There are certain things in the world that are almost guaranteed to get people heated when you discuss them. There is the old standby advice that there are two things you don't talk about in friendly gatherings: religion and politics. That's good advice. Those two topics are best to be avoided if you don't want battle brewing at your party. In the horse world we have a few more topics that seem to really divide people.
To blanket or not to blanket is a big one. For some reason it really fires people up when people blanket their horses or don't blanket their horses. Part of it goes back to people wanting what is the best for all animals, so the advice does come from a good place at least. But the other part of it is that I feel people get defensive if they think that others are looking down on them if they don't blanket. There are many reasons for an against blanketing your horse. In my mind - you do you. Blankets are expensive and as with everything horse related - they tend to destroy them. If you want to take that chance, wonderful. If you don't and choose to keep your ponies warm in other ways - wonderful. As they say, "you do you, boo".
Height. It seems to be another one of those dividing discussions. There truly are people who think that they only horse worth having is 16 hands plus. The general consensus in the horse world seems to be "bigger is better". It's like a status symbol thing to be able to say, "oh golly gee -old Brownie is so hard to get on because he's 17.2 hands tall..." I feel like I'm in the small majority of people who hears this information and cringes because no way in heck do I want to even TRY to swing my leg up there. I know my kids have struggled with those "big" horse folks looking down on them for riding ponies. They've been told "you're too big for your pony", "he's nice but he's "just" a pony", "what's the weather like down there", and other derogatory remarks along those lines. It takes a strong personality to ride a pony in a ring full of horses. But there is a reason we ride ponies.
I wish I could say I understood the fascination with big horses, I truly do. I thought I wanted one. We bought China because we thought she was going to be a giant. She was 14.2 as a yearling. But then she only ever grew to 15.2 and I felt that was even too tall. I loved riding China - that big sweeping hunter trot of hers was a lot of fun. But.... the benefits to riding ponies is endless. Let's see if I can name some of my favorites.
Cheaper to feed: It's no secret that smaller animals eat less than big animals. Barring a few hard keepers, ponies are notoriously easy keepers. They seem to stay fat on, as the old timers say, "wind, water and weeds". Where some folks have to buy the best alfalfa, our ponies stay chunky on grass hay and virtually no grain. With as expensive as hay and grain have gotten, being able to save a little in the feed department is a win/win. I can feed two of our ponies (even a couple of the larger ones) for what it takes to keep China fed.
Closer to the ground for those "emergency" dismounts: Again, I feel like I'm stating the obvious but IF you get offered a chance to sample the arena or ground by your trusty steed, it's a lot shorter drop from a 13.2 hand pony than a 17.2 hunt horse. Especially if they give you a little launch first. It's gonna hurt no matter what. Maybe just a little less? I watched a young lady get tossed by her pony last fall and land on her feet. I'm still in awe of her athletic ability and I feel like that would have been a lot harder to do from a big horse. And I KNOW that had to hurt less in the feet department because she was closer to the ground.
Closer to the ground for mounting and dismounting: I'm of the age where I would much rather lift my foot a couple feet off the ground instead of up by my chin to get on my pony. That's not even counting the dismounting. I don't care to do the hang and hope I don't die before my feet hit the ground. I will admit that when I go from riding China to riding my pony I have given myself a stinger in my feet from not realizing the ground was going to be so much closer. Going along with mounting and dismounting is getting the darn saddle up there in the first place. Much easier to throw a saddle on my 54" pony than 15.2 hand China.
Brushing, washing, banding.... It's all so much easier when you aren't standing on your tiptoes or reaching above your head. Don't even tell me "just get a stool". I've literally gotten charlie horses from having to go up and down the steps of a stepladder/step stool before. I don't need to do that to get a horse banded. Then you have the horses that won't just stand still and you'd be moving that stool every 10 seconds. No thanks.
Speaking of washing - who wants that water running down your arm and into your armpit while you scrub? It's the worst! And that's not even talking the sheer difference in surface area. More pony/horse means more washing. For some reason, bathing is one of my least favorite horse chores. I would much rather muck a stall than wash a pony. So if I can do it in less time and with less water ending up in my armpit than that is what I am going to choose - every time.
Less destructive. I think maybe I have just been blessed? I'm not saying our ponies don't wreck things - things do wear out and get damaged. But sheer size for larger horses makes them more destructive. Example 1: We had to get rid of the round bale feeder because China kept climbing into it. Example 2: China is the one who rubs her big butt, neck, you name it against our tall feeders and knocks them off/over. Example 3: China paws and gets her big old legs into feeders, tanks, tipping them over and breaking them. China is just more destructive because she's bigger and taller. Things that can stand up to ponies, can't stand up to her. Maybe it's just China... hmmm....
Need less room... I mean, this also seems self explanatory but they take less acreage to keep fed and fit. This goes for pasture size and arena size. We are able to work a couple ponies at a time in our smaller indoor. When we were riding/showing China, I had to work her by herself because she needed the whole arena, especially when loping. I can't imagine if I had ever wanted to work on the hand gallop with her. It just wouldn't have been large enough and our indoor isn't tiny. China also isn't giant. In the horse world, at 15.2, she's considered small. I love being able to work multiple ponies and actually really be able to work them in our indoor.
Their blankets fit in our washer. They poop a little less (smaller the pony, smaller the poop). They can't lift their heads higher than I can reach on my tiptoes. They have the cutest tack. They aren't taller than me by the time they are yearlings. They live longer than their larger counterparts.
I could go on and on - but the biggest and best reason to me is that most of these things add up to that POAs are the affordable horse breed. This really became obvious to me when I created a post on social media asking about the cost of the premiere/world shows in various breeds. POA was the most affordable, hands down. Classes at POA Congress are around $25. I was at the national board meeting where our directors discussed the cost. Some members felt it was time to increase the costs and brought up the other breeds where classes cost upwards of $125. I'm still thankful to the directors who made it clear that we needed to keep the cost down as we are the affordable FAMILY breed where we want our kiddos to show in as many classes as possible. Versatility is the foundation of the POA, we need to make it possible for our youth to be able to show in the classes that demonstrate that.
Plus all so many of our friends show POA that we consider them our family. Come join our family! There is always room for more.
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