I also need help on the breed of this horse please

[babyblue]

I 100% agree with everything WC has to say with the addition, the silver dapple color, along with the elegant lines and nice body build. He could be part rocky mountain horse. Our pony growing up was a rocky mt that was just about 13 hands and was never registered, but color wise and body wise looks exactly like your little guy. If he is a cross of Shetland and rocky mountain he may not be gaited and that may also be why hes a little on the short side.



here is one of the breed websites with straight to the picture page. Imagine crossing with a little Shetland and tada.

http://www.rmhorse.com/gallery.php

 

[misfitfarm]

Everyone on here has been amazingly helpful! Thanks to all of you! I shall take the advice and see what happens!

 

[2DogsFarm]

I agree with welsummer - probably no Haflinger in this pony.
My guess would be part Welsh and/or Shetland.

A vet of mine used ot say there are 2 types of pony:
Those who have foundered
&
Those who will

Keeping your pony on the lean side is better than adding too much weight too fast.
Most pony breeds can gain weight just looking at feed.

Good thing welsummer can't see my Hackney - he is skating on the thin ice of chub and gets fed very sparingly - a handful of oats & 12% pelleted feed along with orchard grass hay.

Before you trust him to an Amishman for training please check on the horses owned/driven by your choice & ask for references.
While I personally know 2 Amishmen I'd love to have train a pony for me - one breeds Dutch Harness horses, the other could train a wood post to drive safely

- there are some who might get the job done, but not in a way I'd like any horse of mine treated.

Hope you find him a good home - he's a cutie.

 

[welsummerchicks]

No Amish training, please. Being Amish does not make one a good horse trainer. Overall, the Amish trainers tend to be EXTREMELY ROUGH.

You know, I thought there was a possibility the pony was a Rocky cross, but since there aren't that many of them all over the USA, and since I didn't know where you were (or didn't notice it on your info), I went with the other two, more likely possibilities.

 

[babyblue]

I agree with the no Amish training, yes there are decent people among them, but for the most part animals are trained as quickly and with as little effort as possible. That can sometimes mean being extremely rough to get the job done asap.


I live in pa and many years ago, the guy my mom bought our pony from had dozens of rocky mt's and crosses. He had bought a few what looked like culls from a breeding program (hence our pony who was a little on the short side to be registered) and a Rocky Mt stud. He turned the stud out with close to 50 different mares of all types, horse and pony alike. My mom was a long time horse person so she managed to pick out a well broke little darling of a pony. But she said there were more babies everywhere then she could even count. She counted more then 30 babies in one pasture and the guy had a handful of pastures out of site. Now fast forward to our current economic times and I would bet many of those horses and pony's have gone to auction all over the place by now.


The guy was a complete idiot for reckless breeding like that, but now if you live in or near pa its not terribly hard to find a little horse or large pony with some rocky in them.

 

[jmf_srf]

Quote:
My guess as well.

 

[PAH111]

Halflinger, but in my opinion a halflinger-something cross. it doesn't look drafty enough to me.

 

[misfitfarm]

Quote:
I am in Southern Iowa. I would not want anyone to be rough with him as he is a little spooky with quick movements. Like I said he has a little bit of trust issues. I want what is best for him even if that means spending money to have him trained to "work"

and keeping him knowing that we would always provide for him or finding him a home that values him as a gift of life.

 

[Redcatcher]

I am not so quick to geld for a number of good reasons. My philosophy is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I believe 99% of a stallion's behavior is learned (his training and handling) and only 1% are hormones. In fact, during the shortest days of the year, the base line testosterone levels of a stallion are not that much higher than a gelding's! The exceptions are adolescent stallions (which can be a real handful) and a few rogue ones that just can't handle the hormones. While Wellsummer is correct in that they can knock down mom, dad and the entire family to get to a mare in heat, I can think of at least a dozen other things that could trigger this type of dangerous behavior in ANY horse if he isn't trained and handled properly. A horse that's been separated from his buddies is a good example of this. Some will just go absolutely out of their minds and it's beyond the skill of a beginner. There are also more complications in gelding older stallions and most vets are reluctant to do the surgery in the field.

As for riding, I believe a 12 hand pony can easily handle up to 125-130 lbs. Pound for pound they are much stronger than horses, though a lot of that has to do with their conformation. Some are basically horses with short legs. You might look silly if your feet are hanging down to his knees but most can carry a small adult rider. This pony looks like an all American grade pony and probably from a long line of ponies since silver bay and silver dapple colors are pretty common in ponies.

 

[NottinghamChicks]

Is the pony gaited?? I would almost venture to say that it could be a Rocky Mountain cross which would be ideal as you would not have choppy gaits that over 60% of ponies are known for