Feeling a bit sad

Boxers

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My daughter and I have had Manni on loan for just over 3 years and tomorrow we are taking him back to his owner. We are going to miss him soooo much.

At the time we took him on loan, daughter had a BS pony, but wanted to go hunting too. Her pony just freaked when she took him hunting and so we decided to look for a horse she could hunt, and that I could ride too, to hack out with her.

So we looked online and found Manni. We went to Leeds to see him, it was january and really cold. He was in a loan home but the lady had lost her job and couldn't keep him and his owner could not hsve him back right then. We went to the yard and the lady went to a field that had about 15 horses in it. She didn't even call him and he came trotting over the the gate, keen to be caught. His owner rode him in a small arena and then daughter got on. He was such a hairy beastie! He was quite a plod and daughter had trouble getting him to move. My thought was 'yes, that's the horse I want my daughter to go hunting on, the one that doesn't move!'. So we agreed to have him and collecting him a few days later.

We pulled his mane, gave him a low trace clip and set to getting to know him. What a sweet horse. After having him for about 2 weeks daughter took him hunting. He was a star. Stood still at the meet, settled somewhere in the middle of the field and jumped everything facing him. Daughter was thrilled.

Since that time, he has hunted just about every saturday and has jumped huge hedges, five bar gates, lincolnshire dykes and forded rivers. He has been a buffer for those who had no brakes, he has given leads over fences to anyone who needed, he has stood on point, he has hunted up beside the huntsman when daughter was invited.

Alongside this, he has done some SJ, HT and a couple of ODE's but absolutely hates the dressage! He has been to loads of PC rallies and training sessions as well as to camp twice, where he was quite a favourite.

He has also been a very safe hack for me. I'm afraid my days of galloping around the countryside are over and sometimes I'm a little nervous, but he has been steady and solid. You could hack him round the M25 and he wouldn't look at a thing.

But daughter is now 17 and doing her A levels. Last year we bought Jay who is only young and will need plenty of time spending on him, training him, and so we decided the time had come to return Manni to his owner. As soon as daughter's horsey friends knew we were giving him up we had numerous requests to take over the loan, but happily his owner is in a good position to have him back for herself and her daughter. They are really excited to be getting him back.

So daughter and I are not looking forward to tomorrow but at least we know who he is going to and we know that his owner loves him just as much as us and will always have his best interests at heart.

So Manni, you have been the best hunter, the safest hack and the sweetest to handle. We have been privileged to have you for the last 3 years and we will really miss you. thankfully you will not be too far away and we can visit you.


Xxxx Manni xxxX
 
Lovely post and how nice that it fits in with going back to owner for their daughter. He looks superb in your pictures.
 
So good to see a really positive loan story/experience as so often on here you only hear the negative ones and I think it puts people off entering in to loan agreements. It will be sad for you tomorrow but at least you know exactly where he's going.
 
Thinking of you tomorrow, at least you know his future is secure.

As someone who used to hunt behind Manni, I can confirm that he is the "best and most brave hunter ever".
 
Thinking of you tomorrow, at least you know his future is secure.

As someone who used to hunt behind Manni, I can confirm that he is the "best and most brave hunter ever".

Aawwwww, thanks.

Today is the day, just going to the yard now to turn him out for a while and pack his bags :(
 
Thanks everyone for your kind comments. Manni is now at the new yard, which was very nice. He has an internal stable and will be able to chat to his neighbours either side of him. His owner was very pleased to see him and I know she will take care of him, as we have done. i will really miss his good morning whinney though!

And to cheer ourselves up we stopped at a pub on the way home and had a lovely lunch. I don't know what the other diners thought to us in our riding clothes! I was sure i could smell horse poo throughout the whole meal!
 
Aw that's so lovely!

Also really lovely that you know he is going to someone else who is going to have the fun with him that you had and that he is going to be loved by another mum and daughter.

Hugs to you all

x
 
ahhhhhh.Helen.just seen this post and made me a bit tearful. As one of those mums who would have loved to have him im glad you had such a lovley time. He is one of those true genuine horses that we all would love to have and keep forever...
 
ahhhhhh.Helen.just seen this post and made me a bit tearful. As one of those mums who would have loved to have him im glad you had such a lovley time. He is one of those true genuine horses that we all would love to have and keep forever...
absolutely. X, what a lovely horse, and hope so much he gets lots of love and attentionX
 
ahhhhhh.Helen.just seen this post and made me a bit tearful. As one of those mums who would have loved to have him im glad you had such a lovley time. He is one of those true genuine horses that we all would love to have and keep forever...

Thanks Debs. we will really miss him, but sometimes it's just time to move on, and at least we know who he is with.
 
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