Ponies: The Finale

After my negative experience with my psycho pony Shannon (http://ponygirlridesagain.blogspot.com/2008/04/green-on-green.html) , I still wanted to get a new pony. I perused the classifieds daily (there was no dreamhorse.com in the 80's) in search of a pony that sounded perfect for me. I found one for $450. A little background on this pony: his owners told us on the phone that he had escaped from his pasture and had been missing for 2 weeks, so he was "a little thin." They would not let him go to a new home until he had "fattened back up." When we arrived to see him, he was definitely thin. I never knew if they were pulling one over on us with the he'd-been-missing-for-two-weeks-story, but at least they appeared to be feeding him again.


Saberdance was an Arabian/Appaloosa gelding, around 17 years old and about 14.1 hands. His sellers told us that in his past he'd been registered and a show pony. I rode him in his pasture first, and afterwards I rode him along a trail with his owner and my parents walking with us. Saberdance jigged a little. Of course, at that age, I thought jigging was like, totally rad! I decided I wanted this pony. Then again, I always wanted every pony I saw (there was no such thing as a lengthy search, a second opinion, or a vet check.) We said we would call back in a couple of weeks to see how his weight was. Sure enough, he was looking better and we brought him home. Saber was always such a nice boy. He was easy to handle, groom, and ride. We rode western, hunt seat, and hit the trails.


Here we are at my neighbor's play day. Uh, yep, I look a little strange, standing up in my stirrups like that! I was getting ready to run Saber through a barrel or poles pattern. I was not wearing a helmet. I did ride not with a helmet the whole time I rode horses and ponies in my youth. In fact, I did not even own one! Things have sure changed.


Saberdance had better training than any of my other ponies. He was very patient with me as I was discovering new things about horses, such as achieving collection. I remember jerking on his head a lot, which was not very educated of me. Goodness, he must have been very tolerable! I remember a time where Saber closed his eyes and rested his head on my sister's thigh while she was sitting next to us on her pony Angel. Coincidentally, My Boy has similar coloring to Saber, that sorrel roan coloring. When I dug out these old pictures I see a lot of resemblances between them from their Appy heritages. After a couple of years of enjoying Saber, it was time for me to move up to a bigger and more challenging horse. I was in high school, and my good friend was showing Quarter Horses at the time. I was cleaning stalls at the stable where she kept her horse. Of course, more than anything, now I wanted a Quarter Horse. We sold Saberdance. Several years later someone saw him in the 4-H barn at the county fair, so I am assuming he continued to be a great asset for another young rider. I always kind of regretted letting him go, because he was such a rare jewel. He rebuilt my confidence after struggling with Shannon. He was fun to ride, and a pretty boy to look at, too! But I was moving onward, old lang syne, almost graduated from high school.....would my next horse to be the Quarter Horse I so coveted?? To be continued........