock with another horse. We where feeding him up to 3kgs of weightlifter morning and night and it still wasn’t putting any weight on him at all. Then suddenly one day when he was walking up the hill, it was as if one of his legs was shorter than the other, he couldn’t put all four feet on the ground. This kept getting worse and worse it even made him that bad that he started falling over. One day it would be once a day for a while, then it turned to be more and more a day, until it turned out that even standing still he would make one movement and he would fall over.
Mum and I where heading up to feed the horses and take me to work experience at the Vet Clinic, when we sore Shorty lying down on the ground with all four legs through the fence. We got him up and mum said that she was going to make and appointment for this afternoon so that the vet could have a look at Shorty. Mum booked him in to be looked at, at about 4pm.
The vet came out to look at Shorty. He brought me with him so that mum didn’t have to pick me up. He looked at Shorty and he could move his pelvis 2inches both ways. The vet said his pelvis was broken and it was only holding by a bit of mussel and some tissue. The vet gave us two options first thing to put him down or to pump him up with steroids so that he wouldn’t feel any pain and so that it could grow the muscle back to hold it together, but you would never be able to ride him again and he would have to be in a paddock on his own and he was a pony that could get along with any horse
. So mum, the family and I decided to put him down. The vet gave him the antistatic and laid him on the ground. I spoke to him and kissed him good-bye and the vet gave him the injection and with three big deep breaths he was gone.
Because of a cow I lost my best friend. Shorty was put down of the second last day of my work experience on September the 21st 2006 on a Thursday. He lived through a hard life with Jenny when he cut his leg open and because he had to be hand raised, he lived up until he was 16 years old. The vet that I did work experience with, got to see that I would be cruel to be kind. And that’s how Shorty’s life started and ended. A GREAT FRIEND HE WAS.
Three years has passed and I can still remember the good times and the bad times that Shorty and I had together. Shorty and I had some rough times such as when we would muster the cattle and some would split but we would always end up getting them back to the yards know matter how long it took us and we both enjoyed doing it together.
There was not a day go passed that Shorty and I would not have our afternoon ride, down through the paddock. We would always jump our jump and gallop off up the hill. We loved our bare back rides but we both always used to enjoy our jumping. The Bonfield bend was our event that we would always almost win every time.
Shorty would always whinny at you, as you would drive up the hill. He would race you if you called him. He loved being around people but he always used to love his cans of coke. He would run you down for a can if you had one in your hand. It was his treat for everything that he did great in. But he still would get it even if he didn’t do so well in it. We were best mates and always will be know matter were he is up there.
Love ya Shorty Boy
Emma Waller
Kit Kat ... (The Fat Kat) Story by Lee Lee
Well after 5 months of being on a strict diet, little Miss Kitty seems to be getting fatter!
I had a sneaky suspicion she was not Just Fat!
So with my ear against her, all of a sudden there where some strange noises and large movements coming from that giant belly ... as well as a few kicks to the head (ouch) (and it was not kit kat).
Oh oo
So I was straight on the phone to Kenilworth Vet Surgery.
John the new horse vet in town came straight out to see Kitty. After the way he saw her eating there was no doubt in his mind, but after some examination and a few good looks ... Yes ... Kit Kat is having a foal.
Not sure of exact day, but within the next two months.
Kit Kat is only 35.8" tall and apparently the Daddy Mini is smaller that that, so this little foal will most probably be about 20" - 25" inches tall when it is born ... I think how cute!!
Will update with more news as the days progress :)
Lee Lee
Story by Dale Bergman 5/8/08
I'm Only Normal to Horse People !
Unless you are a "horse person", one does not seem to understand ...
Let me explain ...
Definition of the people I am talking about: those that come from the city, or the ones who couldn't handle living more than 100 metres from a shopping mall, those who live on the Sunshine Coast & wouldn't know where Kenilworth was, or those who couldn't use an outback toilet to save themselves! These I call "precious people".
Have you ever seen the looks on people's faces ... when you mention that it is so cold that you wear jodhpurs to bed every night.
Have you ever seen their reaction when you get so, so excited about getting horse clippers for your birthday ... this is 'totally abnormal' to them. (I even got excited this morning when I received a bottle of Oster clipper oil for my birthday! - "Now there's something I need!", I said).
Have you ever been at work and seen the way they want to run away after they ask you "What did you get up to on the week-end?" ... "Well, I picked up horse manure in 2 paddocks" ... and if you are making coffee when saying this ... they watch and make sure they don't touch the same cutlery or anything that you have just used!
They think you are "weird" to get Cooroy Saddlery and Horseland vouchers for Mother's Day, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Wedding Anniversary as well as your Birthday ... they see it as 'not normal' to still get excited EVERY TIME you get one.
I keep forgetting to take the mane and tail rubber bands out of my pockets before washing my jackets ... so I seem to have a never ending supply of rubber bands at all times - whenever I am at work and people need a rubber band - they just come to me.
