"Cotton" the pony is ready to find his new home!!!!!!!!

Update:  Cotton has been sold! 

 We would like to wish Cotton's new owners many years of fun with their new pony! 

Thank you for taking a look at the ponies we advertise for sale...we'll be sure to post the next pony we have for sale as soon as possible!







Well, after a lot of hard work, Cotton is finally ready to be sold to his new owner!  Once again, Cotton is 11.2 hands high, he is 5-6 years old, and has had his vaccinations.  He also has a negative coggins test.  Here's a picture of Cotton when we brought him home:

We have found that Cotton is a little clown.  A clown, and a champ!  This pony has taken all his training well, and has not caused us any problems.  From teaching him to lead properly, to saddling him, to getting him working with the bit, to his first ride, he has done his best on everything asked of him, even when he was unsure of what we wanted.  Both Ansley and Dusty wish he were horse-size, because they both enjoy riding him.  Unfortunately, both Ansley and Dusty are getting taller by the day, so they would soon be outgrowing Cotton.  We believe that a younger, smaller rider is who we are looking for in Cotton's next owner. 

On the trail, Cotton is a fun pony to ride.  He listens to his rider when asked to walk, trot, or canter.  He doesn't fidget when asked to stand still, and we haven't found anything that he's spooked at.  We've encountered deer, crazy ducks that wait until we're riding right beside them to take off, and lots more common obstacles on the trail.  One day, when we were riding on the trails at Star Fort, we came across a man welding on a metal bridge deep in the woods.  The welder was being run off a super noisy generator, and the sparks were flying as he welded.  Cotton marched right past him (within 10 yards of the guy) down the trail and never skipped a beat!  We were so impressed and happy with the way Cotton dealt with this new, odd trail obstacle in his trademark cool-headed, non-reactive way!

Here's a video of Cotton on his first trail ride away from home:

Cotton doesn't care if he's the leader on the trail ride, or if he is in the middle, or if he is the last one in line.  He'll ride away (and out of site) from other horses without an issue.  He is not barn sour at all, and listens equally as well when you ride him away from the barn as when he rides back toward home after a long ride.  He's not one of those jiggy ponies than rushes back to the barn, which makes Cotton extra special, because really, is there anything worse than a horse or pony who just fights the bit the whole time you're riding back to the barn???  Cotton will also ride beside other horses well.  Some horses don't like riding side by side, or with other horses right behind them, but Cotton doesn't care.

This next video is Cotton's first attempt at crossing a creek.  Because of the drought, we actually have to intentionally look for creeks to cross.  So we planned to ride down this trail.  At first, Ansley rode Cotton down the bank, and tried to get him to cross it with the other horses standing on the bank behind him.  Cotton didn't want anything to do with the water.  This video shows how he says "No, I don't want to do that" to his rider.  Ansley attempted several times to get him straightened out, facing the creek, but Cotton still said "No."  So, two other horses were ridden across, and then Cotton decided to follow instructions.  Later, I'll post a video showing Cotton later that very day, when we passed the same creek on the way back to the horse trailer.  He walked right in, without the other horses going first.  Dusty was riding him at that point.  Anyway, we posted the following video to show that even if Cotton says "No" to his rider, he doesn't do it in a dangerous or scary way. 

Here's a picture of the kids and the two (kind of) look-alike ponies.  Ansley is on "Cotton," (on the right)  and Dusty is on "Doofus" (on the left.)  You can see that Doofus is a fat pony.  ***She prefers to be referred to as "pleasantly plump."    Cotton, on the other hand, is fit and in terrific shape. The work Ansley has done with him has added a lot of muscle tone, and the pasture he's on has added weight since we first brought him home.  He was a little on the thin side, and very unmuscular when he came to us.

In the pasture, as far as the pecking order goes, we have found that with our own separate herds of horses, Cotton is not at the top, and he's not at the bottom.  Cotton holds his own with the bigger horses in the pasture with him, as you can see below:

But he's not an aggressive bully in the pasture either.  If you have a mare, he will undoubtedly fall "in love" with her and pal up with her if she'll let him.  The above picture is of Cotton and another gelding "Dozer" having a disagreement over who gets to graze beside their favorite gray mare. 

We're happy to report that when you go out to catch Cotton, (even if he's won the prize position of grazing next to his favorite mare,) he willingly lets you halter him and lead him away from his pasturemates.  No fuss, no chasing all over the pasture, no feeling tired BEFORE you start out on your ride.  A pony that's easy to catch is priceless!

Here's that video of Cotton crossing the little creek the same day that he refused it earlier:

Cotton stands to be saddled, groomed, bridled, and will let you pick up his feet to clean them out.  He stands for the farrier without a fuss, and didn't cause a ruckus when the vet gave him his vaccinations and drew blood.  He's healthy and sound.  Cotton gets his dietary needs from pasture.  He occasionally gets grain (for a treat) and if he's put up in a stall overnight, he gets hay to munch on.  We would call Cotton an "easy keeper."  This little guy won't empty your wallet with expensive feed needs!  If you don't have nice pastureland, Cotton would do very well on a diet of good quality hay and (if you wish) a tiny amount of grain.

Here's another water video of Cotton.  Our pond is down to puddles because of the drought.  Here, Cotton and Ansley walk through really mucky (it rained over Thanksgiving) area towards that water.  Cotton goes right in...no fuss about water anymore, and no fuss about the yucky mud his hooves were sinking into.

Here's Cotton being ridden at the walk, trot, and canter, with stops and slow downs included.  Cotton isn't the "run away with a rider" type of pony. 

Here's Cotton pulling a barrel around.  Please note that there are a LOT of distracting things going on in this pasture at the same time.  The barrel dragging behind him, the rope that's bumping him in the rear, the dog running around (Cotton's not scared of dogs) and there is a 9 month old cow pestering people too.  Cotton doesn't care one bit about cows.  He doesn't mindlessly chase them for sport, but he will move one around if directed to. 

Here's a video of Cotton and Ansley trotting/cantering a barrel pattern.  Ansley was in her english saddle, so she didn't attempt to rip and tear, but this shows that Cotton will make the turns when asked, and go at the gait requested.

Next, we have a video of Ansley riding Cotton bareback.  Not a big deal, but bareback riding can be fun, and it's handy to have a pony that you can just hop on and ride in the pasture if you don't feel like bothering with a saddle.

Here's Ansley, showing that Cotton stands to be mounted and can be mounted from either side:

Cotton jumping:

Another video of Cotton jumping:

Here's Cotton being bridled:

And here's Ansley, picking up Cotton's front and back hooves:

Here's a video of Cotton, being ridden by Dusty in the local Christmas parade today!  Cotton did fantastic, and looked super cute in his shiny Christmas decorations! 

And here are some pictures of Cotton at the parade:

Cotton is being offered for sale for $800.00. 

Delivery can be arranged (at a reasonable additional cost) if needed!


We will happily hold Cotton for you if you're interested in a "Christmas Pony" for a young child. 

Also, we're always willing to schedule a time for you to come and see/try out Cotton.

 
Please call 864-953-7278 to ask questions or schedule a visit with Cotton.  You can also email us at welltrainedponies@gmail.com but we do prefer phone calls. 

We can't wait to meet prospective owners and show off this fantastic little guy!