sackett

Clay and I had a long talk one day and decided we just didn't have enough animals.

Two horses, two dogs, one cat, fourteen chickens, one starling, two adopted barn cats, and one adopted barn dog just weren't cutting it for us. Not to mention the herd of cows nearby and the other 4-5 dogs that come to visit regularly from the in-laws. We were feeling a little lonesome.

Fortunately our friends the Hietts came to our rescue. They are looking to move down towards Branson to be closer to a new job and will have to downsize from a country home to an apartment. This means that a new home had to be found for their sheep and pony. To be completely honest the whole situation unfolded like this: "Yeah, we have to move to an apartment. You don't want a pony do you?" "Um, sure!".

What can I say, I'm a sucker. I hope this story doesn't get passed around too much and I end up with ten more horses.... But really, it couldn't be a better set up. And I'm afraid we're getting the much better end of the deal. Just look at that shaggy pony face:

Sackett is one of those animals that walks by faith, not by sight. And he's a sweetie. Although I hear his sheep buddies were pretty upset to say good-bye to him, he's settled in very nicely at our place. As I speak he's grazing peacefully in our lower field with new buddies Chico and Wild Thing. And he's learned that Margaret equals apple treats. He loves her. And she is pretty smitten by him.
I don't think she realizes just how lucky she is. How many two year old girls get their very own pony to brush, feed treats, ride around, and "chase" (she helps me lunge him sometimes). Of course we are trying to emphasize that she's borrowing the pony from her friend Nancy Mae, so when he gets to go home she'll understand. But for now she gets to enjoy the sweetest little pony I've ever met. My personal favorite part is the tiny tack that I get to put on him.

I always told Clay that I never wanted a small pony for our kids because I just haven't had good experiences with their sassy attitudes. Including a certain nasty little red pony named Rosy that I was forced to ride at a Wash U. college horse show..... was it her red hair? or her shortness complex? ...but I digress. Sackett definitely has a perky personality but when it comes to Margaret he's quite the gentleman. He's accepted that his job is to tote little kids around and have them oogle over his cuteness. That must come from his years as a lesson pony and his big debut as the Logos School mascot in Moscow, Idaho - the flashy knight's steed.
So we don't know how long we'll be honored with his presence but little Sackett has won us over pretty quickly.