A boy and his (miniature) horse

May 31st 2014 was Purina Day at the Huntsville Alabama Tractor Supply store.  William was spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa Dake so he wasn't with us.  I didn't know about Purina Day until Greg and I stopped by there to buy livestock feed.  I talked to several people that had animals there, and managed to find a buyer for all of my pedigreed French Angora rabbits.  Right beside them was a guy with a horse trailer and four miniature horses for sale.  I asked him if any of them were broke for a kid to ride and he said one was.  It was a chocolate palomino stallion about five years old.  I led it around and checked its teeth and feet and asked the seller how he knew it was trained to ride.  He tied the lead rope to its halter and sat on this tiny horse and rode it around the parking lot.  I noticed then that the horse was five-gaited as well, so it was pretty much a miniature Tennessee Walking Horse.  The seller was asking the same amount of money I'd just been offered for my Angora rabbits, so I followed my gut and impulse-bought a horse for the first time in my life.  The tiny horse was delivered and gelded that same afternoon, and the rabbits were sold as well.  

William got to meet his new horse on Sunday evening, June 1st, and finally the horse got a new name - Popcorn.

 He didn't have a name on his health certificate, just a number - 034.  From that, I knew he'd gone through a sale barn.  I'm sure at some point he HAD a name, we just have no way to find out what it was.  He has excellent manners, is very calm and is indeed quite well trained for kids to ride, brush, pick out hooves, pet, lead around, etc.  When we got him he was skinny and dirty, in need of some weight and some grooming.

He also had a cough that showed up after a couple of days with us.  After a visit from our veterinarian he got anti-inflammatory meds and a 10-day course of antibiotics, and the cough cleared up.  The vet also confirmed his age as between 5 and 6 years old, so Popcorn could be William's buddy for another 30 years or more with the right care.

Twenty-six days later, Popcorn has gained some weight (but not too much and not too fast, because we don't want him to founder) and gotten lots of grooming and attention.

He's also worn a harness and been hooked up to a mini cart - he didn't mind it but he didn't really know what was expected of him.  I think he'll be very easy to train to pull the cart, so even the adults here can have some fun with him.

He looks much better and is even sweeter and quieter than when he arrived.  William rides him bareback with a parent leading them around, and absolutely loves it.

He also helps keep Popcorn's stall clean and move the portable paddock to fresh grass every 2 or 3 days, and gives Popcorn his daily handful of mini horse feed.

At the time I wondered if I was nuts to buy a horse on impulse, but now I think it was one of the best split-second decisions I ever made.