Dragon

Dragon is a tank of a draft pony and is registered as an American Draft Pony. He is 7 years old and stands about 14hh. This "pony" is really just a short draft horse and is perfectly capable of handling adult riders. He is sound, healthy, and has great feet. This boy is super sweet, with an in your pocket personality and is not at all spooky. He is broke to ride; he was previously used at a cattle feedlot and in parades. He recently went with a trainer for a tune up and then to the big SAFE show. In the show he won 2nd in two out of the three English Pleasure classes that he competed in. He really does need an intermediate rider or better in order to shine. On the ground he can be pushy, with no personal boundaries and can be too much for a timid handler or rider, but most folks just refer to that as "ponytude". He bathes, clips, ties, jumps easily into trailers and stands well for tacking up. He is not herd bound and is one of those rare horses who would be perfectly suitable as an only-horse. He is food motivated and smart enough to be able to bribe. Overall he has a sweet nature and absolutely loves attention. Dragon is good with the vet and farrier and is up to date on everything.

Dragon was the second to last horse through the huge two-day sale at the Fall Hermiston Extravaganza auction. I had been very sick during the auction and so had spent most of the time back at the hotel room. As it was getting towards the end of the sale and I was feeling bad again I had decided to leave, however on my way out of the sale grounds I saw this drafty pony being led towards the waiting area for the sale ring. I went back and waited for him to go through, but it was a while yet and he turned out to be the second to last horse. By the time he came through, most of the kill buyers had already left. I bid on him and was bid up a couple of times, but I couldn't see who was bidding and assumed it was a kill buyer, however I ended up buying him for less than slaughter price. After the auction I caught up with his previous owners to try and get some history on him. They had called him Frankie and had recently purchased him for their grandkids, but he was too much horse for the children. Prior to that he had been used to work cattle on a feedlot in eastern WA. The vaqueros would use him from dawn until dusk working cattle, doing whatever needed doing, and even doing parades. The last owners did not know his breeding or his history beyond that.