27/10/2024
Hello everyone.
My October blog, I’ve decided, will be about Bella. Bella turned 10 this year. I got her as a four year old and to say we’ve had our ups and downs is an understatement! She was a horse that constantly pushed me to my limits, we parted company more times than with all the other horses put together and, in all honesty, I didn’t really like her…..It was hard to admit it, but I eventually decided selling her was best.
I wanted to confidently say she would hack alone before I sold her though. Each attempt to do this had ended in disaster, with one or both of us getting injured. Then, one evening, we did it, a nice 5k hack on our own, so she could go up for sale, or so I thought.
The very next day Bella had an accident, which left her blind in one eye and with a cataract in the other. She was written off by the vet as a companion, which obviously no one would want to buy, so I was stuck with her. Now, fast forward to 2024 and after a lot of hard work and trust Bella who miraculously came back into wor,k is now an advanced endurance horse. This has been the most fantastic year for her. To get her advanced qualification she had to do 2x64k rides and an 80km ride, and she absolutely breezed around them all.
At this given moment, as in right now, I don’t like her much, as earlier this evening she bucked me off, which HURT! Possibly my own fault as I took her in our new arena for the first time after her having four weeks off due to peritonitis. She was fresh and just couldn’t cope, but she over reacts to everything! So now, she is in my bad books as it was completely unnecessary. Never mind though, it’s now given me something to work on over winter, and when my bruises have gone, we will complete a dressage test!
How I would describe Bella after owning her for 6 years?
- Grey (filthy) Arab (wired) mare (Regumate is Bella’s bestie).
- Can be slightly dramatic ( do they prescribe Ritalin for horses? )
- 75% blind, but don’t let that put you off, she can miraculously see to spook excessively at……..you guessed it, NOTHING! 👻
- Be prepared for vet bills. When Bella has a whoopsie, she has a proper whoopsie - she’s just got over peritonitis
- Can’t hack alone ( will damage herself/you or more than likely both of you!)
- Low coping mechanism ( would love to get her hooves on a big red panic button)
- Comes with an eject button, sometimes she pushes it without telling you.
- If you are still interested and the above hasn’t put you off,(you are nuts), then here are her good points: She’s great to catch, load, travel, amazing for the farrier and unbelievably loves the vet (it’s like she pays her own bills). She is capable of riding 50 miles of competitive endurance and not being remotely tired and likes being groomed and fussed.
- She has given me some really lovely rides, which just about (and I mean only just) make up for the bad days. No one else would want her, even if I did decide to sell her, (I would give her away on occasions and also provide free transport, but only on a one-way term to Scotland- she currently resides in Cornwall) so it seems I’m stuck with her. Here’s to a winter of eating sand and rubber chippings and getting my head around Bella a little bit more!
Tanya & Bella
xx
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