Foxy by name, Foxy by nature!

22 November 2004
This is quite embarrassing really. Its possible that Foxy ought to have featured on this site a long long long time ago. Back when I bought Rosara, Foxy sort of came as a buy one get one free kind of deal ... I know there is no such thing as a free horse!

It wasn't my intention to buy Foxy, but the girl who was looking after my horses at the time suggested that Foxy would be a "good investment", and that she would bring her on to sell and sell her for me.

So along too came Foxy with Rosara. As such, I avoided making contact with her, decided not to make a place in my heart or on this site for her, and that is why till this date she has been absent.

Well, what happened?

Sadly things did not progress as I had been led to believe. The four year old youngster that was going to be brought on and sold quickly ... wasn't ... today she is 6 going on 7.

There was a chronicle of misunderstanding and miss treatment of the horse that sadly I was never aware of and only found out far too late.

When my groom and I parted company I collected Foxy to great dismay ...

Getting her back to health took time, and all that time I was wondering what to do with her ... I considered selling her, but in her condition there was no chance to find a buyer. In all this time she had been rather neglected and was not the fantastic polo pony her potential had offered ... worse still, she had a serious lack of confidence that demonstrated itself through stubborn nappyness.

A good friend, a young female polo player, offered to take her on loan. To feed her up and work her slowly and carefully and bring her on over the winter. And so it was done, my dilemma was temporarily solved.

She gave the horse much love, and it did Foxy the world of good. Foxy was returned when the girl's commitments meant that she could no longer afford to keep Foxy for me. And thus the dilemma resumed ...

For the first time in two years I started to ride Foxy. She was a very complex horse, and with her lack of confidence and lack of maturity I feared that I did not have the time to give her the attention she deserved ... but still in her immature frame of mind it proved hard to sell her.

I almost considered giving her away.

... But as the days went on the bond between us started to strengthen. Soon, despite being a very complex ride, she became a very rewarding ride. Rewarding patience and tolerance for her irrational fears with a desire to please.

The more time I gave her the better she became. From a grumpy angry chestnut mare, she developed a personality and desire for attention and treats.

It soon became obvious that despite her complexities, I was never going to be able to buy a horse of her ability for what I was considering parting with her for.

She is rather green for a 6 year old polo pony, but recently she has come on leaps and bounds. The journey has only just begone for me and Foxy. I bitterly regret the two lost years and everything she had to endure along the way, but as of now, Foxy has become a very rewarding part of my life, teaching me to be more tollerant, patient and mindful of the sensitivities some horses need that are so often forgotten.

Today we canter round the common, bareback in a head collar. Stick and balling bare back too ... she lets me experience a freedom that I thought I had lost with Bert. Watching he get better with the work and attention I put into her brings a pleasure and joy that cannot be measured in words.

There is still much to overcome, and for my part I am glad that she seems willing to try despite the impression she have left those before me ...

I hope George doesn't get jealous!