Our little sparrow, Gorrion, has come a long way since she arrived in a very sorry state in February. She was one of a large group of horses subject to a protracted court case and was being “fostered”, along with her foal. Her foal had died (we have no further details) and we were told she was not eating and going downhill fast. At nineteen years of age she appeared to have shut down entirely.
Now, a few months later after ARCH care and attention, she is a different pony. Eating was not a problem from the minute she arrived at the Centre and she gradually filled out and lost the lice-ridden winter coat. Wary and particularly head shy, she was not trusting of humans, understandable since she carries scars on her back and on her girth area, probably due to ill fitting tack and lack of care. But, bit by bit, she has blossomed into a very pretty (and quite plump) pony.
Still a little unsure of strange big people, Gorrion has a real rapport with visiting children. Elly has been working with her slowly to reintroduce her to the saddle and bridle and she is now happy with both. Recently we tried her with a light-weight rider and were amazed at the change in her. Ears pricked, she grew in stature and was obviously happy to be out and doing things. She is going to make someone a great little partner when we find her special human.
STOP PRESS! Gorrion has now gone to live (along with Dusty) at a local livery stables, where she was a star on her first morning at Pony Club for youngsters. Judging from the report, we think we can safely say she has found her niche! “ She was an absolute star, she stood and had 7 youngsters sticking post it notes with points of the horse on her, was groomed, plaited and generally given fuss and love and she didn’t bat an eyelid! She’s also had a few days alone in a field to settle but she told us fairly firmly that she would like some company by limbo-ing out of her field every time a horse went past, so she is now sharing with a lovely mare called Paquera and they will be joined by Rosie this week. She is loving all the activity on the yard and is such a little dote! The kids caught her and turned her back out yesterday, obviously supervised, but she was a little angel, and they all want a lesson on her as soon as we feel she has finished settling in. We’ve organised borrowing a bareback pad for her so we don’t need to introduce a saddle just yet whilst she is finding her feet but slowly and in time, she can be reintroduced to tack but like Dusty, we don’t rush things, it’s all done at her speed and on her terms!”
