----- Original Message -----
From: "Anne Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Hey Renee,
> Did you want to teach this horse to drive a cart?
No, not looking to drive. I'm just restarting a little pony mare named
"Mystic Gem" (some of you will remember her) for the kids to ride -- in a
few years. She will need to have a lot more life experiences and training
before that happens.
Synopsis of her story, according to her former owners:
Mystic was run through a cattle auction in Utah as an unregistered,
"four-year old Icelandic". No one bid, so the auctioneer took her home and
his kids rode her around the yard. Then, a gal named Jennifer in
California bought her from him for her four-year-old daughter. Her
daughter named her "Miss Stick". (This has since morphed into "Mystic
Gem.")
Jennifer joined the icehorses list and posted pictures of her new mare.
. . whom many of us suspected wasn't four years old and probably wasn't a
purebred Icelandic either. Jennifer hadn't had the filly vet checked or
anything prior to purchase, and was relatively new to horses, so had no
idea. Well, soon after getting Mystic, Jennifer's life situation changed
and she needed to sell the filly quick. I pleaded with someone on the list
to buy her (in California), but got no takers. Jennifer told me she had
some folks who ran a pony rings coming to look at her and I kind of panicked
about that. . . . So, I bought her. I really thought she might even be a
weanling or yearling and I felt so sorry for the little thing getting
shipped around from bad to worse and BEING RIDDEN ALREADY. . . .
I sent Judy the money for her and she went up to Jennifer's place and
picked Mystic up for me. Then, Mystic made her way to North Carolina and
stayed at Karen Thomas's place for some R & R, finally making her way up to
Michigan. All the vets she encountered along the way thought she was,
indeed, much younger than four -- probably closer to a year or two. This
year, my vet looked at her teeth and said she is no older than five, maybe
even four yet. So, yes, she was being ridden (by kids) as a yearling or
two year old.
That's her story. She's about 11 hands tall, slender built, and
liver chestnut with a star. Her mane is quite full and bushy, but her tail
isn't. I've never seen her do any soft or lateral gait that I can detect.
I think she *might be* Shetland / Icelandic cross, or just a Heinz 57 pony.
: ) She's pretty cute regardless.
Since I have no idea what was done when in her "training", I'm just
assuming she knows nothing and restarting her this year.
Of course, I'm so darned rusty -- it's been YEARS since I worked with a
young horse! : )
-- Renee M. in Michigan
