THEY ARE WORTH HOW MUCH ??????

My dogs let me know someone was by my property but when I looked towards the gate, I saw nothing. As they kept up the racket, I went to investigate. Parked along my fence line was a very long horse trailer, a large dually pickup with the hood up, and an attractive young couple in distress.

We exchanged greetings and I found out the truck had been giving them trouble, so they pulled off the main highway onto my road, and stopped in front of my property where the vehicle died in a puff of smoke. He was on the phone calling for assistance but was worried about his horses.

I looked into the trailer and saw he was hauling seven horses which turned out to be a string of polo ponies. Had to admit I was a tad ignorant about the breed and the game of Polo. I had always assumed that if they were called ponies, they were small horses. I have since learned differently.

It seems that when the British discovered polo in Persia, the average polo pony was only about twelve hands high. A "hand" is equal to 4 inches and the horse is measured at the withers. In 1919 height limits were abolished. Today most polo ponies are of normal height, averaging fifteen hands one inch. However, it is not unusual for a polo pony to be over sixteen hands. This group was in the 16 hand class. BIG mamas.

They had been heading for the Wellington Polo Grounds in Palm Beach County and were a good hundred miles short. My property was cross fenced. Jesse, my horse , was currently on the one acre section as I tended to rotate him. I had an additional 2 acre pasture that was free so I had enough pasture space. I learned they were all Coggins free and proved to them Jesse was also.

Coggins is equine infectious anemia,a viral disease that occurs worldwide. The disease is usually spread by blood sucking insects biting an infected horse, then biting a healthy horse. There is no cure and the horse has to be permanently quarantined or euthanized. Horse owners don't joke around about this.

When we were all satisfied that we owned clean horses, I offered to let them put the animals in my pasture while they set about getting the truck fixed. They leaped at the offer and we started unloading the magnificent seven. It seemed like a sensible solution as it was a hot day and to keep them in the trailer would be brutal. I had secure pasture with electric fencing as well as 2x4 inch welded wire. While I knew nothing about polo ponies, I did have a fair knowledge of horses.

This is picture of pasture. Sorry but I did not get a picture of the horses.


Jesse was excited about the nearby company but the ponies were relatively unimpressed with him as he was a small, lowly quarter horse gelding. His whistles and snorts were pretty much ignored after brief nose touching across the fence. Eventually all creatures went about the business of grazing.

My pasture grass was in the skimpy time of year but the couple asked that I not feed them. They said giving T&A hay would be fine after they inspected the quality and condition of my hay. I felt a bit like commoner wishing to serve the royal family.

I was very picky about what I fed Jesse but they could not know that so I totally approved their checking. T&A hay is timothy and alfalfa which was not cheap, at least for my budget. I had just bought 6 bales and was pleased with my lot. It really smells wonderful and would have lasted Jesse a long time.

When they were content that the horses would be all right for a short stay, we went to wait for the tow truck which would take them to town, 20 miles away. While we were talking, he filled me in on the horses. I was fascinated till he threw out a fact that floored me when I asked just how expensive polo ponies were.

"The cheapest horse we have is worth $45,000." he casually informed me.

OMG. What had I gotten into? I was terrified to ask what the most expensive one was worth. Suddenly they were no longer horses but gold statuettes with fragile legs. My liability insurance would not cover any catastrophic occurrence. I actually viewed my home being auctioned off. I do have a rambunctious imagination.

Fear was still paralyzing me as they drove off , waving to me out the tow truck window unaware of my panic. I was only grateful that I was on vacation so that I wouldn't have to leave the property till my guests were gone. I ran back to the pasture and counted, one, two three....till I got to the magic seven. Phew.

Feeding the hay was a challenge. These high spirited animals kicked at me and each other as I tried to take hay into the field. I learned quickly to throw it over the fence. These ladies, yep all girls, had bad attitudes and were all divas with Super Boss Diva being the nastiest. She approved of nothing. Her ears stayed glued to her head in irritation the whole 4 days. Yes, four days. It took that long to get the part for the truck. That is along time for little sleep and an anxious stomach.

Each morning I ran out to do the routine count to seven. One morning, one was hiding behind a group of tall palmettos and my heart stopped as I only counted six. Even if it were the cheap one (ole 45 grand) that was missing I was doomed. She heard my gasp and raised her head letting my heart start to beat again. Several times every day, I repeated the count. I was not having fun.

Now they were scarfing up my hay to the point where I was down to my last bail. I could leave to make the 40 mile round trip to get more but I was fearful of leaving them alone that long. Finally the couple called and said the truck was fixed and they were heading out to my place to get the horses. When they pulled into the drive, Brad Pitt driving wouldn't have improved my joy.

All the horses were fine and without new scars. I couldn't wait for them to step off my property into the trailer. The young couple thanked me very much but surprised me a bit by not offering to reimburse me for the hay. Not a big deal and I probably would have refused any money, but it would have been nice if they had offered. Perhaps the truck repairs and the motel stay tapped them out.

They were interesting guests but I do blame them for the bountiful crop of grey hairs that sprang up willy nilly on my head in just 4 days. Never again.