STABLE PONY

**unless noted all photos are mine from the 2010 Kentucky Derby and you are most welcome to them**

Many years ago my mother told me the story of the stable pony

me to her:  what's a stable pony?

she to me:  it's a pony that lives along side the wild boisterous high strung horse 

its presence intended to calm 

with only the sight and smell of its stable pony, the crazy horse is able to melt into a state of

comfort

casual safe warm comfort

google

often so much is expected of the performance horse

that it needs a place

to be at peace

it needs a steady presence 

google

and very often the stable pony must endure the attitude and intense energy 

of the skittish animal...

not an easy task I'd say

but what if your horse is not aggressive or high strung?

what if your duty as the stable pony was to be tethered to a weak horse 

and your job was to help it gain strength by trotting with it

around the ring

around and around and around and around and around and around and around

and

around 

purchase from Donna Bollard 

to help it become the best it can be and where intense energy has nothing at all to do with the gain

in my young years I would admit that I might like to have considered myself to be the highly active horse

but now today

I realize

that the stable pony is indeed

the strong one

a quiet secure deep rooted strength by which all other horses are measured