Last week, I mentioned that Maria was thinking of letting Chloe go to another home or farm where she might have more work to do. Two people have come bye to meet her, and we were impressed by them them and they seemed to love Chloe, but for various reasons, it didn’t work out.

We realized it would be very possible to send Chloe to a new home, but we also are uncertain about it.

I think we are moving towards keeping Chloe, it is an interesting discussion on the farm, Maria and I are reversing roles a bit.

Maria loves Chloe and is very happy she is here, and the pony seems equally fond of Maria, they both get along so well, a relationship of trust, love and nurture. Chloe gives me a bit wet kiss every morning, it’s a great way to start the day.

Maria is extremely conscientious about animal care, and like me, she believes that working animals ought to work and have work to do. So do I.

As the New York Carriage Horse controversy reminded me yet again, there is a great schism in the country between people who own pets and people who own animals (the animal rights movement doesn’t seem to like either group).

People who own pets find the idea of re-homing an animal horrifying, people who live with working animals understand that animals like dogs and ponies and carriage horses and many elephants are born and bred to work and desperately need work in order  to be healthy and content. Work is not abusive or cruel or exploitive for working animals.

We are sending countless working animals – ponies, elephants, horses – to idle lives on rescue preserves or to slaughter because there is nothing for them to do once we feel better about ourselves by banning them from their work.

So when I mentioned we might give Chloe to another family or farm, there was some of the usual squawking from people who understand nothing about animals who work. I specialize in ignoring those people.

Maria doesn’t ride and she often feels guilty about Chloe, she thinks the pony should have more work to do, like having children and other people ride them. Maria is very busy these days, and sometimes things (she is wrong) that she is neglecting the animals. That is what a conscientious animal lover often feels, it is a healthy thing to worry about, horse trainers will tell  you that the horses they feel sorry for are not the ones who work, but the ones who don’t.

I believe Maria is being too hard on herself, as sometimes happens. She spends time with all of the the animals every day, she is very aware of all of them, checks on them every day, she helps feed them,  grooms and trains and trims and brushes Chloe every day. She sits with the donkeys every day, Lulu and Fanny adore her.

I think Chloe is quite happy here, and I think we are both very happy to have her here. She has added something to our lives. She looks healthy and is alert and active and affectionate. She has enough land to roam around gets plenty of exercise.

She is learning to kiss, touch things, and has blended in beautifully with the other animals here. I cherish her loud whinny every morning when we get up and look outside the window.

I imagine if someone came along who wants a pony and could offer Chloe a better life than we do, we will always consider that. That is what we believe, especially for a pony. For now, I suspect Chloe will stay a part of the farm family.