Two for the price of One!

Back in 1998 less than a year after I had Molly brought for me, I went on holiday leaving her in the capable hands of a friend. This in itself seems pretty standard, but what I returned to really wasn't. When I got home, there was a slightly panicked message saying as soon as you get back please ring me!

Well instantly you start thinking oh my god she's killed her or she's badly injured, but what I was told really was not what I was expecting. Molly had had a foal!!!

I don't think it really sunk in until a few days later, when the daily routine changed some what and I now had two horses in my care and one of them I didn't choose to own. I chose the name Gemma, after a pony I had ridden whilst still attending riding schools, she was the best mare ever. I started riding her when she was 4 years old and new to the yard, she was extremely sharp, could turn on a penny and had a fantastic jump in her. Broke my heart the day I couldn't ride that little mare any more.

So I suddenly had two animals and also had to deal with the idea of not being able to ride Molly for a while as well. One lady, who managed the equestrian centre where Molly was living at the time also kindly informed me that it was likely I would have to totally re-break her when I started riding again, This was upsetting but I am glad I didn't pay too much attention, as she also told me the foal would reach a good 15.2hh, and she barely made 13.1hh!

We had lots of fun and also a lot of worrying times over the first few months before we moved the pair to a field with a couple of acres and a large field shelter, where Molly spent the majority of her time trying to escape onto the main road and with the foal in tow! On various occasions we had calls to let us know Molly had managed to get out and her and Gemma were walking down the road, but not to worry because the pair were behaving quite sensibly and sticking to the left! She never put up a fight when we would catch up with her and I still believe she was just bored sick with just being a mummy.

This is a picture of Molly not long after we separated her from Gemma, it was an extremely emotional day, and one that since having a child myself can totally sympathise with her. But not long after that image was taken, we moved Molly to the yard she lives on now and funnily enough her baby lived just down the road, and I prepared myself for the first time we rode past Gemma's field and although baby came running to the fence, Molly didn't even batter an eyelid! Seems really bizarre considering it took 4 people to hold her back and hours and hours of her going nuts in the field when they took little Gems away.

And people say horse don't feel emotions.......