Was you & your horse 'meant to be together'?

[shell1978]

Just been thinking about the strange circustances that became of me having Connie. Anyone else had any?

This is a long story so will try & keep it short!......

As some of you may know I lost my darling Lacey to Cushings/laminitis last Sept, and was beside myself, and really didnt know when/if I would get another horse.

About 3 months later my best friend spotted an advert: 16.1 ID/TB, 12 yrs old, chestnut mare, blah blah.....long term loving loan home wanted due to owners illness.

My friend told me to ring and find out more. It took me a few days to pluck up the courage, as I was still very imotional from losing Lacey and was not sure I was doing the right thing. Anyway I rang up (to keep my friend quiet more than anything!) and left a msg, then heard nothing back so kind of forgot about it.

About a week later got a phone call from owner, who invited me up to come and view/ride horse. Which again was emotional as I had not ridden another horse since. Anyway owner said she has a few more people coming to see her and would let me know. Got a phone call a few days later, again asking me to go back up to ride her and do a spot of jumping on her, to see how I got on. Owner was pleased with me, but did say it was between me & another lady. At this point owner told me she had a kidney illness and would never ride again.

A couple of days later, she rang me telling me should would like me to have Connie on long term loan. Owner was getting weaker & weaker by the day and had to go into hospital for some tests. Husband delivered Connie to me, then was told the awfull news that she had terminal cancer and did not have long to live, and that she was giving me her horse.....i was shocked to say the least, but sad at the same time, as Connie was her pride and joy, who bred her, and got upto medium level dressage on her.

Then a week later she passed away, so very sad.

I just think that maybe it was meant to be, does anyone else have any strange stories how they got their GG's?

 

[A1fie]

Oh that is such a touching story. So sorry about Lacey.

I like to think my horse and me are meant to be together. I met him when I went to a yard to view another horse to part loan. My lad was loose in the yard with his head stuck in a bale of hay. He was black IDxTB and 17h. He caught my eye and I asked about him and was told that he was rescued as he was going to be shot as he was so badly lame with navicular. He had been left and not ridden for a year and although there were no immediate plans to start riding him, he was going to be pts if he became lame again. He had a very poor prognosis.

Anyway to cut a long story short I asked if I could ride him instead. I was warned that he may never be able to be ridden again and that even if he could be, he was likely to be too much for me.

I spent a month just walking him in hand and then started riding him for 10 mins at a time. Moving on to today and I have him on full permanent loan. He is sound and is happy. He is not on bute but is on lots of supplements. We have done sponsored rides together and I ride him every day.

The mad thing about it all is that together we look such an odd couple. He is a heavyweight hunter and was a masters horse. I had never sat on a horse in my life before 2 years ago and was a real nervous novice but for some reason we really suit each other. I trust him utterly and am totally in love with him.

Just keeping my fingers crossed and praying that he will remain sound and comfortable and we can have a good few more years together.

 

[Eaglestone]

What a touching story and brought tears to my eyes

, I hope you and Connie have a long happy time together

Have you any pics of her?

 

[shell1978]

Thats so lovely, and you are very committed to spending all that time and putting in all that hard work to getting him where you are today. It must be very rewarding

 

[shell1978]

Thats very kind of you. It has taken a while to bond with her, as I was not really that interested in doing anything with her at the beginning, but we are getting there. I just feel so lucky to have her.

 

[miss_c]

I think it was fate that I got Genie...

I had made the decision to sell Mazzie my beautiful polo pony as I couldn't afford to play anymore and it wasn't fair on her as that was what she was bred for, trained for, and enjoyed. She was wasted as a hack. So while advertising her I started looking, not 100% sure that I would be buying just yet.

I saw a 5 year old 14.2hh Welsh Cob advertised on horsemart, and quite liked the look of her, although I thought that at 14.2hh she may be too small. I sent an e-mail not expecting a reply, and her owner got back to me almost immediately. An hour later I had arranged to go and view her the next day!

Was pleased to find that Genie was a traditional chunky Welsh D and tried her, finding that she was green but I was prepared to have to put some schooling time in. Before I knew it I had agreed a price subject to vetting, and arranged the vetting for the following Monday.

