Pirate – Coloured Irish Cob – Gelding

PIRATE
The Wales saga continued …….the last of the mountain gang!
Pirate was my friend Vernon’s breeding stallion at his farm in the Welsh mountains, producing some lovely babies.
I always loved him because although he is a coloured horse he is mainly black, with a distinctive pirate eye patch. He is my own Johnny Depp of the horse world.
I first met Pirate when I took one of my mares to be mated with him. I fell in love with him immediately and when I returned to see Paddy I asked if I could have Pirate too, although I didn’t want to keep him as a stallion.
After a bit of convincing Vernon agreed, and Pirate joined my epic four-horse shopping spree.
As with the others he went through the whole health routine when he arrived and he had to be gelded too. Just like the other three, he took everything we threw at him.
Sometimes you come across horses that are like naughty children because they haven’t been brought up correctly. But these had been allowed to be horses, to behave naturally, and we found they loved every aspect of being trekking centre horses.
They have been the most simple of horses to work with and they have thrived here in our happy herd environment.
Pirate is a lovely lad, probably one of the most popular that we have for newcomers to riding. He is such a great character and is so safe and dependable that he gives people a memorable and enjoyable first experience of the trekking centre. For beginners or for riders who have lost their confidence he is wonderful.
And some of my regular experienced riders are currently having a fabulous time with him on the treks. They are finding him a really exciting ride – our Mr Dependable has hidden depths!
In the herd he is a very sociable horse. You will often see him sparring with either his son Lightning or today, as I write this blog, Mr Shrimp. They are playing a fun game of trying to take each other’s legs and dropping their playmate to their knees. Although a strong member of the team he is one of the most playful in the herd dynamics.
Some people thought it was a shame to geld him and take him away from his mountain environment.
But I knew it was the right decision. He is a fantastically happy horse and loves the life he has here. We are so lucky to have him. Our clients enjoy riding him just as much as we enjoy owning him.

Open Day – Saturday 22nd April 2017

Celebrate our Open Day and Save Money

Come and see our new Indoor Arena, Bistro, Conference Facilities and meet our horses. Get £5.00 off all bookings made and paid for on the day.

We have demonstrations throughout the day catering for all age groups and abilities in our Indoor Arena. Outdoors you can meet the team, our horses and try your hand at the Bucking Bronco ride while savouring a hog roast.

The Days Events on 22nd April 2017

Indoors in Our Arena

Time Event
10.15am Introduction to Riding
Demonstration by our Little Chasers
10.35am Riding Improvement
Demonstration by our Little Chasers
11.00am Intermediate Riding
Demonstration with BHS Registered Instructor, Karen
Midday Equifit / Equilates
Demonstration with REPS Registered Instructor, Nicky
1.00pm Meet the Farrier
Watch Karl at work with our horses
2.00pm Natural Horsemanship / Bareback
Demonstration with Lisa
3.00pm Stallion Zidane parades his foals
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Outside at the Trekking Centre

Time Event
10.00am – Midday Meet the horses and the team
Midday Onwards Bucking Bronco Ride & Hog Roast
2.00pm – 4.00pm Meet the horses and the team

Paddy – Coloured Irish Cob – Gelding

PADDY – Coloured Irish Cob – Gelding
Paddy was one of the four I brought home from my Wales adventure – probably my best ever shopping trip!
You will remember from last week’s blog about Melody that I originally agreed to buy two coloured cobs.
Paddy was one of them and he was special from the start. He had been gelded late, so he was a nice big horse who still looked like a stallion. He had a lot of presence but in a calm way, so he had a strong and dependable demeanour.
Like Mel, when he arrived he had to go through the whole routine of vet, farrier and dentist and he was unfazed by the whole procedure. He went straight into training and within two weeks he was riding out on the Chase with me on his first trek.
We did have a little hiccup with him a while later when he started to catch a few people off their guard. Because he is a big hairy cob people are inclined to think he is bound to be a dopey plodder and some were underestimating him.
He isn’t a plodder – he is actually a forward going and active ride and for a while I only put my stronger riders on him. We soon worked him through it and those experienced clients have helped to make him the lovely cob he is today.
Now he is a delight to ride and so dependable, he is a real confidence giver. We find that when we are teaching people to canter for the first time he will give them a really fantastic first experience.
Paddy has such a good reputation these days that we call him “Super Cob”. At first glance people see him as a traditional coloured cob – some clients even ask if he is a Shire – but there is more to him than meets the eye. If we were to clip off all his hair, underneath you would see a quality horse, much finer than he looks!
He doesn’t need a lot of leg or encouragement. He is a really comfortable ride and he has that boost of extra power that makes cantering on him really exhilarating. But he is kind and gentle too, which makes him the perfect package for all levels of riders.
Just one problem – he is quite laid back in the indoor arena! I ended up riding him myself during one of my bareback lessons  and although I got him going nicely in the end, it was a bit of a challenge! But it gives us something to work on and we will get there.
Paddy’s most endearing quality is the spectacular moustache he grows with his winter coat. His “Movember Moustache” has to be seen to be believed.
One of our lovely regular riders, Marie, is a great Paddy fan and this winter she bought him the most gorgeous leopard print turn-out rug. Twinned with his big moustache he has now been nicknamed “Medallion Man”!