They can't understand why anyone would want to get up in the freezing cold to mix horse feeds and unrug horses before coming to work, let alone doing it again at night after coming home.
I know that they can't get their heads around the fact that I share my horse products with my horse. Saves money. The tack kit has more hair products in it than Priceline, so why not share?
And the other day when I couldn't buy any black semi-permanent hair dye - they all were horrified that I would dye my hair black ... even more horrified at the shop when I said that the dye wasn't for me ... it was for my horse ... and that I use a different bottle for my hair ... one I share with our white pony!
I know they will never understand ... but you guys will ...
Dale.
Story Submitted by Tonia (April 2008)
THE WIDGEE CAMPDRAFT AND TEAM PENNING SCHOOL
Over the last weekend in March, several KPC Riders made the journey to Widgee for this two day clinic organised by the Widgee and District Pony Club. (Sonia and Rachael Law, Bronte and Matilda Law, Emma Waller, Kate Grundon, Joanne Ward and myself).
I borrowed Jessie Falconer's float with Portable Yards and set sail for Widgee early on Friday afternoon, by the way the sun was shining then. The sun however quickly vanished and the closer I got to Gympie the heavier the rain became.............I continued fully believing that it never rained at Widgee so once I get further west the sun would be back again. Mmmm wrong assumption!! I drove into the Widgee Grounds in torrential rain, found some level ground and grabbed my folding chair, set it up in the front of the float and spend the next hour patting my horse trying to get him to understand that he couldn't back off due to the downpour occurring outside......some of my Horsey Friends said this was a terrific bonding opportunity for Romeo and Me!!! Well I do have some wonderful friends, deluded perhaps but well meaning just the same. I recall suggesting to Romeo we just leave and head back home, except the idea of driving for another two hours in this heavy rain was worse than sitting in the float having my hair chewed by my horse...
So unload I did, and quickly set up those Portable Yards.........so pleased not many people were about as I have to admit I did have a few of those 'completely lacking commonsense' moments!! I then waited for the other KPC members to arrive..........Sonia and Rachael turned up just on dark, which probably wasn't the best thing however Sonia quickly set about setting up a decent campsite for us. I left her to it because I got the feeling that my suggestions of 'where and how' were a little off tap for Sonia!! Linda provided me with a stunning pair of leopard print mud boots before I left home and if it wasn't for these I think I would of completely fallen apart - it was still raining well into the night and the mud was well mud! My only thought at 2am in the morning after Romeo had discovered if he pushed these yards hard enough he could get to the grass on the other side!!! Little did he know every time he pushed the yards he caused the float to move which had me laying on one of my father's old trucking mattresses inside it......where was I? Okay back to my only thought was..............I bet I can't get out of here in morning...........with this much rain I was quite certain I would be stuck there until it dried out......yep pure panic was setting in. Be rocked around inside a float at 2am in the morning was the beginning of the downward spiral of positive thoughts about the coming weekend. Let me quickly add, by the second night I was ready to murder this beast of horse with such a namby pampy name like 'Romeo' and the language I used was nothing short of bottom of the gutter! As for the "Beast" he didn't give a toss...
Early the next day we started off in groups at various tasks. Mine was chasing a mechanical cow which was exciting, once Romeo overcame his terror at looking at a chaff bag with ears on it running up and down on a wire pulley that is. During the day we then rotated to Team Penning and Yard Cut-Out with real live Widgee Cattle. My reference to Widgee Cattle is they are quite renown for being quite quick and stirred up.
On Saturday afternoon I was completely put on the spot by the Widgee Pony Club Chief Instructor (thanks Fran) requesting my help in running their Calcutta Auction to raise some money. Considering I have never auctioned anything in my life before sober I was a a nervous wreck!!! With only an hour to go, resorting to old habits of plying myself with alcohol wasn't an option. By the way young readers please don't think alcohol gives you confidence to do things you can't normally do...........it actually only assists you in making a complete turkey out of yourself and suffering from a hangover the next day!!! I had to Auction off the Instructors who would later that night, compete against each other in putting a steer around an obstacle course (still too wet for an actual Campdraft). A total of $880-00 was raised and Widgee Pony Club was ecstatic and I was pleased I was able to help them. My late Grandfather, Bill Boxsell, would of possibly turned in his grave listening to my pathetic attempt at auctioneering; I do plan on sticking to selling property!
Sunday's weather was wonderful and we got to chase some more cattle. At 11am I decided my body really had reached the 'snapping in half point' and I packed up and left to come home. The younger ones from KPC stayed on and had a go at an actual Campdraft in the big arena.
Overall a good weekend and well worth the experience. Will I sleep in the back of horse float on and old truck mattress again? No bloody way!!
Thank heavens for hot showers, flushing toots and leopard print boots or I am pretty certain I would have only lasted a few hours at the most!!
There is apparently Video Footage of me camping for proof and the highest bidder can purchase this at the end of year break up!!!
Tonia
