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Welsh pony - color?

Rusti November 17, 2010 February 22, 2011

Forums

Here's the story behind my new pony Cleo so no one is wondering why she's so emaciated. I recently "rescued" this 25 year old Welsh mare from a family member. Said family member had owned her for 18 years with no problems except for a blind left eye caused by a puncture wound years ago. But then this summer she slowly began to lose weight and they couldn't get it back on her. She went down 3 times with what they suspected was colic, and the third time they thought she was going to die so they just freakin' left her down in the pasture, only to discover her up and alive the next morning :shock: I took her to the vet the first week I had her and he said it was simply a case of starvation, she is completely healthy otherwise (aside from missing a few teeth), and not wormy. Family member couldn't recall the last time she bought Cleo a mineral or salt block, and said she was feeding her half a plastic Folgers can of alfalfa pellets/half senior feed once a day (so maybe 2.5 lbs), and the 2 round bales that were in her pasture had been there for a year and she hadn't touched them (no grass whatsoever). When we arrived to pick up Cleo the round bales were almost completely black with mold :hammer Ignorance is such a horrible thing. Oh yeah, they also left a dog collar on her all the time because "she's so hard to catch" and for years before that it was a VERY snug halter. She has patches of white hairs on both jawbones and a permanent indention in her nose from the halter fitting too tight. I have only had 1 time when she walked away as I went to halter her, and I catch her at least 5 days a week. It will be 1 month Friday that she's been with me. She now has FRESH, CLEAN HAY (this year's cut) 24/7 and a mineral block and I've slowly upped her feed and she's now getting 3.5 lbs twice a day plus vit/min supplement. She is improving beautifully. The first day we had her she wouldn't lift her head or get excited/perky about anything and drug her hind feet, now she is wild and crazy, trots around with her tail flagged and whinnies to me nonstop because I apparently do not get her feed ready quick enough lol... She also very much enjoys the company of my 18 month old gelding...HATES the mares though, I had to separate them as they were keeping her ran off from the hay. Ok so anyways here she is! What do we think on color, is she silver bay? Before & after pics, 10-22 through 11-12 [img]http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/RustiZoomZoom/Cleo/Cleo10-22to1…] [img]http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/RustiZoomZoom/Cleo/Cleo10-23to1…] [img]http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/RustiZoomZoom/Cleo/Cleo10-22to1…]

pablo Thu, 11/18/2010 - 05:16

No idea of her colour ! I am so glad you have her now and that she is safe !
I am sorry I physically think I am going to get sick looking at these pics ,her condition was appalling !

rabbitsfizz Thu, 11/18/2010 - 08:04

I am guessing I would have to stand in line behind you to shoot this person?
Thank god you got hold of her, she would not have lasted the winter.
OK, do you [i]know[/i] she is Welsh as she does not really look it, that said she does look Silver Bay!

Rusti Thu, 11/18/2010 - 13:09

Thanks everyone. She is making leaps and bounds and is a VERY happy pony for the first time in a long time. I forgot to add, previous owner had been feeding her sliced bread as a treat almost daily. Also whatever dinner leftovers she would accept. They even offered her chicken once......

RF - You'd have to stand in line behind me, and I'm in line behind my husband! He was more infuriated than I was, I guess I don't reach my madness' potential since she came from an immediate family member. It was all he could do to bite his tongue the night we picked her up. If smoke could have come out his ears it would have. I don't know for sure that she's Welsh, but when they bought her 18 years ago that's what they were told, and I measured her and she's 12.1 hands. Last year's Coggins paper says "Welsh Cob" but most vets don't know squat. Here's a couple pictures of her from about 13 years ago when she was healthy (er...it's a picture of a picture, but it's the best I could do without a scanner).
[img]http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147…]
[img]http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147…]

Daylene Alford Thu, 11/18/2010 - 13:16

Welsh is a bit of a catch all in our neck of the woods. Anything that is pony sized is a "welsh". Great job taking her. She looks like she was a nice pony back in the day.

supaspot60 Thu, 11/18/2010 - 13:23

poor wee pet Grrrr! Im so glad she found you , looks like she was a lovely pony back in her younger healthier days

Rusti Thu, 11/18/2010 - 16:29

I just realized that that 2nd old pic of her makes her look like a full-size horse, lol. The woman holding her is rather short.

Dilutes Thu, 11/18/2010 - 17:19

Aww the poor old girl :( I wish people like those that previously owned the mare, would rehome their horses when they can't offer them proper care before they get to this very neglected stage. She did look a lovely pony in her younger days.
Thankfully the old girl now has you and your husband in her life!

Bannerminis Fri, 11/19/2010 - 04:14

Such a pretty girl - so glad you have her and she is being well looked after. Keep us posted on her, would love to see pics of her over the next few months

Rusti Fri, 11/19/2010 - 13:28

Thank you, I will for sure keep y'all updated. Today was 1 month and I took new pictures of her...such an amazing difference. I'll start a new thread in General Discussion this weekend once I get the pics uploaded.

CheyAut Sun, 11/21/2010 - 15:37

Oh my, I am so glad you got her! She was beautiful in the "before starvation" photos, and in your care she will be beautiful again :)