SpottyTB
Well-Known Member
Sorry need to vent and sort of ask a question at the same time...
Bit of a long one, so bare with me please.
2 years ago, i decided to find a rider for my lovely little spotty mare. I'd literally just finished the season on a high, having competed in several hunter trials coming in the top 3 every time and competed at our local county show in the inter-hunt relay and doing amazing (stuff i never dreamt i'd get to do on her!)
It was an incredibly hard decision, but i felt like i couldn't do anymore and with my warmblood coming up to ridden age and my husbands hunter needing riding - i decided that spotty needed someone else. Too precious to sell - a bit to scatty (although a wonderful talent) to sell .. so i put an advert out for loan to stay at present yard. I hard so many enquiries, all wanting her to jump - i didn't want her to be used as a complete machine for a pot hunter - so decided to go with a local girl, who mainly wanted to hack, hunt with the occasional lesson or show (perfect!!).
So skip on a year, said woman had had spotty on loan with me successfully for the year - had picked up the routine, helped out - lovely job! We moved yards for several reasons, and i made the decision - because i liked and trusted said girl - to let my beloved spotty pony go away from me to another yard (on loan still).
I visited several times - all was fine - a few little things that niggled me (mainly her letting said pony be cheeky and get away with murder at times)! Last April, i wanted to borrow pony for the inter hunt again, went to pick her up to take her to a trial - and literally took her rug off to find not much more than skin and bones under her rug - put it this way, she could not lose much more. So i gave loaner a firm talking too (advice given really), and i decided to give her a chance because it was the first year of managing pony in the winter without any help from me and i did wander if pony was a bit glum about the yard moves (x2) and maybe leaving me - i'm pretty much all she knows.
Anyway, pony put on a bit of weight over the summer - not really enough to completely satisfy me, but enough to give me hope that she was on top of it. Loaner recently asked me about hunt cards - as she wants to get out hunting etc etc... been riding her every weekend, this sunday she went for a 1.5hr ride ... we were due to meet her after her ride as other half was going to shoe her. Went to the yard, pony was brought up to van for shoeing. Loaner says to me "urgh she's got a couple of little knicks on her hinds"... so i go and have a look, well my god... said knicks were about 2inches wide/tall, one was REALLY hot and swollen and the other (obviously the older wound) had sand/grit/mud in it! She was sound, not moving 100% how i'd like but was sound - but not sure i'd have ridden her to be honest...
Then i took her rug off.... again, skin and bone. Really tiny version of the horse i loaned in the first place. I'm absolutely gutted. Loaner has only just put her in a heavyweight (she's a TBxKnabstrupper - so not exactly a heavy fat hairy cob)... also living out 24/7 on a field of 1ft mud and they were throwing out 1.5 small bales of hay a day - between 2 large horses and my 15hh mare. Needless to say, loaner and i had words - i was very nice, but it was agreed that i was going to take spotty pony back. Picked her up the next day and she's out on a long holiday with my gran in a field full of grass and NICE non bullying/kicking company!!
I feel so sad that it went that far and AGAIN having offered so much advice.. I feel like the bad person for removing pony but i'm really not sure i'd have had a pony left by the end of the winter...
So my question is, do decent knowledgeable people exist that want to ride horses like mine?! She's amazing, 15hh whizzy pony - a bit quirky... but my god, she'll jump anything you point her at out hunting (5 bar gates, banks, hedges, ditches etc)... competed successfully in open HT's (always in top 3)... clear and placed 1m show jumping... 100% in traffic, sometimes jogs out but settles with more work. You can do anything with her on the ground!
Obviously said pony will be on holiday until she is fat and happy - and back to the horse i know her as, i will then start riding her again and then consider someone riding her from my grans... i don't think i'm confident enough to let her go again so sad this has happened!
Bit of a long one, so bare with me please.
2 years ago, i decided to find a rider for my lovely little spotty mare. I'd literally just finished the season on a high, having competed in several hunter trials coming in the top 3 every time and competed at our local county show in the inter-hunt relay and doing amazing (stuff i never dreamt i'd get to do on her!)
It was an incredibly hard decision, but i felt like i couldn't do anymore and with my warmblood coming up to ridden age and my husbands hunter needing riding - i decided that spotty needed someone else. Too precious to sell - a bit to scatty (although a wonderful talent) to sell .. so i put an advert out for loan to stay at present yard. I hard so many enquiries, all wanting her to jump - i didn't want her to be used as a complete machine for a pot hunter - so decided to go with a local girl, who mainly wanted to hack, hunt with the occasional lesson or show (perfect!!).
So skip on a year, said woman had had spotty on loan with me successfully for the year - had picked up the routine, helped out - lovely job! We moved yards for several reasons, and i made the decision - because i liked and trusted said girl - to let my beloved spotty pony go away from me to another yard (on loan still).
I visited several times - all was fine - a few little things that niggled me (mainly her letting said pony be cheeky and get away with murder at times)! Last April, i wanted to borrow pony for the inter hunt again, went to pick her up to take her to a trial - and literally took her rug off to find not much more than skin and bones under her rug - put it this way, she could not lose much more. So i gave loaner a firm talking too (advice given really), and i decided to give her a chance because it was the first year of managing pony in the winter without any help from me and i did wander if pony was a bit glum about the yard moves (x2) and maybe leaving me - i'm pretty much all she knows.
Anyway, pony put on a bit of weight over the summer - not really enough to completely satisfy me, but enough to give me hope that she was on top of it. Loaner recently asked me about hunt cards - as she wants to get out hunting etc etc... been riding her every weekend, this sunday she went for a 1.5hr ride ... we were due to meet her after her ride as other half was going to shoe her. Went to the yard, pony was brought up to van for shoeing. Loaner says to me "urgh she's got a couple of little knicks on her hinds"... so i go and have a look, well my god... said knicks were about 2inches wide/tall, one was REALLY hot and swollen and the other (obviously the older wound) had sand/grit/mud in it! She was sound, not moving 100% how i'd like but was sound - but not sure i'd have ridden her to be honest...
Then i took her rug off.... again, skin and bone. Really tiny version of the horse i loaned in the first place. I'm absolutely gutted. Loaner has only just put her in a heavyweight (she's a TBxKnabstrupper - so not exactly a heavy fat hairy cob)... also living out 24/7 on a field of 1ft mud and they were throwing out 1.5 small bales of hay a day - between 2 large horses and my 15hh mare. Needless to say, loaner and i had words - i was very nice, but it was agreed that i was going to take spotty pony back. Picked her up the next day and she's out on a long holiday with my gran in a field full of grass and NICE non bullying/kicking company!!
I feel so sad that it went that far and AGAIN having offered so much advice.. I feel like the bad person for removing pony but i'm really not sure i'd have had a pony left by the end of the winter...
So my question is, do decent knowledgeable people exist that want to ride horses like mine?! She's amazing, 15hh whizzy pony - a bit quirky... but my god, she'll jump anything you point her at out hunting (5 bar gates, banks, hedges, ditches etc)... competed successfully in open HT's (always in top 3)... clear and placed 1m show jumping... 100% in traffic, sometimes jogs out but settles with more work. You can do anything with her on the ground!
Obviously said pony will be on holiday until she is fat and happy - and back to the horse i know her as, i will then start riding her again and then consider someone riding her from my grans... i don't think i'm confident enough to let her go again so sad this has happened!
Last edited: