A few horses will stay here for life. They are the exception.

Sabria 

Shortly after arrival 

and three months later

Sabria, pure bred arab mare, came in on the death of her owner after 18 years in the same home. At the age of 29 she struggled to cope with the move, and wouldn't eat much of anything for almost three months. Some serious dental work was done, and she finally accepted her new home, so now we won't subject her to another move, she is happy here and it would be far too stressful. So here she will stay. Through a feature in the local press, Steve and Carole Walker who owned Sabria when she was around 10 years old heard that she was here, and got in touch. They have sent this fabulous picture of her racing in her prime.

Sadly Sabria has just been diagnosed as having Cushings disease -  as a direct result of the winter weather, she had been stabled at night and her bed was sodden every morning, so we realised she had a problem. Excessive urination can be one of the symptoms, as can problems with not losing winter coat, laminitis and foot abcesses. It is not hugely expensive to diagnose or treat (to defer the progression and the painful foot complications) so any horse or pony displaying the symptoms needs checking out by a vet. Early diagnosis and treatment make all the difference, to life span and comfort.

Sabria has started a course of pergolide and it has made a huge difference to her. After the usual initial appetite problems, she is now eating really well, putting on weight and enjoying life to the full again, and is something we need to budget for now - around £20 a month for the medication. If you would like to contribute to her treatment to make an old lady's life that bit more comfortable, just a few pounds would be very welcome - you can send as much or as little as you would like via Paypal. Simply identify the account by the email address, jill.allsopp@virgin.net

And now - happy 30th birthday to Sabria. She was born on 27th June 1979, so on Saturday 27th June 2009 we had a photoshoot and introduced her to the delights of.......broccoli!! Lets hope she has many many more 27th Junes to come.

Caspar

Caspar is Jill's own horse - bred to sell, but having pigeon toes and moderately severe sweetitch, she now accepts she is stuck with him!! They have an incredible relationship having come through some very difficult times to the current situation where they are learning classical dressage, with Emma Bailey (see the events page). Jill acknowledges him as a teacher, who has led her to seek alternative methods to find a key to working with him. He led her to natural horsemanship in all its forms and to a greater understanding of why horses do what they do

WARNING - CASPAR WAS BADLY INJURED DUE TO SOME STRAY ELECTRIC FENCING WIRE IN HIS FIELD (OCTOBER 2008) - IT ACTED LIKE A SNARE AND CUT THROUGH HIS PASTERN PRETTY MUCH TO THE BONE.

CHECK YOUR FIELDS CAREFULLY AND REMOVE ANY YOU CAN FIND FOR A WHILE IT WAS TOUCH AND GO WHETHER HE HAD RETAINED ANY BLOOD SUPPLY TO HIS FOOT. PLEASE PLEASE LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKE AND DON'T LET IT HAPPEN TO YOUR HORSES. HAPPILY HE IS NOW ON THE MEND AND LOOKING AS THOUGH HE MAY EVENTUALLY BECOME SOUND AGAIN, BUT IT WAS FAR FROM CERTAIN TO BEGIN WITH

We are very very pleased to report that Caspar is now sound (June 2009) and will be starting work again, beginning slowly of course to build his fitness. He would much rather still be on sick leave!!

Daisy

Daisy is Caspars mum. After having bred 7 stunning foals, and never having been ridden because she has badly turned front feet (and was in fact destined for the abbatoir when Jill bought her), she is now retired. The last two foalings were less than straightforward so Jill took the decision that Daisy was not able to safely foal again.

*** SAD NEWS - ON THURSDAY 13 MAY 2010 WE FOUND DAISY DEAD IN THE FIELD. IT LOOKED INSTANT, POSSIBLY A HEART ATTACK, BUT A LIFE CUT SHORT AT THE AGE OF 22 - SHE LOOKED MORE LIKE 6.

RIP DAISY - NO GROWING OLD AND STIFF AND SORRY FOR YOU BUT AN INSTANT RELEASE ON TO RAINBOW BRIDGE ******

Maggie

Maggie's owner emigrated to Canada, but loved her middle aged cob mare far too much to sell her. So she lives here, fully financed month in and month out by her owner, and we work hard to manage her tendency to be overweight and her sweetitch which makes spring and summer so miserable for her. She is a lovely polite mare who can be a delight to ride, and a local schoolgirl has been helping Mags keep her figure by riding her a couple of times a week.