Tony, the pony
For consideration is a 2015 gelding named Tony 13.2 or 13.3 hh. Available for a year-by-year care lease. This opportunity is only for individuals we know or those referred to us by someone we know. Tony was donated to Cheyne Ranch in July 2023 and we cannot sell him or rehome him. Tony is young, healthy, sound, so personable, attention loving and social.
However… Tony is not a match for our adaptive riding and therapy barn.
The Good:
13.2 or 13.3 black pony gelding, age 10
Tony is playful, attention loving, cute cute, good looking.
We are guessing he is a Morgan x quarter pony cross. His former owner said she had his hair tested and he qualified as being a partial Morgan horse.
Barefoot, easy keeper. He eats alfalfa in his stall and Coastal in the (dry) pasture. He gets grain 2x a day - Seminole Equalizer (a balancer). He is on no supplements and has never been lame or showed any signs of colic.
Has been ridden by a professional trainer who comes here to teach our trainers over 30 times - he is great under saddle! (for an intermediate / advanced rider)
He is up-to-date on everything. Dentist in December, farrier trims every 6 weeks, de-wormed in early April, vaccines in November (including rabies).
He is “frisky” with our mares, so we had his blood drawn to make sure he really was fully gelded. His blood test came back showing he is definitely fully gelded.
Full of personality - everyone loves him, to pet, to say hello to. he is frequently at the fence or gate asking for attention from humans.
We have videos of Tony being ridden for jumping and fox hunting when he was owned by a trainer in North Carolina.
The Bad:
Tony requires an intermediate or advanced rider. He will try and “test” beginner riders and if they don’t have confidence, he will go have fun his own way, instead of listening to the rider.
We think Tony would be better off if he was in regular, consistent work. At our barn, he is occasionally saddled (once or twice a month) and he gets very nervous while being tacked up. He has broken 2 or 3 cross-ties while spooking at something while being tacked. Once he is being ridden by a confident rider - he is outstanding.
At our barn, we only have group turn-out - and Tony gets rough with his pasture mates. He loves his other horsey friends, but we think it would be best if he was turned out alone and near other horses, or turned out with other horses who will not tolerate his antics. Several of our horses get cuts from him.
We are primarily a barn that does brushing, and ground work. We have a lot of special needs students and it is so so important the horses are absolutely saints with their ground handling skills. Tony is a good horse - but he is no saint.
It is hard to catch Tony in the pasture to halter him and bring him in. We haven’t worked on this as much as needed, so with consistent training, this can be improved. But he cannot be caught by anyone except our lead trainer.
Google photo album with more photos and a few videos: click here
Ideally, we would like Tony to go to a home where he receives regular work by a confident rider, specifically somewhere in Florida. We are happy to take care of him now, and we look forward to caring for him when he is older. The prospective care lease family will need to sign a contract stating they will care for him at the same level of care he receives here, including:
yearly dentist & vaccines
regular farrier
high quality hay and feed
de-wormer as needed
Regular training and exercise
Contact info: (text is easiest)
Sally Ann Cheyne, Founder & President of Cheyne Ranch, Inc. nonprofit 501(c)(3)
Located in Oviedo, FL
Call / Text: (407) 205-7744
email: Sally@CheyneRanch.com
Website: www.CheyneRanch.com
Facebook: facebook.com/CheyneRanch
Instagram: instagram.com/CheyneRanch
