Benji - the horse that will always remain with me

I can remember the day I first let him get his first taste of freedom in the field, he looked more than a little lost but he soon got the hang of it, I stood with him for a few moments then turned away, and in typical Benji style he tried to follow me but I climbed back over the fence and walked calmly away, knowing he’d soon settle and stop looking lost.

In the field next to him was a very cute little Shetland named Bobbins, who was a right character and known for causing mayhem but he was soon calling out to Benji, and in his own round about way, Benji slowly approached him, although he did look rather confused as if to say ‘is that really a pony?’. Seeing him in the field that day brought home to me just how far we’d come in a few short months, it was worth it.

He was very slowly introduced to the other horses he’d eventually be sharing a field with, but his heart belonged to Sophia’s horse, Kayleigh, they would call to each other as soon as they saw each other and became firm friends.
 
Such a great story, you did amazingly well to save him, especially being so young!! What a gorgeous face Benji had. He looks like a gorgeous boy. So sorry you lost him, but he knew how much you loved him and it sounds like he had a very happy life with you after such a bad start xx
 
Words fail me, for the way he suffered, to the way you saved him, words cannot convey the strength of feeling.

You are amazing. Simple as.

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Benji was still distrusting of humans, and would let very few of us near him in those early days. His big sad eyes told a story of fear and hurt, and looking into them caused me distress but together we were bonding, the short walk to the paddock and in the stable, he let me guide him. With time he stopped making a fuss over me stroking his face.

I would spend hours softly talking to him, stroking him and letting him take things at his own pace. When the vet came out after I’d had him for 8 months he told me it might be a good idea to start building his muscles up, firstly by some short leading exercises and build up to long reining then lunging. I was worried about this but I knew eventually we’d get there.

We started walking to the back field and back which was about 10 minutes each way, it was a slow process and the first day I didn’t think we’d get past the paddocks at the first but with a little encouragement we did it, those first steps again gave me hope, although I was well aware of the other girls making nasty remarks out of ear shot.
 
That's an incredible story, he sounds like a real wee fighter. I can't believe you did all that at 14. I take it your parents were supportive? So sorry you have lost him now, he was beautiful, love the big bottom lip lol. R.I.P. Benji
 
They weren't particuarly supportive, his treatment was funded by the rescue centre and i worked at the yard to pay for his livery. the only person in my family who ever understood my love of horses was my Gran!
 
OK - you got me - tears streaming now! What a moving story. For someone so young to have the determination and commitment you showed to Benji is wonderful, so you take credit for it. And what a fighter he must have been to have survived what he went through for so long and then decide to trust someone. He clearly deserved the chance you gave him.
I can't believe others on the yard were nasty about what you were doing. They must be pretty shallow people not to have supported you.
Thank you for sharing yours and Benji's story. I'm so sorry you lost him so soon, but at least he had years of kindness and care and was clearly a happy boy with you.
 
I will never forget this thread. RIP Benji

Benji1, you are amazing! Such a wise head on a 14 year old back then! I remember the things I used to get up to after school as a 14 year old. Bringing a horse back to health and vitality from the brink of death was not one of them! You are an absolutley an amazing person!

I dont know what else to say other than I feel very warmed by your story. There are such things as happy endings.........thanks to people like you.

Big Big hugs!!!! x
 
I would love to know who said this "Horses change lives. They give our young people confidence and self esteem. They provide peace and tranquility to troubled souls- they give us hope!" ... I might have changed his life, but he changed mine too
 
That post made me cry! Had to try and pass it off as eyes watering due to sneezing to my OH! ;)

The horse world needs more people like you!
 
Day by day, week by week the progress was obvious, not only was his coating coming through but he was developing some muscle as well. It had now got to the point where he would let me pick his feet out without shying away or refusing. He was turning into a superstar, and others at the yard, noticed.

A few actually had the cheek to ask if they could ride him when he was better, I was firm with my decision ‘you didn’t want to know him when he was half dead, why should you ride him when he’s fit’, needless to say that didn’t make me many friends, but I had Sophia supporting me (mainly making me smile and bringing me cups of tea!). One day it all came to a head when I came down to the yard to a girl attempting to put a head collar on him, luckily she was getting no where near him! I was livid!

It was ridiculous not once did they make a nice comment, offer to help, or as others had, offer to let me ride their horse whilst Benji was so poorly, and I grew to hate that yard, needless to say I made a pretty sharp decision to relocate, and found us a beautiful yard with only 9 other horses and huge fields, it was perfect. During this time I was battling with my own demons but my focus was on Benji and I knew that he’d listen to anything I had to say.
 
i cant believe you went through all of this at the age of fourteen, i could never have done it thats for sure :( rest in peace benji :(
 
Jackie, the new yard owner was instantly taken in by Benjis story and his looks, by this point he’d already shown a fair bit of character to the point where if I asked if he wanted his feed he’d ‘nod’ his head, much to our amusement. Jackie had a daughter at the time, aged 9, who couldn’t understand why anyone would have hurt him, it took her a long time to get her head round the fact that not all humans are nice.

