| DUNCAN
Duncan is owned by Roy Paskell (MD of Willow Farm). He works in the Riding School –
as do all the rescue horses who can safely do so – to fund the upkeep of all our residents! At 8 years of age this stunning gelding was due to be shot because he was not good as a lead hunt horse, as he wouldn't go in water. Roy couldn't bear to see him lose his life for such a daft reason – so bought him for £350 – which was his 'meat' value. He is a very spirited horse and can be quite challenging. He likes to make life difficult for new staff when they are TRYING to put his bridle on. He hates being kept in a stable and does his best to ensure staff soon get the message if does have to stay in.
So, Duncan lives out most of the time. He is best friends with another gelding
called Spike and you can often see them seemingly munching on the same blade of grass!
Duncan jumps brilliantly and happily goes into water and hacks now – he just needed a bit of understanding. He is also seen regularly by our saddler and the osteopath to
keep him as comfortable as possible. |
| NORMAN 
We acquired him from an owner in Meopham who had given up on him as
he would constantly go up in the air (known as rearing).
He was underweight and frightened of being ridden,
possibly due to a badly fitting saddle. Gradually he put on weight and grew taller.
We re-backed him – in other words, we started from the beginning....Roy spent
a lot of time long reining him and he was a good student!
He did try rearing again – but it didn't do him any good so he accepted the rider.
He had a well fitting saddle and was seen by our equine osteopath, Gavin Schofield,
who corrected some of the problems he was experiencing. Sometimes tension areas can be
created in the back just through the growth process. Horses remember pain and
unfortunately it can be difficult to convince them that they are now comfortable
and can stop their resulting behaviour. One of our clients in the Riding School
called Lorraine fell in love with Norman (he batted his white eye lashes at her)
and she subsequently bought him.
Norman now works happily in the riding school, and can be ridden by all abilities,
but he is primarily a beginners horse – a far cry from his early days!
He loves taking novices out on hacks. Norman is learning to jump and
is a member of the musical formation team.
|
Sinead
Sinead was owned by a young girl in West Malling She was known
to kick, bite and buck. She ruled the yard! When Roy went to
pick her up everyone was hiding behind stable doors. She didn't
like being in a stable and would threaten us all over the door.
......we took no notice of her.....so she pulled some more faces
and threatened us some more......and we still took no notice.
Eventually she settled down and decided to behave. She still prefers
to be out, but has much better stable manners these days.
We later found out that Sinead had been involved in an accident
with a dustbin lorry – which had apparently hit her back legs.
She was seen by Gavin frequently and she also had a new saddle
fitted. A client called Sue fell in love with her and bought her
– and again she still works in the riding school and is very
popular with children and adults alike. Our Yard Manager rides
her in dressage lessons every week and Sinead is improving greatly.
Sinead hangs around with Norman and Chino in the field.
She loves having a massage and is really happy here at Willow
Farm, she has a loving owner who dotes on her – a far cry from
her kicking and biting days. It just goes to show how a little
understanding, patience and some expert advice can help to bring a horse around. Apache & Angel
Apache was discovered roaming around Capstone Country Park
with another pony we also rescued called Angel. Lots of
other organisations had tried to catch these two ladies
– but had no success. They were in great danger of being
hit by cars as they found their way to the main road.
They had been abandoned by their owners due to the furore
over foot and mouth disease (we think). Eventually, with
a lot of patience and a little swearing under his breath,
Roy caught them both. When he got them home they were
riddled with lice, which we treated them for, they were
also full of worms – so of course we wormed them both.
All horses which come onto the yard are wormed before
they are allowed out with the rest of the herd. Angel was
later found to be in foal – and gave birth to Amber who is
a beautiful chestnut mare with flaxen mane and tail.
Amber later gave birth to Cisco, so Angel is now a grandma!
Apache is a great little jumping pony and also works in the
riding school for the more capable young riders. She is
very cheeky and full of fun. Small adults have a great
time on her.Not surprisingly she is very good on the roads
and enjoys going out on hacks with us. Angel is ridden
by beginners and novice young riders, she is very popular
and is very proud of her pink bridle!
|
