*Warning this first post is very long!!*
Magic is a 13.3 rising 9 Fell Pony. I have 2 children Findlay who is 4 at the end of the month and Iona who is nearly 2 who both have complex medical and care needs as the result of a very rare chromosome abnormality. When Iona finally came home from hospital at 11 months old I started looking for a horse to share as the psychologist at the hospital thought it might help with my PTSD to do something that I would enjoy that would give me a break from caring. I found a horse and Findlay came along once to meet her and was fascinated with her and it ended up that he was using one of my 2 days a week to have a little hack in the woods on her and he even did a fancy dress class at a horse show last summer! Riding is fantastic physio for him as he has to work really hard but he enjoys it and he loves that when he is on a horse he is moving exactly the same as everyone else (he can’t walk).
Findlay started signing (he can’t speak) in the autumn that he wanted a horse called Magic. We showed him lots of photos of different horses and it turned out that Magic was a black Fell Pony. Findlay has a lot of sensory issues and hates the wet, cold, the feel of a lot of things etc but through the winter he went out to see my loan horse even in the snow and gales without complaining which amazed me but he did it as it was for a horse. The horse I had on part loan was a 60 mile round trip away so it was costing a lot in fuel on top of the loan cost plus I hadn’t managed to do any endurance or Trec or anything with the loan horse as obv I had to fit in around the what the owner was wanting to do, the facilities at the yard weren't great and a few other things so in February we started seriously looking for a Fell Pony for Findlay and I to share (I knew being short would be handy one day lol) as there was a nice yard 15 mins drive from our house.
I found a few adverts none of which seemed quite right but then we found an advert that sounded almost too good to be true. The pony had been reduced a lot as the lady at the yard needed to find him a new home as she had other horses due to come in soon (it was a competition yard) and so he was just about within budget! A lot of emails went backwards and forwards and she sent me lots of videos of him out in traffic, hacking alone, being schooled, being clipped, doing ‘spookbusting’ etc and he seemed amazing. We arranged to travel down to see him that weekend and I managed to go down with a very rational and sensible head on me that if he wasn’t right then he wasn’t right as even if he was suitable for me we needed a very specific pony to be suitable for Findlay.
We got to the yard and Findlay was excited to see horses and when he spotted the Fell Pony gasped and signed 'Magic' whilst doing his excited hyperventilating noise lol. I watched the lady ride him in the paddock and then I got on him. All my fears of ‘am I going to feel like I’m doing the splits’ disappeared as much to my surprise he was the comfiest horse I’ve ever ridden and didn’t feel anywhere near as wide as he is. I loved him! He is very forward going but sensible and enjoys *very* long hacks which will be ideal for me doing endurance with him.
When Findlay had a ride around on him he was giggling and squealing away and Magic just looked slightly bemused at the amount of giggling coming from his back when nothing he classed as heavy enough to be a rider was on him lol. Once he was untacked I did the usual ‘will he let me pick his feet up etc’ bits and Findlay stroked him (which we were amazed at) and looking thrilled. We put a deposit down subject to 5 stage vetting and started the long drive home with Findlay crying and signing 'Daddy, horse, Magic, car' but sadly no matter how good his Daddy is at packing the car he wasn't going to fit a pony in lol. That was the Saturday afternoon, Magic was vetted on the Tuesday which he passed with flying colours and the vet said he was the nicest horse she’d vetted and if she’d been looking for a horse she would have been very tempted. The transport company had a space for that week and he arrived up with us on the Friday night, less than a week after we had visited him!
Magic got a bit of a shock as he arrived 450 miles north to a very exposed livery yard that is on top of a hill right next to the North Sea with no shelter in the fields and it was snowing and there were no stables free so he spent his first week up here living out 24/7 for the first time in years!
We have now had Magic for a month and he is amazing and each day you can see him bonding with us more and more. He was answering to his new name of Magic within a week and everyone at the yard is in love with him as he’s such a sweetie. I had read that Fells can be very stubborn but I had initially thought ‘all horses can be stubborn’, ahhh I now see what they mean lol.
Findlay is head over heels in love with him, he has been helping to put scoops of feed into Magic’s bucket, he supervises me mucking out and he has even helped to stuff haynets which is a HUGE deal for a little boy with sensory issues. He was gagging and retching at the feel of a feed last week so I told him I would do it and he signed ‘no, me, horse, food’ because he understands his pony needs food and so he will do it for Magic :inlove:
Findlay made a few people at the yard laugh last week when I turned up at the yard one evening with Iona and Findlay both in their pjs and dressing gowns and a copy of The Gruffalo as Findlay had been adamant at home that he was not going to bed without reading Magic a bedtime story. He babbled for a bit at Magic and showed him the pictures in the book and then signed ‘car, bed’ as he wanted to go back home to go to bed.
Magic will never understand what a very special life changing pony he is but we have seen a huge difference in Findlay already in the 4 weeks Magic has been here and so I can’t wait to get to know him better over the coming months and years and see the special bond between little boy and pony develop. I’m really looking forward to getting some ‘me time’ out riding this summer too (still waiting for my saddle to turn up!) as it will do me the world of good to get a break.
