The top pic is AliG on his 2nd day with me totally chilled and only 3!..excuse the tack and the state of us it was Polo's old stuff and didnt fit and I look pants!Below is Polo ,the handsome devil, doing what he does best mooch around the field!
Bit of my horsey backround about me then well get onto the neddies.Ok started riding when I was 10/11years never had a lesson until the last couple of years so although I can stay on and was very brave in my youth Im not what i'd consider a 'nice' rider.
My first horsey experiences where on one of my uncles ponies,he was a Welsh Cob very ugly and old but an absolute star.He was fat and unfit when 1st started riding him and used to charge me out of the field so he wouldnt be ridden but then we fell in love ;) and he would do absolutely anything for me but after a year I turned up to see him to find my uncle had sold him without telling me...I was one devastated little girl I can tell you.
At the time my Dad was working for a local guy who had a couple of Standardbreds which he raced,Dad told him what had happened so the guy said I could go and help at his yard. I ended up riding everthing and anything at his yard exercising the horses as variation from going out in harness.I rode one 16'2" pacer called Bolero who would pull your arms out when you moved out of walk.I always remember when he went to his 1st race the driver was literally lying back in the sulky trying to hold him.He came back to the owner and said bl@#dy hell he's fit who's been exercising him for you,M pointed to me,I was 13years old, 5ft and weighed about 7st wet.The driver asked how do you stop him to which I replied I dont I just look for a very long stretch then give him his head...then he'l stop when I 'ask' him.
I also met Polo's mum ,StoneRigs Forever who was a dreadfull race horse due to her unpredicatable,hot,HOT temperament but I got on really well with her and loved riding her so M kept her then eventually started breeding out of her..she was a stunning horse.
Well after many years helping out M decided to sell up due to ill health.I had the option of buying a couple of Forever's offspring ,one was a very sweet yearlying out of a stunning black Hanovarian stallion.I should have bought him but didnt I go and fall for the bay thug who'd been returned to M after going on trial twice,enter Polo!
There's just something about him that was love at first sight for me so I bought him for £400 including bridle and saddle.
I then spent the next 12months thinking what the hell have I done,he was dreadfull,nappy,bucked,wouldnt load a simple task like turning him out was a nightmare as he would turn and double barrel you.
After a year of this hell I decided to turn him away for a couple of months to have abreak and see if it would help but of course Polo couldnt let this go smoothly and after a fight got kicked.To cut a long story short he ended up with an infected elbow joint with ligament damage and was given less than 30% chance of pulling through as infected joints are notoriously difficult to treat.
But Polo being Polo he fought with all his will and pulled through...3operations,6months box rest and me with a £2000 vet bill with an insurance company who wouldnt pay out (E&L dont touch them!!).
During all this he really bonded with me and to this day can be a total pig with other people but soon as I turn up butter wouldnt melt.
Down the line Polo has also proved to be very riggy,incredibly hot like mum,we've been hit by a car ,he's broke my nose,burst my eye,and lost all his confidence due to being terrorised in the field by a former yard owners son(I didnt know it was happening at the time).
He rarely bucks now but can spin at the blink of an eye,he draws attention wherever we go as he has huge presence, probably due to the riggyness (he shows off alot around horses often uncontrollable) and he's a big flashy mover.
He's the love of my life and I'd never sell him.
My first horsey experiences where on one of my uncles ponies,he was a Welsh Cob very ugly and old but an absolute star.He was fat and unfit when 1st started riding him and used to charge me out of the field so he wouldnt be ridden but then we fell in love ;) and he would do absolutely anything for me but after a year I turned up to see him to find my uncle had sold him without telling me...I was one devastated little girl I can tell you.
At the time my Dad was working for a local guy who had a couple of Standardbreds which he raced,Dad told him what had happened so the guy said I could go and help at his yard. I ended up riding everthing and anything at his yard exercising the horses as variation from going out in harness.I rode one 16'2" pacer called Bolero who would pull your arms out when you moved out of walk.I always remember when he went to his 1st race the driver was literally lying back in the sulky trying to hold him.He came back to the owner and said bl@#dy hell he's fit who's been exercising him for you,M pointed to me,I was 13years old, 5ft and weighed about 7st wet.The driver asked how do you stop him to which I replied I dont I just look for a very long stretch then give him his head...then he'l stop when I 'ask' him.
