Big decisions needed to be made.
My beautiful horse Ruby was retiring, I was turning 60 and the biggest decision to be made was …should I also retire from riding with her? I love the day-to-day care but I found I really did miss that precious time on the back of a horse.
So, the search began.
I knew I wanted a pony (less far to fall), and apart from ‘not too spooky’ my wish list was short. I’m not a competition rider and just wanted a nice pony to enjoy hacking out on.
I hadn’t bought a horse for many years, so I was a bit lost as to where to start and decided to begin with the traditional route of checking the ‘horses for sale’ ads. Admittedly, I didn’t initially consider rescue ponies at all, as I had thought they were mainly companions.
There were lots of horses for sale but very few ponies available that were suitable for adults. Then I came across Here4Horses and submitted an application on the off chance they had rideable ponies looking for good homes.
After some very productive communications with Wendy, she suggested I should go across and meet Charley as she thought he would be a suitable match. Charley was just 13.2hh and I was a bit worried I would be too big – but I shouldn’t have been concerned as he was perfect.
I visited and rode Charley several times, Wendy visited to check us out too. Then the decision was made for Charley to come to us. We integrated him slowly into our little herd but I shouldn’t have worried as my mares welcomed him and in time, he has formed a firm friendship with our youngster.
Initially Charley certainly preferred riding out in company and showed some separation anxiety if ridden alone. However, as his general confidence and fitness grew, we began to happily hit the trail, just him and I.
Charley & Pip
I absolutely love Charley we are having a great time together and I’m proud to be out riding and enjoying him.
Wendy has always been there if I needed advice; this is incredibly helpful as she and the team at the charity are experts in helping rescue horses and ponies.
I would certainly encourage anyone who is in a situation to take on a rescue pony to explore this option – it is tremendously rewarding.
