Buster
Buster
STATUS: AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION
BREED: Hackney Pony
AGE: Approx. 7 years old
GENDER: Gelding
TRAINING: Halter broke
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October 2005 At the time of his arrival, Buster was very nervous and kicked out frequently when startled. He is underweight and has a few areas of rain rot. Buster has some problems with weak stifles (rear knees) and dislocated his left stifle shortly after his arrival here. The vet came and examined him. She said that typically the horse will pop the joint back into place on their own, however Buster's muscles and tendons surrounding the joint appeared to be damaged and may require surgery. Our vet suggested taking him to Oklahoma State University's Veterinary Hospital if the joint would not hold and continued to slip out. By the next day, Buster's stifle was still in place, although weak, and he was put on stall rest for a few weeks to avoid any strain or injury from the other horses. We consulted with the vet at OSU and he stated that weak stifles were not uncommon in this breed and after his period of stall rest, Buster should be given lots of room to exercise and build up his muscles to strengthen the joint.UPDATE: Buster is doing well and is currently turned out on a three acre pasture with two other horses. He has matured into a gorgeous bay pony, with a beautiful, high stepping trot. He loves to play wrestle, rear up and race with Rebel, our mustang. His hooves were quite long when he arrived and we were concerned that they would cause stress on his joints because of the angle of their growth. We were recently able to trim all four feet, however it took quite a bit of teamwork to get the job done. Buster will require an experienced, patient trainer but should make someone a very cute light riding/driving pony or companion horse with a little time and TLC.
JUNE 2007 Buster has been relocated to our new facility and is currently enjoying the wide open spaces with his pasture mates. We will allow Buster to just "be a horse" for the next several months, giving him ample time and opportunity to stretch and strengthen his muscles while we work on getting our new facility completed and installing more fences.
MARCH 2008 Buster has been enjoying all his free time in the big pasture. He is still shy of contact at this time, but we believe he could easily learn to trust and accept handling with some consistent training. Buster is available for adoption, however, at this time he must go to an adoptive home with training experience or an adopter willing to provide the professional training Buster needs to overcome his fears.
NOVEMBER 2009 We moved Buster in from the big pasture to a paddock at the barn so he could get more accustomed to people coming and going in the day to day activity. He has settled in and likes attention, but is still cautious and learning to trust people.
FEBRUARY 2010 Buster is off to the trainer! We are very excited to be able to have him professionally trained and we know this will increase his chances for adoption tremendously and overcoming his fear will make life much less stressful for Buster.
MARCH 2010 Buster is doing awesome in training. He is learning to trust and becoming much easier to handle. He will be getting his feet trimmed this week, and will be at the trainer's for a little while longer. He is a popular little guy there and keeps everyone entertained with his comical antics and personality.
UPDATE MARCH 2010 Buster will be coming home from training this week. He is now halter broke, stands tied, accepts a saddle, stands for grooming and hoof trimming and is much more trusting about being handled.