The best Valentine I ever got

A couple of weeks ago, I got the best Valentine I've ever received. A miniature pony bearing that name.

It all started when my dad looked at a little local newspaper and saw miniature ponies at a good price. Let me give you some background, my mom and I both enjoy the tv show "Heartland". In this show there is an older woman that has a small pony and his name is "Sugarfoot" since seeing this show, my mom has been talking about how someday she wants her own Miniature, to the point where in our home the term isn't "Miniature horse" it's "Sugarfoot". So we went and looked at the ponies that same evening.

Once we got there, we saw Valentine. The owner told us that that's just what the kids called him, and that was only because he was born on Valentine's Day 2012. My mom says when he looked at me his eyes lit up, while I was busy checking over his confirmation, picking up his feet and seeing if he was at all head-shy. Apparently when we went to look at the other one for sale he got this "Nooooo!!" look on his face. The younger pony was still nursing, and wasn't a big fan of people yet. I liked Val a whole lot better and that evening, I decided to get him. Mom just said that he was my pony from the start and that she'd get a "Sugarfoot" later on. The next day I signed the paper and loaded Valentine into the trailer with no problems. His sort-of name fit him very well, so I decided to keep it. He's such a sweetie.

So why would I want a miniature horse? It's not like I could ever ride him, right? Well, those questions lead straight into my career as a Therapeutic Horseback Riding Instructor. What I hope Valentine will someday be able to do is become a therapeutic pony. One of the advantages of having a pony that's so small is that many kids are intimidated by a horse because of it's size. If that fear is so crippling that they can't ride, then maybe they'll be able to connect with a pony that's the size of a dog. Also, miniatures are more "portable" so to speak, so he would be able to be brought to the clients much easier than a full-sized horse. Visiting hospitals and nursing homes where those that can't leave their room would bring smiles and something to look forward to every time he visited. Now, he is an ungelded yearling, so little Val has a long way to go before he's ready for this, but if he maintains his incredible love for people and fairly calm attitude, he'll do wonderfully.

So stay tuned, as we work on how to lead (which sometimes turns into lunging) haltering (we're getting there) and how he reacts to no longer being "The studly young Valentine". It's sure to be interesting.