What a horse gives back

I once came very close to throwing out a winning lottery ticket.

It was January, cold and snowy and I'd owned Cady for a year and a bit. Her education had stalled completely, I hated spending time with her because her manners were so horrible and I felt overwhelmed by the whole situation.

So with a heavy heart I sat and typed out an advert.

Thank God for timewasters. Out of many phone calls and texts only one woman came to see her. She called after and said she wanted her but couldn't afford my paltry asking price.

I turned her down, reasoning that anyone who couldn't afford the asking price wouldn't be able to afford a vet bill.

Cady. Pic by Corrina Atkinson

I still felt desperate about the whole thing, but the next week I decided to go down and brush her. After that I started calling in after work to say hello (throughout all this she was on full livery so she was cared for though I'm ashamed of how little I bothered with her at that point ).

Then I started leading her out for little walks. The yard manager invited me to an early morning groundwork class, I booked a lesson... Slowly but surely my interest came back and we started to make a tiny bit of progress.

Cady will never make me richer financially but every penny she's taken out of my account she has returned in life lessons. My stroppy little mare has taught me love, patience, clarity and perseverance - qualities that have affected every other part of my life too. 

We can be quick to throw horses away, but in doing so we are often passing up on a huge opportunity to learn something, or many things, that give us priceless knowledge.

*Harvey update: Moving day is Saturday, and all my fingers and toes are crossed that the snow stays away just a little bit longer.

He definitely seems to recognise me now, and he's stopped lip popping (his way of expressing anxiety) when I go to do his evening checks.

He seemed particularly cheerful last night and I'm starting to look at him and imagine him well-muscled and shiny. For all that he's not at his best right now, his legs are clean and his feet are decent. If his mind comes right then he could be a fantastic little horse...