Our 'horse of the week' for January 12th, 2009 is a cute pony boarded at the same facility as my sister's horse, in Palgrave, Ontario. Elaine Polny has this to say of Candy.

"Candy is a Hackney Pony likely going on into her 30's! owned by Sarah Gordon. Like many other rescued horses, her exact age gets lost in the shuffle but this gal is definitely young at heart.

When Candy was rescued she was just skin and bones, but not any more, that girl likes her food and has no trouble keeping it on! Sarah brought Candy back to great health and then she became the cutest show pony in both English and Driving. She was also a wonderful school pony and a great companion to the hyper Thoroughbreds and the weanlings!

If you are familiar with the saying "A wolf in sheep's clothing", then Candy would be best described as "A cunning fox in a pony outfit!" She can outsmart the most experienced horse person. Don't let her mere 11 hh fool you, she can out-maneuver many quarter horses! And on a frisky day she can rear and buck like a wild mustang!

A memorable moment was watching a gal go out into the field to herd the horses in. While trying to get all the horses going in the same direction, sweet little Candy turned and faced her about ten feet away and the look in her eye was "I bet I can double back and make it past you before you can figure out what happened!" For a moment there, it was like watching a bull challenge the clown! In this case the bull was the person and the clown was Candy! Sure enough Candy faked to the right and ran to the left running past the person with ease. That very experienced horse gal looked over and sheepishly said, "That's one very smart pony!"

Underneath this cunningness resides the sweetest horse too! She will let you groom her for hours if you wanted, give her a bath, or doctor a wound no problem. She has admirable patience. Candy lives the life of luxury at Horses by Nature in Palgrave, Ontario where she keeps them laughing on a daily basis!"

Candy's herd mates are Atlas, Majalinda, two Standardbred mares, two Quarter Horses, and a Welsh Cob.

Congratulations to Candy for being our January 12th, 2009 Horse of the Week.

See Candy as the December page of our 2009 'Horses of Ontario' calendar.