This is Dixie, I bought him for my children at the end of 2002, we are not quite sure of his age but a vet who saw him about 6 years ago thought he was between 25years and 30years, so I guess he is quite an old man now! He is a Welsh pony, 12 hh and a typical old english type of children's pony. We have had many challenges with him but have thoroughly enjoyed having him around. My children have all ridden him but my daughter has had most use out of him. He has been used mainly for hacking around the countryside but he has also been to a few shows and won some rosettes.
Laminitis
This has been Dixie's biggest challenge. The first time it happened was in winter, we had had many hard frosts and he had been out day and night for a few weeks. I noticed he was quite tottery and decided to bring him in to investigate. He laid down in his stable and refused to get up, after a visit from the vet, laminitis was confirmed. It was the first time I had heard of laminitis being caused by the frost grass. Apparently the grass alters to survive the frost and becomes higher in sugar. Dixie had his feet x-rayed and the farrier was able to see how much the pedal bone had rotated and trim his feet accordingly. Unfortunately it was quite severe, his feet had to be cut so much he had his hooves bandaged over thick support pads.(I was so glad Vet Wrap had been invented!) He was in a lot of pain and although he was given pain relief, he had blood in his urine, it was affecting his kidneys, so it had to be a low dose. I turned to complementary and alternative therapies and learned that fresh willow could help. I also administered 100% stabilised Aloe Vera Gel to help as an immune system booster, pain relief and anti-inflammatory. It seemed to go on for weeks, in fact it was months before he went out again but at last we succeeded!
Gradually we brought Dixie back into work and decided it would be fun to break him to harness!
We bought a very basic trap and harness and got to work. It seemed Dixie was born to drive, he loved it and so did my husband Jim! It was great exploring the area, he especially enjoyed going to the Ibex at Chaddleworth where he would get a carrot! It wasn't long before we invested in a Bellcrown gig!
Unfortunately in February 2012 he suddenly became very tottery, it was quite a surprise to learn he had laminitis again as he had been rather pampered in his old age, coming in at night, being turned out in the day and kept off any frost grass. It was quite a bad case again but not as severe as the last. A blood test confirmed the early stages cushings disease, what a blow. Thankfully he didn't suffer for long and was back to normal in a short space of time. I was surprised how well he coped with the 2012 winter and now he is full of mischief! My daughter even took him out for a hack a few weeks ago, which he loved.
It was a sad time at the end of October his companion had to be put to sleep. He took it quite badly and was a bit depressed and lonely without her. I decided to enquire at the BlueCross to see if they would loan a pony to me.
Apricot arrived as a companion for Dixie and a surprise present for our 3 year old daughter just before Christmas 2012. She is a 9hh, 6 year old chestnut Shetland pony. She is adorable and we love her very much. More importantly Dixie is very happy!
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