Tippy
When I was 16 my dad came home with the news that he had bought a tractor and a horse for me. I was apprehensive, was that horse any good? The truth was that the horse was digging in my dads pockets for any food and my dad said to the owner he would be happy to take the poor thing home. When we eventually got the message that we could fetch the horse it was clear that this horse needed a home that day. He had been trying to steal the dog food from the neighbours dogs. He was locked in the garage without any food, water, bedding or light. Oil all over where he had tried to lie down on the concrete floor. His eye glued to the crack in the wall where he hoped to see any light. His ears hanging down not pointing in any direction at all. A sure sign that he had given up all hope. He willingly loaded into the horsebox following some brown bread that he was used to. As we passed stables and horses on our journey he went insane, trying to kick the box to pieces, neighing and screaming to see the other horses. He must have been isolated for so long. He loved company, but his favorite were foals. He could never get enough of those.
It took a bit of work to undo some of the damage done. His fluted ears became pricked again so high they could almost touch. Such a sensitive horse with a sensitive mouth and very nervous nature. He had a fat leg from where he had been cut by the plough before we got him. Almost completely blind in one eye after an accident. A partnership for a lifetime. There was not a single jump he wouldn't put his heart and soul into. He taught us what owning a horse was really about.
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Thank you dad.
Thank you Tippy
Happy Go Lucky
We decided to get a pony. We went to the local auction to see what we could find. Having missed out on the bidding we decided to approach the owner of what looked like a Falabella. He laughed and said he had 80 horses at his house -a backyard abattoir. We should come and choose any horse we like.
The pony we chose was strong as an ox but small, black with a big white blaze and one white leg. Not ideal. My dad joked and said if I could get that thing to carry a kid then I can train anything. Lucky really only did one thing at the time and that was to rear. He must have hurt someone badly to end at such a place. After bringing him home we saw the terrible abscess in his mouth where the tooth had broken off. The vet extracted the tooth and drained the abscess. Slowly Israel my loyal groom an I started to re train him for a long while just being led on a halter. He loved to jump and would just pull you into a jump from the side of the arena. He was gelded far too late and had all the naughty stallion behavior taking on any big horse in the paddock. Unfortunately he had to be kept in a separate paddock.
The rearing faded and eventually we started to teach on him. Some kids on the lead and some kids off the lead. He turned into a darling. We met a girl called Jessica, just small enough to fit on Lucky but very experienced. He met his match. They would go on a good gallop on out rides or cross a river, or show the big thoroughbreds at the shows just how its supposed to be done. Later Cathrin started to ride him and he had that same bond with her. Bold - a heart of gold. What a pleasure to watch.