LauraWheeler
Well-Known Member
In 2009 I desided Lucy was getting alittle older and maybe I would look for a nice youngster to bring on and eventualy lightern her work load. I thought I would look for a nice conni as i've always wanted one.
Then in October 2009 Lucy started getting strange symptoms and on Fri 13th November I got the devistating news she was very ill and probably wasn't going to make it passed xmas.
My world fell appart in that single moment and I couldn't bare to think about getting another pony. But those around me knew I needed one now more than ever. If I lost Lucy that would have been it for me I would just give up. They had to be shore I had a reason to go on. My boss found a pony for sale online. He was advertised as a 13.2hh Roan new forest pony and he was very cheep. She showed me the advert and the awful picture. I wasn't realy intrested but agreed to go and see him.
We arrived to find one of the saddest looking ponies I have ever seen. He definatly wasn't 13.2hh he was about 12.2hh. The owner refused to go and catch him and when we asked her to trot him up she refused to do that to. She also wasn't keen on riding him for us so I just tacked him up and rode him myself. The owner was telling us how she rescude him and he had had so many problems when he first came to her which she had sorted out but now she was giving up riding so was selling him (At a HUGE loss) As I rode him it was prity clear to me he'd been doped (It's quite easy to tell with geldings
)
My boss wouldn't let me say yes there and then she said I should think about it esp as he realy wasn't what I was looking for. I cryed all the way home, It honestly broke my heart leaving him there and as soon as we got home we phoned to say I'd have him. Afew days later we went to pick him up.
Once we got him home the extent of his problems became clear.
He refused to load in a lorry or trailer,
He was agressive to handle and would bite and kick me while I was grooming him,
It took over an hour to get one circle of trot on one rein on the lunge without him trying to kill you,
And he refused to be ridden, I got on him in the driveway and he would refuse to move, When you tried to make him he would just rear, buck, leap and spin. He was the same when ridden in company, the other horse could trot off ahead and dissapear round a corner and Herbie would just stand there.
It got to the point where everyone refused to ride out with me. I began trying to deal with his problems on my own till in July 2010 the bottom fell out my world when I lost my Lucy to her illness. I fell appart and for a month I couldn't even bare to look at Herbie. He wasn't my mare and I just couldn't go on without her.
Oneday a "friend" was discussing Herbie with me and she said she didn't understand why I kept him. She said he was horrid and I should take him to the pony sales and hope the meatman bought him. She said he was never going to be any good at anything and I was waisting my time with him.
I couldn't believe what she was saying about my pony. I ran out the house and down to his field and sat on the gate crying. I started remembering the start with Lucy. How everyone told me to give up on her, how she was never going to be any good and I should just have her shot. I looked down the field at Herbie and knew I had to give him a chance. I couldn't let him down like so many before me had. I needed to show him how good life could be if he lurnt to trust people.
And so it began. Many many hours batteling with him on the lunge. Slowly it did improve and I discovered he enjoyed jumping so I taught him how to jump on the lunge. Then I started trying to ride him out. Still noone would come with us and I descovered the only way to get him to move was to get off and litraly drag him down the road. So I would get on him he'd refuse to move, I'd get off him drag him along then get back on till he stopped again, then off i'd get and repeat the whole process. It used to take 2 hours to do a 20min hack and I'd spend 95% of it on the ground but we were getting round and that was all that mattered. Slowly but shorly it got easyer and I was spending more and more time on top of him rather than dragging him down the road. I also tackled his loading issues and as time went by grooming him got safer to.
I took him to a couple of inhand shows and he was a little star getting 5th and 2nd at our first one and 1st and 2nd at the second one. In the winter I took him hunting afew times and again he was a very good boy, abit lazy if anything. The next summer we did more inhand showing including two county shows and I wanted to see how he behaved ridden at a show so I did a couple of walk trot dressage tests and couldn't believe it when we came 2nd in the first show and won the other one.
Then we face transport issues so winter was spent hacking round the forest and schooling at home. I finaly found the courage from somewhere to start jumping him.
The next summer we still had transport issues and the only show within hacking distance was a jumping show. So on my brave pants went and showjumping we did. Herbie was amazing and depite my rubbish riding due to crippling nerves he jumped everything. Including fillers, water trays and a wall. Non of which he had ever seen before. They held these shows ever two weeks so we went back again and again all summer and my confidance was growing. We always got placed and nearly always with a double clear. If we didn't go clear it was my fault.
And so to this summer which consisted of more inhand showing and jumping getting a rosette everytime out and also my proudest moment of this year was our first ever ridden show class. Herbs was amazing and even after hacking for 2 hours to get there he still got 6th place. Words cannot express how proud I am of him for that.
Now it's winter again and we are back to hunting.
He's turning into such a super pony. He still has his moment and probably always will but they are what makes him him. I honestly wouldn't change him for the world.
I'm so glad I didn't give up on him, I knew he had alot of love to give if he could only lurn to trust again.
I'm so lucky to have such an amazing pony in my life. I can't wait to see what 2014 holds for us.
Here is a little video I made to mark our 4 years together
[video=youtube_share;sQuqVyW1sK8]http://youtu.be/sQuqVyW1sK8[/video]
Gosh thats a momoth post.
