The mine ponies were very well treated. The miners would bring treats for the mine ponies.  The mine ponies lived underground when the mines were operating (in the winter months). In the summer months, the ponies would come out and spend the summer outside. When the ponies were working underground, they also wore hard hats to protect their heads from cave-ins and rock falls.

There was one pony named Strawberry who lived and worked at the Atlas Coal Mine. She had incredible hearing.  One day, Miner Joe took Strawberry out of the underground stable where she lived.  He hitched her up to a few coal cars and started towards a mine tunnel.  They had been traveling for quite some time, when all of a sudden Strawberry stopped and would not go any further.