Polo Pony Rescue

09/01/2025

Labor Day! And who labors harder than our horses?

I joke that some of our old polo ponies have 300k on the odometer and I'm not sure I'm far off. I watched a lot of these guys at polo when I was still grooming. Some of them belonged to players who only had 1 or 2 horses so every day was a double chukker day - not one but two 7 minute periods.

Think about that. We think that racing is hard work, but even a 1-1/4 mile race is over in around 2 minutes. Our polo ponies run flat out, plus add in stopping, turning and ride-offs (bumping) to that mix. And they're not carrying 125 pounds - frequently they're carrying 175-200.

They work hard, and by the time they get to retirement, they have just as many aches and pains as any pro athlete. They are so deserving of some years of hanging out with their buddies, eating well and just relaxing - and they get that reward when you donate.

This Labor Day, while you're enjoying the lack of client calls and a cocktail instead of yet another cup of hideous office coffee, take a minute to shoot a little something our way for the horsey retirement fund over here! We need to get another truckload of hay ($7800) in two weeks and every little bit helps.

08/30/2025

I know people don’t like chestnuts but I also don’t understand it.

08/27/2025

Skippy is trying to adjust to this major change in his world. He was all alone on a property for the last three or four years, and before that he only lived with a few horses at a time. Being #26 here is a huge change! He is eating, drinking and pooping — just with a lot of pacing and some whinnying thrown in as well.  This is pretty normal for stallions who have lived in isolation most of their lives. I’m sorry that he has to make this adjustment at his age, but I know he will. He’s a very sensible horse!

08/25/2025

Welcome to Skippy! Skippy is Skips Big Town Cause, a 25 year old AQHA stallion. He is a grandson of Smooth Town and a great grandson of Skippa Ward and Rebel Cause. He was a super good boy to load and haul even though he hadn’t done that in 14 years!

08/21/2025

Thank you so much Woody for taking the time to write this awesome article about your volunteer experience here! We really enjoyed having you and your Dad and it has been so nice to have a clean and well organized tack room again! There are always so many projects that no one has time to tackle and we are always looking for more volunteers. Send a message if you are interested in joining us!

08/20/2025

Huge thanks to Jan a.k.a. Honey's Mom for donating these awesome stud panels to help build the new pen for our incoming 25 year old AQHA stallion! We are so excited to bring him over here this weekend and give him more room to run.

08/16/2025

I've always said that if I hadn't focused on polo ponies, I would have had a rescue for old stallions - an Old Friends, but for other breeds as well. So often, they don't wind up in good places and you can fit the number of rescues that will help them on the head of a pin. I know Vera will at Love This Horse, but of course she's Arabian-focused. Nicki Branch will, at Falcon Ridge. But most rescues just don't have stallion-experienced people and they have liability concerns, so they say no.

I also said I absolutely was not taking in more horses, but we can't really say no to this one. He's 25, he needs soaked food, his elderly owners have lost their home, and he's three miles from me. He's super sweet and sociable and he's losing the home he's had since the day he hit the ground. I won't tell the whole story here but suffice it to say his owners did nothing wrong and it is just sad. As you can see, they took very good care of him and their only wish is that he be safe for the rest of his life. Well, we're going to give them that.

It is going to require some additional fence panels! I'm looking for used ones near me now. If you'd like to contribute to the fence panel fund, we'd greatly appreciate it! Venmo is - be SURE you're seeing the one that says Cathy Trope along with the name or it might be a scammer. Zelle and Paypal are [email protected]. Direct link to use any card is www.paypal.me/poloponyrescue

08/15/2025

Just a reminder that when you throw your money at mass bailing scammer fake rescues who pull hundreds of horses a year if not thousands, and rarely if ever give an update on how those horses are doing, this is the kind of person those horses end up with. You bought their ticket.

If you must rescue using the least efficient way of doing so, don't bail what you cannot PERSONALLY take in, at your house or local boarding stable, where you know if it's eating. I'm so tired of "well I didn't knooooooow. I was told he was safe." At some point you have to be expected to have a couple of working brain cells to rub together. You can't ALL be the people who think Johnny Depp is in a relationship with them on Facebook messenger.

More info on this case: https://netposse.com/news.asp?id=4107&p=

08/12/2025

Thank you to VoyageLA for giving me the opportunity to talk about all the things I love!

Today we'd like to introduce you to Cathleen Trope. Hi Cathleen, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?I grew up in a polo barn in Milwaukee, W

08/09/2025

A little extra help today for two of our horses who are struggling with hoof issues. When I lived in Wisconsin, we could leave everybody happily barefoot but here in the desert, the hard and rocky soil does mean some horses need shoes. I love barefoot when it’s possible but our horses get what they do best with instead of a one size fits all approach.

08/08/2025

I love having them at home but I admit I was having a morning where I was out hanging hay bags and thought, I'm so tired, I bet this is how I will die...I bet they will find me one day, flat in the middle of the driveway with a hay bag next to me. 🤣

And then I had coffee and lived to fight another day. Can't wait for summer to be over though - there are no words for how much I absolutely loathe this season. Anybody who likes summer is for sure not over the age of 25 and doing daily farm chores in it!

Hahaha we totally agree 😅

08/06/2025

Dragonfly, a 21 year old and ex polo pony. I love her story because it’s a rare example of every owner doing what was best for her, all down the line. Her racing owner made her into a polo pony. When she retired from that, she came to us, and we adopted her out to a home in Arizona. When it turned out that she had a physical issue that would prevent her from doing dressage, the reason they adopted her, we were able to get some help from local rescue Equine WellBeing to place her in a more appropriate home there. And when that home could no longer keep her, we worked together with Equine WellBeing to bring her back home to California, where she will live for the rest of her life, enjoying her retirement. No one dropped the ball, not ever. I wish that they were all so lucky!