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Have you ever said yes to something you did not really know what was? Danish Ponydad Thomas Pelle Vang has. Like most ponydad´s, he entered the equestrian world with blinders on. In other words, he had no idea what he was getting into. Even though both his wife and daughter had "warned" him - Aah, how bad can it really be, he thought, RED as he was. Follow his journey from RED to YELLOW as he tells you his story.
I barely got into the stable the first day before it dawned on me - I was not RED but GREEN when it came to this crazy world. Although I wanted to, I could not hide it from the others in the stable. Not even the other Ponydad who was in the process of receiving a proper cursing because he was standing and caressing a big stallion with wild eyes and ears turned back. "Look how good friends we are, honey," I heard him say. Just before his six-year-old daughter fired the first round of curses, and he went out side with smoke coming out his ears.
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Over time, I moved quietly from GREEN to YELLOW. I started mugging the pony's stall and no longer slammed the door into the saddle room every time. At times, I even got myself convinced that I was in full control of the horsy thing. Because now I was talking almost fluent horse, or so I thought at least. Because there were still giggles behind my back, and my daughter's sky-turned eyes were still there occasionally.
If I do say so, I think that I am a pretty cool ponydad today. But I am well aware that I have a lot of blind spots. It is not obvious to everyone around me that I do not always know what I am doing. Because I look like a real pony-whisper with stable boots and all. And there are more days when it all just plays out fine, and I don´t need help. I get the horse trailer ready, fill the hay net. I even remember to go in and pick up the horse-passport before we drive to yet another show in yet another village I have never heard of before. Those days I'm flying, and if you should stop me on such a day on my way from the saddle room to the trailer with my arms full of show gear and took a color sample - I will not be able to rule out that it will be RED.
In fact, it should probably be BLUE, because I still have a hard time hiding my ignorance. Which I am repeatedly reminded of when my daughter discreetly tells me that I have put the spurs upside down or rolled the bandages the wrong way. But proud Ponydad as I am, I can´t completely see my way out situations like the one above.
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If I should guess, I think my primary Ponydad color is YELLOW. When I write that my primary color is YELLOW, it is because from time to time I switch between the colors like a chameleon. After all, I do not think it is possible to be the same color all the time.
To know that you are an incompetent Ponydad can be difficult at times. One can easily fall falt on ones face. Especially if you usually are the best at what you do, or just have a hard time accepting that you are the "stupidest" in the room. Unfortunately, I think there are quite a few fathers who have resigned from the role of Ponydad because of this. I do not belong to the latter group, however, because instead of giving up, I chose to do something about my ignorance.
I started to get acquainted with things, and over time it has become easier to follow my wife and daughter's conversations in the stable. What used to be white noise now began to make sense, and soon I could even tell the difference between bandages and gaiters. 1 - 0 to Ponydad. I am aware that I will never get to know everything there is to know about horses or just half as much as my daughter. But that is ok. Because after all, it is for her sake that I am there, and if I need help, I can just ask for it. Cause there are no horse girl or Ponymom for that sake in the world who will not help a lost Ponydad.
