Friday, July 11, 2008

Flora Looks Great

I was just out feeding this morning and thinking how great Flora, our pony looks. She was bought as a replacement for Carli's first pony, Madera, when he died.

Here's a picture of her when we first got her. Carli was about six years old here and we think they are the same age.

Here is Flora from this morning, very shiny and sassy, as usual.
I used to ride her every once in a while with my sister, who boards her horses at Roberta's stable. I think people thought I was strange or mean for riding her. After all, the pony is a pony, not a horse. She is about 11 1/2 hands high (about 46" or just under 4') and the average horse is probably about 15 1/2 hands (62" or just over 5') and while I may be short I'm on the heavy side.

But just because she is a pony doesn't mean she's weak. I call her a "packer" because she has absolutely no problem toting me around. And for an approximately 19 year old equine she is in great shape. When the relatives were here the younger girls wanted to ride her. I had to say no because I haven't been riding her and she is way too feisty for beginners.

I wish I could ride her more but it just hasn't been working out that way.

Maybe by the time the baby is 6 she'll be a little more mellow.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have a sister here? I didn't know that! I won't ask who . . . though I'm curious!

I used to ride ponies no larger than Flora back when I weighed 110. They can easily pack an adult. It's good for them, too. Ponies who are only ridden by kids may get pushy.

tina f. said...

Hey Roberta! Yes, my sister is MT on your friend's list. I just sent you an invite on Yahoo. I guess it's about time to do that since I've been reading your blog for a year at least! And poor Flora, it's been 2o+ years since I weighed 110, like when I was in the 7th grade?? It's more like 200 now!