Newborn colt makes its home at the fair

By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- When you're only a few hours old, the simple act of standing on your own four feet can be very tiring.
On his first day in the world, Wheeler, a hackney stud colt owned by David and Beverly Converse of Fairfield Township, was a little unsteady on his feet and frequently crashed into the straw for a nap. But he didn't seem to mind being the center of attention Tuesday at the Columbiana County Fair.
The colt was born at about 4 a.m. Tuesday in the pony barn, and it didn't take long for word of the new arrival to spread.
By the time fair visitors began wandering the fairgrounds Tuesday morning, Wheeler was wagging his tail and twitching his ears as fairgoers admired him.
Beverly Converse said Wheeler knew instinctively to stand head to tail beside his mom so she could swish her tail in his face to keep the flies away. She said horses in a pasture will stand together that way for the same reason.
They named the colt Wheeler because of the Columbiana County Fair's motto, "Wheel on Down to the Fair," and because the wheel horses in team hitching are the strongest and most important.
Hackney ponies
Wheeler is the fourth foal from the hackney mare, Julie's Ginger, but the first sired by one of the Converse's own hackney stallions, Pine View's Night Hawk. Wheeler's parents are both hackney ponies, and Beverly intends to train Wheeler for pony hitch events, too.
The Converse's hackney, draft and miniature ponies are trained to pull wagons, two-wheeled carts or four-wheeled buggies known as Viceroys.
She brought several hackney, miniature and draft ponies to the fair. She said she's had ponies and draft horses most of her life, but now the draft ponies are her largest breeds.
She said she chose several years ago not to keep the larger draft horses such as Belgians, Percherons or Clydesdales because they are just too big. The world's largest horse, for example, is a Percheron named Goliath that stands 8 feet tall and weighs about 2,500 pounds, she said. By contrast, Wheeler weighs about 20 pounds, she said.
Motherly care
Ginger wasn't bothered by the strange sights and sounds of the fair and delivered Wheeler with no trouble. By midafternoon Tuesday she was gaining strength but was still weary.
After her overnight labor and delivery, Ginger seemed more bothered by the Converses' other horses nearby than by the admiration of fair visitors. She put her ears back and nipped at other horses when they came too close to her stall.
Meanwhile, Wheeler took short naps in between nearly constant feeding. Newborns will sleep for short periods and then get up to feed, she said. Horses generally sleep standing up because they can only lay down about 20 minutes at a time or their lungs fill with fluid.
Once while lying in the straw, Wheeler kicked his feet high and rolled in the straw to scratch his back.
After more trial-and-error efforts to pull his feet under him and stand, Wheeler wobbled to his feet and nudged Ginger's belly for more food. Soon his rapidly wagging tail signaled his success.
tullis@vindy.com