Many of us describe our horses as having ‘a sense of humour’ or being a bit ‘cheeky’ but some horses seem to take this to the next level!
Meet Sir Bentley Boo Baxter!
Terrie and Billy Baxter met Bentley in 2016 when they were searching for a pony for their 13 year old autistic son Robert to ride. After a couple of ponies not quite suiting the brief, they met Bentley, who belonged to a friend of theirs.
Billy had already begun to learn to ride on Bentley and he had shown his kind nature, so the couple decided to take the 14hh coloured gelding on loan, “he was so good, within a month we had bought him”. “We weren’t horsey, Bentley is our first horse, and what a character” The Baxter’s had decided to get a horse to help with their sons autism, and the local riding school was a 45 minute drive away, so getting their own pony seemed the obvious next step. Recent studies have proven that interacting with horses can help improve language skills, hyperactivity and irritability in children with autism. Robert loves Bentley and helps to take care of him at the yard. The duo enjoys Dressage together and recently won an award for Best Overall Junior. Great work Robert!
Bentley became a true family pony, with Terrie, Billy and their son Robert all learning to ride on him, taking part in dressage and fun rides. “We knew Bentley had shown his cheeky side occasionally before we bought him,” said Terrie, laughing, but we just thought he was hot! Terrie had taken Bentley on a fun ride and he had decided he had had enough, decided he could go no further, and so sat down in the sand and refused to move! Billy had also given a local hunter trial a go and was eliminated, Bentley didn’t feel like jumping that day, so they just hacked around the course! “He sits down slowly and we can just slide off the back so we never feel worried about it and you can hear in the video how funny we find it when it happens”.
“He definitely thinks he is funny, during the winter months, we turn him out in the arena and he scoots off to the top, gets down to roll and gets up again before you can stop him!”
As most concerned owners would be, the Baxter’s wanted to know why Bentley did his ‘tricks’ and tried all sorts of, different Numnahs, clipping, arena surfaces and treatments. It turns out; he loves a deep sandy arena, and just can’t help himself!
Bentley has certainly found his perfect family and despite his antics, Bentley is clearly a much loved 5* family pony and continues to bring joy to the lives of his owners. Well played Bentley!
Does your horse have a sense of humour? Let us know and maybe your horse will be next month “do horses have a sense of humour” star.
