Hi! My name’s ‘Lofty’…and I’ve come a really long way…literally!
I’m a 34″ American Miniature therapy horse now, but it hasn’t always been that way…I actually started off life in the Netherlands!
I was born on 29th March 2012 (although I don’t remember much about that obviously!)
My dad was a stunning miniature black stallion and my mum was the most beautiful dark brown tobiano miniature broodmare. As parents go, in human terms, they were like super models! That didn’t really mean much to me as a tiny foal…all I wanted was my mum, her love, protection…and lots of milk – I was very greedy (and nothing’s changed!)
I didn’t really get to spend much time with my dad, but I would see him prancing, almost floating, around the field – I wanted to grow up and be just like him!
Because I had such amazing parents I had to have an equally impressive name, so I was officially named ‘TF Crow Feathers Heartbreaker’ (I know…it’s a bit of a mouthful!)
I loved my early months, full of play, with my mum and the other foals at the Stud – we had so much fun together!
After weaning I came to the UK…to be a show horse…and I was very excited about the prospect! It sounded very grand! Lots of the horses at the Stud had told me very exciting stories about places and shows they’d been to!
It was a long journey as a young foal, but I was well cared for on the way and was soon being unloaded at my new home.
I was given a new ‘stable’ name…’Indie’ and was introduced to my new ‘family’, both two legged and four legged. I soon settled in and learnt to understand the new language – it was a bit tricky at first!
So my new life began…learning where I belonged in this new herd of mini show horses – basically, because I was the baby, I was at the bottom of the pecking order…with lots to learn, not just from my new horsey pals, but from the humans as well – and learn I did!
Those early days, with my new family, stood me in good stead for the future – I learnt about being groomed, bathed, clipped, how to stand for a judge, what to do in the show ring. I learnt how to load and travel, how to behave for the farrier…and generally how to be a really good boy!
I did enjoy the showing – all the new and exciting places, so many different things to see…strutting my stuff, trying to make sure everyone admired me – especially the one in the centre they called ‘Judge’ – I had to make sure he or she couldn’t take their eyes off me until they called me over to give me a beautiful rosette! (I never did work out why so many humans, both men and women, in the showing world are called ‘Judge’ – it’s obviously a very common show name?!)
Some of my best achievements as a young show horse were becoming Junior Grand Champion Gelding at the MHCGB Championships as a yearling, and qualifying at my first show of 2014 for the Royal London Show Show! When I was 2 years old two new humans came to see me. I wasn’t sure why, but they seemed really nice, so I showed them what a good boy I was…and how handsome of course! Well…how could they resist me?!
And that’s how it all started! I learnt that I was to be a companion to A much bigger horse than me called ‘Bertie’ – a handsome 15hh dun and white coloured cob – with the idea of doing some showing as well. I thought that all sounded perfect!
I thought I’d miss my mini friends, but Bertie was as big a character as I am, and I settled in straight away with my new four legged friend…and everyone who met me instantly fell in love with me! (Well…my posh name is ‘Heartbreaker’ after all remember!)
My new family consisted of ‘Bertie’ and the two humans ‘April and Steve’…the ‘management’ as I like to call them!
Steve immediately nicknamed me ‘Lofty’, which made everyone laugh, and I like it when humans laugh, so I soon forgot it had been anything else…and that’s how I got my name! I thought my new human family needed ‘stable’ name’s of their own, and as I’m obviously the posh little show horse I gave ‘April’ the nickname ‘Groom’ and ‘Steve’ became ‘Gofer’…because my ‘Groom’ can often be heard asking him to go for this and go for that! So it was settled – we now all had our own special names!
Apparently ‘Gofer’s’ dad was called ‘Brian’ and he was in a place called a Nursing Home, and ‘Groom’ would often tell me about him whilst she was brushing me (she often chats to us whilst grooming/working around us and I like it – horses can pick up on a humans body language and tone…and we react to it…that’s our way of communicating. It’s non verbal, but just as much a language as the spoken word)
Groom, Gofer and the rest of the family would visit Brian a lot…because he wasn’t well enough to get out and about – I presumed it was the human’s equivalent to being on box rest?!
Groom told me that occasionally they would take one of their other four legged companions (one of the dogs) with them When they visited, as it was something different for Brian…and he always really enjoyed it.
I thought a lot about what Groom had said whilst I was out in the field one day. I was free to eat, run around, play and roll to my heart’s content…it must be horrible to be so poorly that you’re stuck inside all the time.
Little did I know then…but only six months later I would actually get to visit Brian at the Nursing Home myself!
The rest, as they say, is history…it all started from there – but that’s another story…for next month!
