Cob Jockey

Disco comes home next week.

It feels surreal. But also right.

Disco out for a walk in Maude's fruit orchards. She says he loves this drive because she'll gather apples in the cart to give them to the horses when they're done.

A lot has changed since he left. One year and eight months ago, in March of 2023, I was depressed, overwhelmed, and alone. Especially alone in my own head. When Lisa told me about Maude's inquiry and asked if I would be willing to send Disco north, it felt like someone threw me a life preserver in a stormy sea. It wasn't enough to get me out of the water, but it would help me keep my head above the water.

Came home from dropping Disco off at the layover facility in Kentucky in April of 2023 and cried into Connor's neck. With relief.

When I agreed to buy Disco in May of 2021, I was still Old Me. And I recognize now that Old Me was using horses to escape from feelings I didn't know how to feel and couldn't name. Horses, tack ho'ing, showing, planning training rides and throwing myself into work to pay for it all were all-consuming distractions that conveniently distracted me from my own unhappiness, which I wasn't emotionally mature enough back then to identify anyway.

So, the question is now, (and I have been trying to figure this out for the last three years), what role do horses play in my life now that I'm happy? And more saliently, where do they fit in around a significant other I actually want to spend time with, and his kids, whose little lives I am so thrilled to be a part of?

Best stallion ever, or best stallion ever?

The answer is that my life now is like a quilt woven together from a bunch of different blocks, instead of my hobby being one big all-consuming blanket. Horses are one block. Date nights and coming together as a couple are another. Sitting in the stands cheering for 6th grade basketball games are another. Working on the farm with my SO and then sitting on the porch having a beverage together at the end of a long day are another. And, happily, watching an eight year old girl discover the magic of horses and the joy of a quiet, snuggly pony are another. 

Mary giving my SO's daughter a proper lesson on Connor. I mightttttttttt have taken her on a shopping spree to the tack store for her birthday a couple of weeks after this photo was taken.

Which brings me back to Disco. I feel excited to have him back. I feel motivated to work with him. I feel fulfilled at the idea of building my next long-term partner. And I could not be happier to have to carefully plan out training rides in between the other things in my life that are important to me.

Let's do this.

About a month ago, I was first made aware of LeMieux dropping these super cute stuffed ponies that had tiny accessory sets with them. Pretty quickly though, I saw a second post on social media about a small business that's been making something very similar for much longer.

I'm not getting into all of the details or passing judgment - it does look bad, but I don't have the whole story, and this is not a gossip post. I share this only to explain how I found the original Crafty Ponies and bought one for Annie's third birthday this month:

Crafty Ponies is a UK-based business that makes stuffed ponies with braidable manes and tails, as well as (unlike the apparent LeMieux knockoffs) an enormous range of accessories to go with them. And I do truly mean enormous.

You can actually shoe them! Note the shoe on the pony's back hoof.

There's even, no joke, an intestinal parasite accessory kit, hahaha.

It's basically an American Girl doll for horse kids, but with the added bonus of being educational. Each item includes a detailed instruction manual and activity book, and despite everything being a child's scale toy, they treat all aspects of pony care as if it were real. 

Mary and Jeffrey try to provide "Annie-sized" tools in all aspects of her life as much as they can, and these grooming tools are perfectly sized for a small three-year-old's hands. Bluetooth headset for scale.

I bought Annie a pony, the grooming kit and a halter and lead rope, and each product came with its own extensive instruction/education booklet, containing information like how to safely lead your pony, how to tie a quick release knot, how to do different braids in the pony's mane and tail, etc etc. It had to have been 50 total pages of content across the four products! 

The idea behind this educational part of Crafty Ponies is that every skill the child learns on the stuffed pony will directly translate to real horses, so they go far out of their way to make every item and every piece of tack identical to the real thing.

The best part for me as the doting aunt is that until she outgrows it, I have years of birthday and Christmas presents lined up, lol. For Christmas, she's getting a bridle and a saddle (or maybe I'll spend the extra $15 for the English leather upgrade, not sure), and then maybe next year when she's four we can get into some of the more technical items.

They sell tiny riders with XC body protectors! Also the pony has a mouth, so the bridles do actually have bits.

Annie, for her part, totally loved it. It was just icing on the cake that each Crafty Pony comes with a "CP" monogram on the butt - for Crafty Pony, naturally, but since Annie calls Connor "ConnorPony", it just made the whole thing extra perfect.

And as I knew she would, Mary got right to work braiding the pony's mane and tail, lol. Her non-horsey mom was even able to put a hunter braid into the tail while Mary and I were gone that day, just by following the instruction booklet. Fun for kids and adults!

Putting a running braid in while talking to her mom

Bottom line: This is an outstanding Christmas present for young horse-crazy kids ages probably two and up. At two, it's just a cute stuffed animal, but as kids get older it can be a fun teaching tool also.

This is the "chestnut" Crafty Pony. They also have a palomino that's much lighter in color.

What: CraftyPonies

Where: https://www.craftyponies.us if you're in the US, https://www.craftyponies.shop if you're in the UK

Price: The pony is $41.95 and then the accessories range in price from about $5 to $75 for some of the more intricate leatherwork, such as the Western saddle/bridle set.

Disclaimer: I bought this with my own hard-earned money, don't know this shop owner and am not receiving any compensation for this review.