# Little Luna



## Montana_McRae (Sep 30, 2021)

Hello everyone! I’ve decided to start a journal to record my progress with my new pons 😄

When I bought her she was advertised as a 15 year old 14.1hh pinto quarter horse mare, who had been a dressage pony prior to them buying her and was retrained to western. (For clarity I will be calling her old owners 1, 2 and 3 in chronological order of homes she’s been too)
Upon digging and a lot of Facebook posts, I ended up finding owners no. 2! They bought her as a 15 year old confidence booster off of a station in Queensland (which also means she can’t be registered, as her parents weren’t) (owner number 1/ breeder)
Luna was sent to a dressage trainer for 2 weeks to get her relaxed and long and low (15 years of mustering left her a bit too energetic) owner no 2 wishes she had kept Luna and even asked if we ever sell her, to sell Luna to them.
Anyway, owner number 2 sold Luna to a family in the same town (owner no. 3) I do not know what happened in their care, but when I got her, Luna is now unable to be tied unattended (she backs up and freaks out, which I thought we had fixed but an episode this week left her with a broken halter and me on the ground)
When talking with owner number 2, she said she would tie all day (she has nothing to gain from lying, so just taking her for her word)
She was also ridden in a snaffle with owner no. 2, but owner number 3 rode her in a Dutch gag and chain (they said it was for ‘power steering’ even though they rode in a roundyard), owner no. 3 gave us the dentist report and it said she had multiple tongue cuts and ulcers. We have swapped her down to a baucher and hopefully down to just a plain snaffle in the future.
Also, she was sold to us as 15, but upon connecting with owner number 2, it is more likely she is 18/19/20. Owner number 3 never told us about her winter unsoundness, but owner no.2 confirmed it. She limps in the winter and has worn down one of her back hooves to the sensitive bit, we are getting a vet check tomorrow to see what can be done.
Owner number 3 will not text back, owner no. 2 on the other hand is always asking for updates on calypso (her old name, which is Luna now, but I would’ve kept calypso if owner number 3 kept it. She’s been 3 names: Calypso, then Cindy, now Luna)
Up until this lameness she has been my ultimate confidence booster, she’s not perfect or bomb proof (she can be a bit spooky with sudden noises) but she is exactly what I need right now. I have unintentionally cantered twice (1st time was first lesson with her here and I was absolutely terrible so I don’t blame her, but it was fine because I didn’t even know I was cantering until my trainer told me 2 months later and some reviewing of the footage 😅, the second time she had tripped and cantered to steady herself, again I didn’t really realise it immediately but I quickly realised and was so happy (I have a fear of cantering) she has eradicated that fear, she’s so patient and it was so smooth you really had to think about whether you were cantering or not 😂
Owner number 3 also told us she was hard to catch (which she was in the beginning but is great now)
Also arrived head shy (which we had noticed when we went to view her) she is perfect now.
_photo of her for reference_








That’s her winter coat as well, she’s going to be golden in the summer, I also think she might have nd1 or something (I’m not great with colourings) as she has a dorsal stripe down her tail and mane but not on her body (as I don’t know her parents and haven’t done a genetic test, that’s all I can go on)
This post is already way too long 😂
If you are still here, I think we both have way too much time on our hands 😂 but thank you for reading!


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## Ruth McClure (10 mo ago)

Hey @Montana_McRae, you have such a gorgeous girl! I love her.  I'm in Australia too, New South Wales to be exact. What state are you in?


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## Montana_McRae (Sep 30, 2021)

Ruth McClure said:


> Hey @Montana_McRae, you have such a gorgeous girl! I love her.  I'm in Australia too, New South Wales to be exact. What state are you in?


Yeah I’m in nsw too 😂


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## Ruth McClure (10 mo ago)

Montana_McRae said:


> Yeah I’m in nsw too 😂


Cool!


