Ponies Are
Adorable
Almost any baby is adorable. Okay, there are some that
only a mother could love, but then beauty is in the eye of the
beholder. How could anyone not fall in love with
ponies? They have such a charm, children are attracted to
them, children's books are written about them, and horse blankets
are made for them.
Yes, that's right. There are horse blankets made for
ponies! Some ponies do live in the wild and are without the
luxury of a warm blanket for the winter. It is unfortunate,
for only the strong survive, whereas struggling weaklings in
captivity are given a chance to become stronger. These do
tend to get pampered and loved and have their warm blankets to help
them through their shaky developmental stages.
The National Park Service helps to protect the wild
ponies. There is a small island near Virginia where the wild
ponies are herded across the waters to another island once a
year. This is a popular event, and the island is called
Chincoteague (pronounced CHIN-ko-teeg).
An hour after they are born, ponies have the ability to
walk. They may stumble and struggle at first, but they learn
fast. The baby is called a foal and isn't considered
full-grown until age 5 or 6. Most people who have horses will
try to have the mare give birth in their barn, in a stall, and a
warm horse blanket is provided for them after the birth. If
the mother has trouble with the birth, it is easier to monitor and
provide care in a barn.
Many people, who think it will be a good idea to give their
child a pony, do not realize the special care a horse needs as it
grows and develops. It is always good to sit down with your
child and make a list of all the things any animal new to the
family will need before purchasing. Horses especially will
need plenty of room to graze and grow and will need their exercise
and good medical care if a problem were to develop.
You may want to start with a small horse, such as a mini, if you
do not plan to have your child ride a horse. The mini horse
comes in a child-sized package! Don't forget the accessories
that come with owning the minis. There are horse blankets
made just for this size horse.
Miniature Horses were created from breeding small horses that
were used for work in coal mines to the small Shetland
Ponies. The babies were then bred to make even smaller
horses. The miniature breed is not actually considered ponies
just because of their size. Ponies are 14 hands high,
compared to the 8 hand size of a mini. But the baby minis are
called ponies until they are grown, just as other horse babies.
You shouldn't need as much horse tack for these mini horses
because they are not used in the same ways as what is considered
normal sized horses. There are places that sell tack just for
the smaller breeds.
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