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Wildwych@aol.com
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Old
Fat Phoebe came into my life 20 years ago when she was neither old
nor fat, but I knew she'd grow into her name. I got her from
a woman who'd found her starving, tied out with a rope around her
neck and no food to eat. She bought pitiful Phoebe, got some
weight on her, and sold her to me.
Phoebe is of no special breeding, and my best guess is that she's
a hackney/welsh cross. Her conformation is only ok, and her
attitude towards people is vile. She simply cannot be trusted
with small children, but this does not appear to be innate disposition,
rather a result of her harsh treatment before she was rescued.
I say this with such confidence, as her foals have been the sweetest,
kindest equine beings I've known. And their dam is the most
fun of any pony I've ever owned: brave, adventurous, and ambitious.
Two years ago, Phoebe was diagnosed with hypo-thyroidism.
Despite our best attempts to treat her, her condition quickly worsened
to the point that her entire endocrine system was non-functional.
My vet said that Phoebe would not last the year. So I decided
to focus on giving her the best quality of life that I could for her
last few months. She had always loved Flurry, but I'd already
retired her from breeding six years ago when he came to our farm.
So as my final gift to Phoebe, I let her live with Flurry.
Almost immediately she started to improve. By
January she was off all medication and looked terrific. In May,
my 29 year old pony gave birth to Wildwych Scofflaw. The birth
was easy and within hours she was looking and acting half her age.
She was once again the naughty pony that I fell in love with.
The first minute that I let her out of the stall with her new baby,
she taught him all the important things in life: how to splash
in the water trough, and how to knock over the manure pile.
This summer, Phoebe looks better than she has in years and is enjoying
her life again. Visitors to the farm cannot believe her age.
So Phoebe will be allowed to live with Flurry and have babies as long
as she chooses to.
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