Autumn

We’re taking a look at all our horses in turn to provide some insight into their characters and this time it’s the turn of Autumn.

This lovely mare is a Welsh Section C x Arab and was a surprise addition to our team.  I bought Summer 16 years ago – and got another one for free! We didn’t know she had Autumn with her.

When I brought Summer home I asked our vet at the time to look her over and was advised she was a little overweight. Within a week we had a shock foal, discovered when we checked the horses at breakfast time.  She was a beautiful little filly with four white socks and a white blaze. We contacted the previous owners and they said they had no stallion, so she could not possibly have been in foal.  But we had the evidence! Then they admitted that they had had an 18-month-old British Arab colt running with their herd. And – surprise, surprise – he was chestnut with four white socks and a white blaze. Case proved!

Autumn was always quite a strong minded filly and was always brave and a little bit feisty.  I started to train her at four and with all my patience and knowledge of natural horsemanship she still proved tricky. She always had her own opinions about everything!  In the end the answer was to just get on her and ride her out. From the start she excelled and eventually became a push-button ride.  We find that with young riders and teenagers ready for their first canters she is the ideal choice. With her Welsh x Arab breeding she has plenty of stamina and she is very hardy.

Autumn has a massive fan club from beginners to advanced riders, from kids to adults. She was a free gift who has turned out to be priceless.