Thankyou if you read it all and watched the video. I've got clotted cream shortbread fingers
xx
Then in October 2009 Lucy started getting strange symptoms and on Fri 13th November I got the devistating news she was very ill and probably wasn't going to make it passed xmas.
My world fell appart in that single moment and I couldn't bare to think about getting another pony. But those around me knew I needed one now more than ever. If I lost Lucy that would have been it for me I would just give up. They had to be shore I had a reason to go on. My boss found a pony for sale online. He was advertised as a 13.2hh Roan new forest pony and he was very cheep. She showed me the advert and the awful picture. I wasn't realy intrested but agreed to go and see him.
We arrived to find one of the saddest looking ponies I have ever seen. He definatly wasn't 13.2hh he was about 12.2hh. The owner refused to go and catch him and when we asked her to trot him up she refused to do that to. She also wasn't keen on riding him for us so I just tacked him up and rode him myself. The owner was telling us how she rescude him and he had had so many problems when he first came to her which she had sorted out but now she was giving up riding so was selling him (At a HUGE loss) As I rode him it was prity clear to me he'd been doped (It's quite easy to tell with geldings
)My boss wouldn't let me say yes there and then she said I should think about it esp as he realy wasn't what I was looking for. I cryed all the way home, It honestly broke my heart leaving him there and as soon as we got home we phoned to say I'd have him. Afew days later we went to pick him up.
Once we got him home the extent of his problems became clear.
He refused to load in a lorry or trailer,
He was agressive to handle and would bite and kick me while I was grooming him,
It took over an hour to get one circle of trot on one rein on the lunge without him trying to kill you,
And he refused to be ridden, I got on him in the driveway and he would refuse to move, When you tried to make him he would just rear, buck, leap and spin. He was the same when ridden in company, the other horse could trot off ahead and dissapear round a corner and Herbie would just stand there.
It got to the point where everyone refused to ride out with me. I began trying to deal with his problems on my own till in July 2010 the bottom fell out my world when I lost my Lucy to her illness. I fell appart and for a month I couldn't even bare to look at Herbie. He wasn't my mare and I just couldn't go on without her.
Oneday a "friend" was discussing Herbie with me and she said she didn't understand why I kept him. She said he was horrid and I should take him to the pony sales and hope the meatman bought him. She said he was never going to be any good at anything and I was waisting my time with him.
I couldn't believe what she was saying about my pony. I ran out the house and down to his field and sat on the gate crying. I started remembering the start with Lucy. How everyone told me to give up on her, how she was never going to be any good and I should just have her shot. I looked down the field at Herbie and knew I had to give him a chance. I couldn't let him down like so many before me had. I needed to show him how good life could be if he lurnt to trust people.
And so it began. Many many hours batteling with him on the lunge. Slowly it did improve and I discovered he enjoyed jumping so I taught him how to jump on the lunge. Then I started trying to ride him out. Still noone would come with us and I descovered the only way to get him to move was to get off and litraly drag him down the road. So I would get on him he'd refuse to move, I'd get off him drag him along then get back on till he stopped again, then off i'd get and repeat the whole process. It used to take 2 hours to do a 20min hack and I'd spend 95% of it on the ground but we were getting round and that was all that mattered. Slowly but shorly it got easyer and I was spending more and more time on top of him rather than dragging him down the road. I also tackled his loading issues and as time went by grooming him got safer to.
I took him to a couple of inhand shows and he was a little star getting 5th and 2nd at our first one and 1st and 2nd at the second one. In the winter I took him hunting afew times and again he was a very good boy, abit lazy if anything. The next summer we did more inhand showing including two county shows and I wanted to see how he behaved ridden at a show so I did a couple of walk trot dressage tests and couldn't believe it when we came 2nd in the first show and won the other one.
Then we face transport issues so winter was spent hacking round the forest and schooling at home. I finaly found the courage from somewhere to start jumping him.
The next summer we still had transport issues and the only show within hacking distance was a jumping show. So on my brave pants went and showjumping we did. Herbie was amazing and depite my rubbish riding due to crippling nerves he jumped everything. Including fillers, water trays and a wall. Non of which he had ever seen before. They held these shows ever two weeks so we went back again and again all summer and my confidance was growing. We always got placed and nearly always with a double clear. If we didn't go clear it was my fault.
And so to this summer which consisted of more inhand showing and jumping getting a rosette everytime out and also my proudest moment of this year was our first ever ridden show class. Herbs was amazing and even after hacking for 2 hours to get there he still got 6th place. Words cannot express how proud I am of him for that.
Now it's winter again and we are back to hunting.
He's turning into such a super pony. He still has his moment and probably always will but they are what makes him him. I honestly wouldn't change him for the world.
I'm so glad I didn't give up on him, I knew he had alot of love to give if he could only lurn to trust again.
I'm so lucky to have such an amazing pony in my life. I can't wait to see what 2014 holds for us.
Here is a little video I made to mark our 4 years together
[video=youtube_share;sQuqVyW1sK8]http://youtu.be/sQuqVyW1sK8[/video]
Gosh thats a momoth post.
Thankyou if you read it all and watched the video. I've got clotted cream shortbread fingers
xx
