Meet "Meri" ~ My new, little Icelandic mare...

We have been looking around for a little pony for the Grandkids and I made a good trade on Saturday for this little doll. Her name is "Meri," (pronounced Mary). She's an Icelandic mare and she's due to fowl in about 90 days.

Educating myself on the Icelandic breed, the neatest trait so far is that they can live 35 to 40 years. That's a long time to be horsing around with a cute little mare named "Meri"...

We wanted to get the Grandies a pony to ride, but not something that would scare them, or hurt them and Meri seems to be just the ticket so far. And, the added bonus is that even though their small, adults can ride them far distances. It's strange because she's tiny, but with my saddle on her, the stirrups barely clear her belly (well, she's pregnant too - the reason the saddle is crooked, it just won't stay on her!)

The little grandson's didn't mind. They had fun riding Meri and they gave her a proper introduction complete with lots of attention and hands full of crunchy treats, including a whole bag of pears for her little self to munch on.

And she gave them a very fun ride. Very, very gentle and very attentive to her precious cargo. So much so that our little 1 year old Grand didn't want to get down. He just wanted to keep riding her with his little bare piggies and cute little hands clenched on Grandma's saddle horn.

 

Our oldest little Grandson properly introduced himself to "Meri" as, "Journey Bug"... 

She put her head down and sniffed him from his head to his boots. Then she stuck her head near his pocket requesting a treat he had tucked away and then let Journey pet her big belly and acknowledge her baby inside. That was exciting for a little boy.

Then, off for a ride around the farm on Grandma's precious new toy...

 

Reading up on the Icelandic breed is pretty interesting. I didn't know a lot about them aside from a chance encounter with an Icelandic stud horse named "Gus"... in 2013. It turns out little "Meri" is from the same owner, it's actually one of the "Man-Child's" cousins.

Another interesting tidbit about the Icelandic breed is that most horse breeds have 3 gaits; walk, trot and gallop. The Icelandic breed has 5 gates; the walk, the trot, the gallop, the tolt and the flying pace. They are so smooth to ride for being so small and stalky. It's an interesting experience...

I needed a different bridle bit the first day we were playing with Meri, so I called a neighbor and she brought a few and came to see my new toy. She got on Meri to give her a spin and she was trotting, or maybe "tolting" up the highway pretending she had a glass of champagne in her hand telling me how smooth of a ride this little gal is, which totally surprised her. Meri is just this little powerhouse of gracefulness. This video pretty much shows the beauty of this horse breed. I'm just completely tickled to have one here, especially one so, so, sweet ~!

 I'm very thankful the Grandkids will learn to ride on such a special horse...