Magic is a 13.3 rising 9 Fell Pony. I have 2 children Findlay who is 4 at the end of the month and Iona who is nearly 2 who both have complex medical and care needs as the result of a very rare chromosome abnormality. When Iona finally came home from hospital at 11 months old I started looking for a horse to share as the psychologist at the hospital thought it might help with my PTSD to do something that I would enjoy that would give me a break from caring. I found a horse and Findlay came along once to meet her and was fascinated with her and it ended up that he was using one of my 2 days a week to have a little hack in the woods on her and he even did a fancy dress class at a horse show last summer! Riding is fantastic physio for him as he has to work really hard but he enjoys it and he loves that when he is on a horse he is moving exactly the same as everyone else (he can’t walk).
Findlay started signing (he can’t speak) in the autumn that he wanted a horse called Magic. We showed him lots of photos of different horses and it turned out that Magic was a black Fell Pony. Findlay has a lot of sensory issues and hates the wet, cold, the feel of a lot of things etc but through the winter he went out to see my loan horse even in the snow and gales without complaining which amazed me but he did it as it was for a horse. The horse I had on part loan was a 60 mile round trip away so it was costing a lot in fuel on top of the loan cost plus I hadn’t managed to do any endurance or Trec or anything with the loan horse as obv I had to fit in around the what the owner was wanting to do, the facilities at the yard weren't great and a few other things so in February we started seriously looking for a Fell Pony for Findlay and I to share (I knew being short would be handy one day lol) as there was a nice yard 15 mins drive from our house.
I found a few adverts none of which seemed quite right but then we found an advert that sounded almost too good to be true. The pony had been reduced a lot as the lady at the yard needed to find him a new home as she had other horses due to come in soon (it was a competition yard) and so he was just about within budget! A lot of emails went backwards and forwards and she sent me lots of videos of him out in traffic, hacking alone, being schooled, being clipped, doing ‘spookbusting’ etc and he seemed amazing. We arranged to travel down to see him that weekend and I managed to go down with a very rational and sensible head on me that if he wasn’t right then he wasn’t right as even if he was suitable for me we needed a very specific pony to be suitable for Findlay.
We got to the yard and Findlay was excited to see horses and when he spotted the Fell Pony gasped and signed 'Magic' whilst doing his excited hyperventilating noise lol. I watched the lady ride him in the paddock and then I got on him. All my fears of ‘am I going to feel like I’m doing the splits’ disappeared as much to my surprise he was the comfiest horse I’ve ever ridden and didn’t feel anywhere near as wide as he is. I loved him! He is very forward going but sensible and enjoys *very* long hacks which will be ideal for me doing endurance with him.
When Findlay had a ride around on him he was giggling and squealing away and Magic just looked slightly bemused at the amount of giggling coming from his back when nothing he classed as heavy enough to be a rider was on him lol. Once he was untacked I did the usual ‘will he let me pick his feet up etc’ bits and Findlay stroked him (which we were amazed at) and looking thrilled. We put a deposit down subject to 5 stage vetting and started the long drive home with Findlay crying and signing 'Daddy, horse, Magic, car' but sadly no matter how good his Daddy is at packing the car he wasn't going to fit a pony in lol. That was the Saturday afternoon, Magic was vetted on the Tuesday which he passed with flying colours and the vet said he was the nicest horse she’d vetted and if she’d been looking for a horse she would have been very tempted. The transport company had a space for that week and he arrived up with us on the Friday night, less than a week after we had visited him!
Magic got a bit of a shock as he arrived 450 miles north to a very exposed livery yard that is on top of a hill right next to the North Sea with no shelter in the fields and it was snowing and there were no stables free so he spent his first week up here living out 24/7 for the first time in years!
We have now had Magic for a month and he is amazing and each day you can see him bonding with us more and more. He was answering to his new name of Magic within a week and everyone at the yard is in love with him as he’s such a sweetie. I had read that Fells can be very stubborn but I had initially thought ‘all horses can be stubborn’, ahhh I now see what they mean lol.
Findlay is head over heels in love with him, he has been helping to put scoops of feed into Magic’s bucket, he supervises me mucking out and he has even helped to stuff haynets which is a HUGE deal for a little boy with sensory issues. He was gagging and retching at the feel of a feed last week so I told him I would do it and he signed ‘no, me, horse, food’ because he understands his pony needs food and so he will do it for Magic :inlove:
Findlay made a few people at the yard laugh last week when I turned up at the yard one evening with Iona and Findlay both in their pjs and dressing gowns and a copy of The Gruffalo as Findlay had been adamant at home that he was not going to bed without reading Magic a bedtime story. He babbled for a bit at Magic and showed him the pictures in the book and then signed ‘car, bed’ as he wanted to go back home to go to bed.
Magic will never understand what a very special life changing pony he is but we have seen a huge difference in Findlay already in the 4 weeks Magic has been here and so I can’t wait to get to know him better over the coming months and years and see the special bond between little boy and pony develop. I’m really looking forward to getting some ‘me time’ out riding this summer too (still waiting for my saddle to turn up!) as it will do me the world of good to get a break.