Benji was put in a field with a cob called Charlie, who was a very handsome piebald, and also a complete nutcase but they would stand with their noses touching, looking very cute indeed. I started long reining him for 10 minutes a day in order to get some muscle on him, it was a slow process as Benji had obviously never done this before, he planted his feet the first time we tried but after 2 weeks of taking no more than 10 strides we got right the way round the farm and he came back to the yard with his ears pricked forwards looking very pleased with him self. My horsey life was going from strength to strength but away from the yard it was an entirely different story.
 
This is a very sad story but as it goes on it is becoming very beautiful and inspiring with both you and benji!!!It is an absolute gratitude to you both so far and is great to know how people like you really do care!He was a beautiful horse and you can see the personality in his face but most of all you can see the beautiful spark in his eye to show how happy he was!!!Well done to you and i will follow this thread for definate,R.I.P. Benji you beautiful boy!!!xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
What an amazing story and an amazing person you are!!! He was such a handsome boy R.I.P gorgeous man. Run free i know lila will be looking after you up there.

Keep up the story benji1. Do you have anymore pics of this amazing boy?
 
oh the cruelty people can show is just beyond belief....
what a lovely horse, given a chance at a very happy life after all the trauma by an amazing young girl
inspiring :)
so sorry to hear he is now RIP.... big hugs
 
I have never read such an amazing story it has had me in tears all the way through, Its beyond belief the evil things some people do to horses.
You are an inspiration to us all you are clearly thoughtful and caring and showed so much strength and heart to do what you did with Benji.
As for Benji what a beautiful boy, when you first see the picture you just see a beautiful horse, then you see the scars ( that made me cry the most) then you see how happy he looks and what a kind trusting look he has in his eye. RIP beautiful boy.
I wish you all the best in the future i am a strong beliver in Karma so there must be something really good coming your way. All the best Teresa
 
That is such a heartwarming, tearjerking story. I am so pleased he was lucky enough to have had you in his life, who turned it around for him and showed him the happiness he deserved. He sounds like he was a truly remarkable, and not forgetting strong horse. You should be very proud of yourself and you will always have those wonderful memories of him to treasure for ever. RIP Benji. And thank you for posting this thread it really is inspirational. xx
 
Thank you for your comments, he was indeed a very strong horse, it makes me cry to write, I can try and write some more tonight if you all want
 
Benji in many respects saved my life, and I do believe if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have had the happy ending I did. He very quickly became my best friend and my only confidant. We both met at a time in our lives when we had huge issues, but we bonded as a partnership and I loved him. He was making huge amounts of progress both physically and psychologically and I was over the moon with it all, my vet once said ‘I’m glad he’s found the heart of a little girl, he deserves it’. He was a right character and poo picking the field became a different game altogether, never mind put the poo in the barrow, it was more like ‘lets head butt mammy while she does it, then tip the barrow over’ but it was a huge turning point, not only was he letting me interact with him, he was asking me too as well. He was becoming more and more open about his affections and would whinny and whicker to me as I walked by him, it was a very warming feeling that kept me going through the turmoil of my private life.
 
His muscles were developing well and I was slowly upping the long lining in order to keep in line with that, and whilst he wasn’t particularly willing to work with other people, I felt him relax when we were given time and space to be a partnership. In my eyes as long as he was happy and healthy, his social skills could be worked on at a later date as I felt he needed the stability of one to one work rather than being over faced with too many people.

What he lacked in relationships with people, he made up with his equine friends in abundance. He wanted to touch every horse or pony he met, and developed and maintained many positive relationships, his playful side appealed greatly to the youngsters he encountered and his calmness appealed to the veterans. He was a placid, contented horse.
 
What a very open and truly touching story of Benji, you are something special yourself as well as him. I am so sorry he's gone now, but to have these memories still to go over in your mind is wonderful. I would love to hear more please.
 
12 weeks of long lining paid off and I was told I could start lunging, initially for 10 minutes a day as well as 30 minutes long lining and other than the first few sessions were he wanted to be near me, he soon learnt how to behave on the lunge.

We worked slowly and made steady progress, I found that working him in the morning produced the most positive results, possibly because there wasn’t anyone else around to distract him. He became good at working off my vocal aids, and the tension which had arisen in the early sessions disappeared, seeing him like that made me unbelievably happy. I always tried to end the sessions when I felt he had done well and was relaxed.

His wounds were by now fully healed, and although he had been left with some rather ‘ugly’ scars even they were beginning to settle and look less angry. I gradually began to introduce other people into the mix, the first person was Sophia who had been there from the start, we started with her hand feeding him hay, which although it took a few attempts, was successful, and over the coming weeks we progressed on to stroking his neck, holding him in a lead rope, and grooming. Some days he would physically panic and break out in a sweat, but those days were becoming much less frequent.
 
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