I also met Polo's mum ,StoneRigs Forever who was a dreadfull race horse due to her unpredicatable,hot,HOT temperament but I got on really well with her and loved riding her so M kept her then eventually started breeding out of her..she was a stunning horse.
Well after many years helping out M decided to sell up due to ill health.I had the option of buying a couple of Forever's offspring ,one was a very sweet yearlying out of a stunning black Hanovarian stallion.I should have bought him but didnt I go and fall for the bay thug who'd been returned to M after going on trial twice,enter Polo!
There's just something about him that was love at first sight for me so I bought him for £400 including bridle and saddle.
I then spent the next 12months thinking what the hell have I done,he was dreadfull,nappy,bucked,wouldnt load a simple task like turning him out was a nightmare as he would turn and double barrel you.
After a year of this hell I decided to turn him away for a couple of months to have abreak and see if it would help but of course Polo couldnt let this go smoothly and after a fight got kicked.To cut a long story short he ended up with an infected elbow joint with ligament damage and was given less than 30% chance of pulling through as infected joints are notoriously difficult to treat.
But Polo being Polo he fought with all his will and pulled through...3operations,6months box rest and me with a £2000 vet bill with an insurance company who wouldnt pay out (E&L dont touch them!!).
During all this he really bonded with me and to this day can be a total pig with other people but soon as I turn up butter wouldnt melt.
Down the line Polo has also proved to be very riggy,incredibly hot like mum,we've been hit by a car ,he's broke my nose,burst my eye,and lost all his confidence due to being terrorised in the field by a former yard owners son(I didnt know it was happening at the time).
He rarely bucks now but can spin at the blink of an eye,he draws attention wherever we go as he has huge presence, probably due to the riggyness (he shows off alot around horses often uncontrollable) and he's a big flashy mover.
He's the love of my life and I'd never sell him.
Think we should move onto AliG if your still reading (dont worry ive not had him long so not much to write yet!).Alagado was advertised on EE and I passed a few comments as I really thought he was lovely and the owner contacted me inviting me down.This put the seed into my mind..could I manage two?could I afford him?so I decided to go and see him then maybe re-jig me finances!
After one failed attempt to get down to Cornwall,(getting stuck on the M5 in the floods) I was very disheartened but determind so booked a flight for the followng weekend.Well I got there loved him a bought him..simple as that really :))
AliG's been with us for 3weeks and has been very good and has enjoyed going on his first hacks proving to be sensible and brave.
Im going to leave it there you'l be pleased to know and should be able to start doing more of a daily log from here.
4 comments:
Welcome to blogdom!
C.
Well now, you are committed to regular blogging now...you are on my list!
Read about Polo over at EE, so I am somewhat familiar. He is quite a handful of handsome horse, that's for sure. AliG looks adorable in all the "borrowed" clothes.
Your history makes me laugh a bit as I rode all kinds of horses when I was younger too--not quite the same experiences you had--but quite interesting nonetheless. I guess when you are a kid in love with horses, it doesn't matter what kind you get on as long as it has four legs, a mane and a tail. *G*
Looking forward to your adventures.
Ciao!
I am glad you have your own blog. Do not worry about being "regular" just write when it feels right.
It is therapeutic ^-^
Yes, I have heard about Polo before LOL. I am happy to know ALL his story. What a monkey!
AliG looks very nice. Is he from a working line or a Corrida line? Do you know?
He looks good, tho I have a soft spot for standardbred, they were the first horses I rode, yes, do not give them a contact at the trot, or they pull your arms out of their sockets LOL!
(Standardbred is a trotteur ?)
Yeah comments..simple things and all that!;))
Muriel most of the Standardbreds I rode were Pacers,there is much more racing for them over here but Polo's a Trotter.
Not sure about AliG's lines to be honest,hopeless with stuff like that! Rachel did show me a site with all the bloodlines and you how to track back etc but cant remember what it was now plus it was in Spanish!
Yes Jean as long as it had 4legs and a tail I was happy ..my parents were convinced it was just a faze for years so wouldnt buy me a pony.I still take the mick out of them now asking when im going to grow out it!
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