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## Montana_McRae (Sep 30, 2021)

Update on Luna!
She got a new paddock mate! He’s the only other paint on the property and also new, he is the most marey of the two but follows her round like a puppy.
She has been having some soundness issues so we got the vet out (first time needing a vet in 1 year+ of owning/ leasing horses so just got the local big vet) they said it was a tendon issue and to put her on 4cyte, pentosan injections, shoes, 2 months rest and even after the rest rarely ever trotting and living a more retired life. This is a problem because LUNA my OLD girl doesn’t like being slow. She wants to go fast ALWAYS she has eternal stamina, if I give her an hour workout, all she needs is a 5 minute break and she’s got all her energy back.
My BO and trainer think she’s fine and everyone has told me that the vet I used only employs brand new vets and a lot of them, you never get the same vet, and they are all about the money and prescribing everything they can to get you to spend more money. The lameness comes and goes, she’s more lame on harder surfaces, but sometimes she isn’t so it’s hard to know when she will be, she drags her back left so compensates on her fronts. Even when she is lame, she wants to go fast, no objections to going forward and no ear pinning (she’s too refined for that stuff 😂) she just limps a little.
She’s been cleared for abscesses, everyone at my agistment doesn’t think it’s a tendon issue, more a chiro issue (which we are getting out soon, everyone calls the chiro ‘god’)
We have put her on 4cyte (she’s been on for only about 2 weeks so not working yet) and she had some time off (I had Covid as well so couldn’t do anything if I wanted) first ride back she was a bit spooky (nothing out of the ordinary)
She spooked at:
Bags of bedding (she watched the person drive the car, unload the bags and drive off, but only spooked 10 minutes after they had left) she was cautious every time we went past but calmed down
She also spooked at:
A person walking
Air
A person walking
Another person walking.
She calmed and didn’t spook again after those 😂

I don’t know if I have talked about it on this forum before, but 2 years ago I was at a riding school and did not progress, I was allowed the habit of leaning forward and slamming on the horses back (which has been fixed thanks to my sensitive mare 😂)
At that riding school I was also introduced to cantering, which I soon became very scared, since the horses weren’t trained very well and I hadn’t even learned how to sit the trot. When I realised what was happening I leased my first lease horse, which was also mistake because the owner talked him up way too much (he was recovering from poor farrier work so I didn’t get a test ride and I had to bring him back into work) he was lazy in the trot but one day we were going over a trot pole and he overreacted and bucked me off, which knocked my confidence even more.
When the owner got on him to canter him, he was NOT happy, pigrooting, throwing his head, etc so needless to say I didn’t canter him and I ended the lease after 9 months.
Fast forward to last Wednesday, when I had my first canter in 2 years on Luna, I was so scared but she really looked after me, after a couple seconds of cantering I was smiling so big. It was really hard not to rock because she has such a beautiful rocking horse canter. I barely had to do anything to sit (and rock 😬) to it.
I’m ECSTATIC. This little mare has given me the world of confidence, I’ve learned more in the past 3 months than I have my entire riding journey.
I’ve learned how to sit the trot (and quite well might I add 😏😂) I have overcome so many fears with her, and I’ve helped her to relax and realise she is safe (I don’t know what happened at her last owners but she had changed a bit, refer to first post)
At her last owner she was mostly a lead line pony for a 3 year old and always had a blank look on her face, since being with me she’s been a lot more perky and bright, though I led my beginner cousins on her and she got the same blank look on her face. If I ever sell her (which I will NEVER) I don’t think I’d sell her as a kids leadline as I think she’s had enough.
I’ve also started refining her leg yielding (she could when she came but with some effort and resistance) now she perfectly crosses over herself and moves without fuss.

She really is my heart horse, she is everything I wanted and more. Every time I go to her I don’t stop smiling, I can’t believe she is mine. I’m so glad I made that hour flight into another state.

also offloading some pictures of her (and her new browband I made, don’t look too closely 😬, poor thing couldn’t keep her eyes open, the sun was just too tempting to not have a nap! It’s been a raining 24/7 until recently)


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