After quite a few years with little contact with horses, We became interested in Carriage Dog Trials through our involvement with Dalmatians & the fact that the mother of our 2 (Tyrodal Wild Cat at Hameldal) was training & then competed & passed her Bronze Road Dog test.
Not having a horse made it almost impossible to do enough work with either of them for us to consider competing, but, we enjoyed stewarding at events & had some very kind offers. Both have completed their instinct tests with carriages generously volunteered at trials, to allow people to try out their dogs. Dino, who is not very happy with a carriage, was able to follow a horse, thanks to another competitor’s generosity at the National Trials last year.
That was it !!! After having some refresher lessons to get my ‘seat’ back, I had to get my own horse, but, as Ian doesn’t ride, I would have to look for a ride/drive. A 14.2h to 15h coloured cob seemed to be the ideal choice, hardy & sensible. Having been to see several horses, who although appearing to be perfect were far from it, I received a call about an 8yr old 15.1h Standardbred, not exactly what I was after, but, nothing to lose from taking a look.
Well!!! I took a knowledgeable friend with me and at first sight of him wondered what on earth we had come to see!! He was thin, his feet overgrown & he was dirty. As he had lost a shoe the farrier was there & we were able to see how well he behaved. I was still not convinced ?? When it came to riding him, they didn’t have a saddle that would fit, so he was ridden bareback on a busy road. Then he was driven, again on the same busy main road. He wasn’t bothered by anything & we could both see a very genuine horse who just needed some TLC.
A few days later he was 5* vet checked, which he passed with obvious comment about his poor condition, & arrived ‘home’ on 08/07/2010.
It turned out he was bred for harness racing which he did in 2005/6 at York and had some good results running 1760 yards in 2 min 5 sec. !!! Then, after 2007 there are no entries in his passport. We can only guess what happened to him, but, he has a lovely gentle character & is willing to please. Although, he hasn’t done much under saddle (we were told he had) he is learning very quickly with the help of a great trainer who is used to re-training ex-racehorses & Trotters/Pacers.
I couldn’t wish for a better horse & look forward to competing at the Carriage Dog Trials in the future either riding him or with Ian driving him.
