Equido Articles:

EQUIDO – YOU CAN’T KEEP A GOOD OLD HORSE DOWN…..!

A few months ago I received a phone call from an SSPCA officer I know who asked if I knew of anyone who would give an old horse a home. The horse’s owner’s circumstances had changed and she knew she would not be able to look after her old horse to the standard she deserved and needed and so sensibly she signed her over to the SSPCA for re-homing and care.

The difficulty was at the time of signing over all of the SSPCA centres were full, the ILPH were full and there was a waiting list for both of them. This old horse was living out at the time and the officers knew that if they didn’t re-home her soon then it would be too late for her. The other problem was the horse’s age, at 26yrs + (probably closer to 30 but to make the horse feel better we pretended she was younger!), there were few places willing to take her on and things were beginning to look pretty bleak for her. It was then that one of the officer’s contacted me. I at once told them to bring her over and we would look after her. The husband of one of my client’s was thinking about buying a horse but wasn’t sure if he was cut out for this horsey lark. When I told him about the old mare he saw the perfect opportunity to take her on and learn about the day to day care of a horse without the pressure of riding. He knew at her age it was highly unlikely she would see many more years and she could teach him about the stable management side of things and give him a better indication as to whether or not he wanted to pursue this hobby. It was with this in mind that we brought Higgi into our yard.

She arrived straight from the field with her outdoor rug on looking anxious, confused and bedraggled. She had lived in her field for quite a few years and had suddenly been whisked away from all that she knew by these strangers. To her credit she had walked onto the box quietly and without question no doubt wondering what her fate was to be, so it was with quiet amazement that she set eyes on her light, airy loose box with a bed of knee deep shavings and a hay rack full to the brim with haylage. She immediately set about the task of emptying the hay rack and stood uncomplaining as we took photographs and removed her rug.

Despite having been rugged up all winter with a very good quality rug Higgi had rain scald on her back. Even though a horse is covered, if rugs are not changed and replaced with dry rugs on a daily basis, moisture can build up underneath (especially if the rug is soaked through then left on to dry from the horses body heat) and this can cause rain scald as easily as being exposed directly to the elements. She was also a little on the thin side, due mainly to the severe weather we had been having and her age. She was in need of some TLC and fussing and lapped up the attention like a pro.

It was obvious that Higgi had been well treated by people and was a very people friendly horse. She whinnied and chortled at everyone and would stand for hours to be patted and groomed. Her beautiful long mane was teased and combed and freed from the dreadlocks she had arrived in. Her back was washed and treated with ointment and her coat groomed to gleaming perfection. She watched the goings on in the yard with bright eyed enthusiasm greeting every horse she saw. Her new neighbour and friend was Jemma and she chatted over the partition with her and gradually began to gain her confidence.

She was still weak and shaky on her legs and because of this we decided that she should not go out with the main rough and tumble herd but go into a small paddock by herself next to the main field and meet and greet the rowdy bunch over the fence a bit at a time. We calculated a special high weight gain diet for her making up our own combination of straights that would help this old girl regain her round figure again. She ate with enthusiasm and our vet came out and gave her a new passport along with her flu jags and teeth check. Despite her old age (again she is closer to 30 but we don’t tell her that!) her teeth are in very good condition and she now sports the very posh name of Little Miss Higgi on her official papers.

After about a month of care the difference in her was astonishing. The old, withdrawn and anxious horse that had arrived a few weeks ago was replaced with a bright enthusiastic nosey little bundle of energy. Her new owner has excelled himself. Her coat is polished to perfection, her hair like silk (despite the daily attempts by Higgi to re-establish the dreadlocks with suitably gloopy mud!) and she is a very happy and content little horse. We have given her three sessions of physiotherapy and deep massage to help her old body regain its strength and she started to tell us that she wanted to do more.

One day we put her out in the outdoor school for a wander around and she surprised us all by taking off and bucking the length of the school, snorting and throwing her head around like a young thing. She would stop for a moment to catch her breath then start again, she was obviously having a ball. She would watch with interest the other horses working and being ridden out and so I suggested to her new owner that he try taking her for a walk in hand with one of the other horses to let her think she is working and to give her something else to think about. This he did and she loved it!

And so we added something else to her daily routine, little walks out up the drive way and back. This served to strengthen and build her muscles again and give her something to think about, a purpose in life, a goal, a reason for being here. Quite often we forget that a horse that has been ridden and worked most of their lives sometimes need a task to keep them mentally active and this we found brought about a profound change in Higgi. Her years dropped off her as she built up her strength and stamina to such an extent that one day I said to her owner that we would fit her with a light bridle and put a bareback pad on her to make her feel more like one of the other horses and to prepare her to be long lined out as she was developing quite a power walk when being led. When we fitted her new tack on her old eyes lit up with excitement, she tucked in her head and danced on the spot eager to be off, Little Miss Higgi was a real little racehorse and she knew it!

We continued to build on this and her strength grew from day to day. She was still out in her own little paddock but the herd was preparing to move into the summer grazing, this was going to be a major step for her. We decided to try turning her out with the herd. It was a real gamble. She would have to be able to cope with 11 other mares and geldings and run with a large herd. She would have to defend herself and build new friendships and relations and we didn’t know if she was strong enough to do so. Taking the bull by the horns we turned her out with her stable friend Jemma and introduced the others to the field. We really should not have worried. All our work to build her strength and muscles had paid off. She took off at the gallop with herd, bucking and squealing with delight as she flirted with the geldings and put the mares in their place. She developed a really close friendship with the youngest gelding Womble who stays close to her and protects her from any unwanted attention. The other horses seem to sense she is elderly (even though she is a complete slapper) and respect her, not showing any aggression towards her. At last Higgi is complete. She has an equine family, a loving home, comfort and care and above all a purpose in life.

She continues to demand that we ask more of her so she was fitted with a special lightweight western saddle to go out walking in and if she continues to gain strength she may well be asked to carry a light rider on a short walk once a week or so. Only time will tell and Higgi will no doubt let us know what she wants to do. It is her call. Her new owner is delighted with her and is in no hurry to ride anything, he is happy simply working with her on the ground and seeing the daily improvements in her health and happiness. He is rewarded tenfold in affection and gratitude from Higgi and that is worth more than anything.

As I write this article I have just seen a black streak whiz past the window at the gallop with her boyfriend in tow as they career around the field in fun. I can honestly say that I have learned many things from Higgi and I hope to learn many more, but the most important lesson I have learned is that you simply cannot keep a good old horse down!!!