On the Sunday, the day before the vetting, a friend and I decided to take our horses to a fun ride. We set off in my friend's car and trailer, but never made it there. Literally a few hundred metres from leaving the motorway we felt/heard two bangs, and saw the trailer going across all three lanes of motorway on its own, miraculously not hitting any other vehicles. It hit the central reservation and flipped a number of times, finally landing on it's side. We immediately stopped and ran back to the trailer.

My friend's horse was still in the trailer, stood up and facing the rear door. He stayed in there until the vet arrived and sedated him, then was led out and put straight on a passing lorry to the vets. He came out with just cuts and bruises.

Mazzie had been thrown over the back ramp and was led on the tarmac. Her back was broken and she had suffered a major head trauma, so was in shock and completely out of it and not feeling anything. When the vet arrived the immediate decision was made to put her to sleep, there was no way she would have survived.

I spoke to my instructor that evening and she advised me to go ahead with the vetting for Genie, as she would have been vetted anyway. I was in two minds but eventually decided that I would go ahead. She sailed through the vetting and came home the same day in my cousin's lorry, the day after losing Mazzie.

As far as I'm concerned I believe it was meant to be. I didn't have to sell Mazzie (and my vet said he didn't have to buy her!), but apart from the initial impact she didn't suffer. Genie was coming and it meant I did not have to pay for two horses, which was something I had at the time been worrying about. Genie has been everything I've wanted and I adore her to bits, and I will never ever sell her. She's with me for life. Mazzie will have been gone a year on Monday, and it still hurts, but I have been able to move on with Genie's help.

 

[Flicker]

What a lovely story.
I used to see the lad that I currently own being hacked by his previous owner (we were at yards about a mile apart) and always thought how lovely he was. By coincidence we both moved to the same yard and became friendly, about 3 years ago. As we had the same instructor, when my little mare went lame with a bruised foot, my lad's owner let me have my lessons on him. I then competed him in some dressage competitions and helped her out when she was away etc.
Then last year she offered me first refusal on him, which of course I couldn't turn down.
I like to think we were meant to be together.

 

[shell1978]

Oh my god that is so sad I am crying my eyes out

Im so sorry you had to go through that. Sounds like you and Genie are made for each other though

 

[1987]

I was preparing myself to go to ascot sales, I had trawled through the catalogue, the sale was on the tuesday. On sunday I had a call about an ex racehorse who was being sent to reading sales on the friday unless someone bought him. I went to see him on the monday but didn't ride him and bought him there and then. I have had him for 1 month now and he is the most chilled out ex racehorse ever, I do wonder if I hadn't bought him and had bought something at ascot sales my life would probably be so different.

 

[vam]

I think so. i had just started up riding again after sometime off and i wanted to do loan a pony for the summer (i was only 13). i had my heart set on one of the school horses but he had been taken, i was offered my girl instead, my first though was i don't want her she ugly

but i was prepared to put up with the ugly, chunky cob. My mum said that after the 6 weeks you will love her, yeah right.
as ever my mum was right and i loaned her through the school hols for the next 2 years, hateing some of the people who rode her in the riding school. the people knew how much i wanted her and gave me first offer to buy her, after long chats with mum i did.
sady she was put down earlier this year after 14 years together at the age of 19, we did everything, riding club teams and aff jumping. she was the sort of horse that everything she did, she did well and behond peoples expectations. I was so proud of her, my little ugly pony

 

[Lippyx]

I'd like to think me and Horlicks are mean't to be..... even though, ah, alas we are not yet!!

I had a horse at the yard already and she was also there, banging on the door cause she had no hay etc!! I remember looking at her and thinking she's sweet, and there was something about her I couldn't put my finger on?
Then things went wrong with horse I had, and she went back to owner... and I was horseless. After talking to the girl on the yard that looked after her etc, she said that if I was ever free on Saturdays, would I mind riding Horlicks, as she was still a baby, and not everyone got on with her (not naughty, just bouncey!!) I said yes and the rest as they say is history!

Now I ride her pretty much every Sat and sometimes on tues in my lesson. I would like to think that one day this story will end with them letting me buy her, but I am still working on it! Everyone at the yard says how well suited we are and how well I ride her!!