Trinket the Adventurous Mini - Photo Overload

[Waikato Valuta]

I brought trinket when she was 8 months old. She was tiny. So tiny I could stand over here with ease, one foot on either side. I even got her into a friends small car.

She is now 5yo and is turning into a fantastic little pony.

She spent her first few years just hanging out in the paddock with my other horses. To be honest she was a little spoilt and didn't get a lot of handling so she became a bit of a handful. Occasional nipping and a bit frisky.

I then leased her to someone for a year while I went overseas and I just got her back 3 months ago.

This is going to be a diary in mostly photos.

 

[Waikato Valuta]

There were taken the day she arrived. She still had her foal fluff.

This shows how small she was. The other horses were 15 and 14hh:

 

[Waikato Valuta]

I don't have a lot of photos from her time as a paddock ornament. But here is one when she was locked in a yard with my other horse Maddock to keep him company when he seriouly hurt his leg. She was 2 years old:

And one because she couldn't reach the feed bucket by herself.

 

[Waikato Valuta]

These are the few I have from the girl who leased her for a year. Summer and winter photos. She was 3/4yo:

 

[Waikato Valuta]

Just after she arrived back with me 3 months ago:

The lady who leased her said that she had broken her in. Aparently she had mouthed her and sat on her a few time but never had any luck getting her to move forward.

Her is my friend riding her recently:

And doing tricks:

And with the much hated muzzle:

 

[Hags]

Love the cat-n-horse in harmony moment!

 

[Waikato Valuta]

Because as I'm sure you can see in the photos both me and my friend are way to big for her. I don't mind my friend riding her for very short rides but it's not a practical option in the long run.

Soooo... I brought her a cart and harness. I got it from a mini stud that was closing down due to the owner getting on in age and not being able to train or show any more.

I have been long reining her quiet a bit and she has been in the cart four times. Today I had my very first ride in the cart. She was excellent. She threw her weight into the chest strap and dragged my amble weight around the paddock.

I'm very proud of her and hope she will become a great little harness pony.

Long reining:

Then with the dog in the cart:

Saying hi:

My very first sit in the cart:

Going for a walk:

My housemate and her dog sitting in the cart:

 

[Waikato Valuta]

After her short workout today she got a bath. She wasn't sweaty but she is losing her winter coat and looks a bit dull.

We used horse shampoo then made a natural conditioner out of eggs, oil and warm water. I would have just used horse conditioner but I didn't have any around.


Some girls who like to help out with the ponies lead her around to get dry:

 

[MightyQuin]

Delightful :biggrin: The driving looks like fun

 

[Waikato Valuta]

On the weekend I decided to try getting her to bow. She didn't seem to care what I did with her as long as she could still eat the grass.

Once she was down on her knees it was easy enough to pull her over onto her side. Then she lay there like a sleepy puppy and let me do all sorts of horrible things to her. Although she did keep trying to eat. lol.

She was busy eating in this photo.