"There is something about the outside of a horse 
that is good for the inside of a man." 
SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL

24 March 1978 - 19 May 2006

Tammy was my first horse, a 13.1hh palomino pony that I was given in 1988.

We had to round her up in a paddock where she had been left un-attended for 3 years, her hooves were curled over and she had lost large areas of her coat to mange.
There was no way were we able to load her on a float it was so distressing for her, 
so we walked her for 2 days to her new home.

Tammy had never really been broken in correctly, and boy did she teach me to 
fall off well. A stunning looking mare, but not as sweet as she looked …
I lived in Canberra when we first got her and people used to think it was terrible 
that I would carry a crop on such a gorgeous little pony - little did they know.

It was nothing for us to ride our ponies thru the drive-thru at McDonalds and we would 
load the horses on the float, get dropped off on one side of Canberra and spend 
the day riding home. Although she had no bite or kick in her, she could be a real rat-bag, 
rubbing your legs along barbed wire fences and taking you under low branches, and boy 
could she shy…  But it was a barrel of fun.

Once I moved onto a bigger mount Tammy was used by younger pony club riders - she was brilliant at the sporting games so quick to accelerate and turn - pity about the non-existent breaks :)
Luckily she did mellow with some age under her belt, especially once she was retired at 
about 20 years old… she was much happier then.

At the grand old age of 28 I made the very hard decision to let her rest when nothing we 
gave her could ease her pain from arthritis and poorly growing hooves. She was still in very
good condition and looked like a much younger horse, but it was time to let her go before 
the real cold of Winter hit and made it even harder on her.

It is very strange indeed to enter my paddocks and not see Tammy's outline somewhere, 
to not have her waiting for her meals in her yard and calling to me in the hope that a 
carrot might be forthcoming…
After owning her for 18 years she has been a big part of my life and is definitely missed.

RIP Tam.

"Somewhere, somewhere in times own space,
there must be some, sweet pastured place;
of pastures green where fresh creeks flow,
some paradise where horses go.
For by the love that guides my pen,
I know great horses live again."
AUTHOR UNKNOWN

1997 - 2002

Babe was purchased as an unhandled two year old with her half sister Stoli. 
They could not have been more different in temperaments - where Stoli settled in very quickly and was soon running the place, Babe was a very timid girl, on a good day she would approach you for a pat - as long as you were sitting or kneeling at her level… on a bad day she was flighty and unpredictable and wanted nothing to do with people. After owning Babe for over 2 years she had not changed at all, even with natural horsemanship lessons twice a day, the moment her halter was removed she would revert to her wild little self.

We lost babe at 5 years old to a broken leg, poor nutrition in her younger years made her bones quite weak and the vet blames this for the type of break she had, in her stifle, which would have made repairing it almost impossible.

A lovely little type of mare measuring in at approx 32" at 4 years, it's a real shame, 
perhaps if she had had a better start to life things could have been different.

RIP Babe.

"There is no secret so close as that between a rider and his horse."
ROBERT SMITH SURTEES

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