Annette Chisholm Equestrian Development in Winslow, Victoria, Australia | Sport & recreation

Annette Chisholm Equestrian Development

Locality: Winslow, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 437 986 761

Address: 28 Thwaites Rd 3281 Winslow, VIC, Australia

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24.01.2022 Sorry about the long delay between posts, it’s hard for me to write about Wil as I’m still grieving for him. The real problem with loving a horse so deeply is the depth of sorrow that you feel when they are no longer there. Wil really was rather unique. ...Continue reading

24.01.2022 Numb.... There’s no other way to describe the next few days. In times like these, your body and mind tend to go into a state of shutdown. I think it’s a protection measure to stop you from going mad to be honest. ... The shock of losing Gatsby so suddenly... Of losing his big presence in my paddock and the deep deep whickers when I would appear with or without food. Of losing the connection that we had. Of losing the hopes and dreams that I had for him and for us and what we would achieve together. Of losing the future we had, where we did more good things, and I could care for him into his last years as an old horse. All of that was torn away and I went on a hunt to see what I’d missed... The signs that should have been there to show that he was in pain, to show that there was something wrong. I went over his feed, his worming regime, the paddock he was in and the only thing that came back was the scatter of food in his bin the night before. If I had gathered it up, it would have amounted to less than half a handful. That was the only sign that something was amiss but he had wandered off to go play with the other horses and they played hard so no alarm bells rang. Dr Andrew Cust had remarked on that night, that from the vitals and tests results Gatsby had, he should have been throwing himself around and on the ground in pain. He’d actually had horses who had done just that when all they really needed to do was fart (his words haha) So Gatsby’s final lesson for me was to never underestimate the amount of pain a horse can be in just because they do not show it. I spent the next few days on a pendulum swinging between grief, disbelief, and shock. I then received a letter in the mail from the Ballarat Equine Clinic which contained a beautiful card signed by the attending vets from that night and a lock of Gatsby’s tail. It was such a thoughtful gesture and it gave me something to hold on to. Instead of working through the process of grieving, I shut those feelings down, it was too raw, too hard to deal with just then so I tried to move on with life. But funny things would happen, I was vague, withdrawn, and the drive I had to keep going had died too. I stopped going to the gym, I wouldn’t ride unless I had to get on a clients horse. I shied away from getting too close to LB. He and Cos were still cared for and all of their physical needs were met, but I distanced myself from them as a protective measure I think. After a month or so, I realised what I was doing and made an effort to start functioning better again. It was around this time that I found my old boy Wil! I’d never given up hope of finding him again and the timing was perfect. Over the next few days I’ll begin to tell his story.

21.01.2022 While Willy never loved jumping and in fact sometimes riding him in to a jump felt like he had a hand brake on. He got to be ok at it. As I mentioned earlier I never pushed him up the heights as his heart just wasn’t in it. We did get to have some fun though and it came about literally by accident. I’d been getting Cos fit for hunt season and also the upcoming eventing season and things were going well. ...Continue reading

19.01.2022 Do you pat or slap your horse when you are pleased with them? Maybe try a scratch instead? This research shows they like a scratch more

19.01.2022 There are many funny moments that I had with Wil, there were many joyous moments, there were many moments where we were just together enjoying each other’s company. It built a relationship of mutual trust, but I had to rescue his backside on more than one occasion... He was a terror for seeing if he could push through a fence to get food on the other side. While the fences were electric it was ok but one day the fences got turned off and weren’t turned back on again for a ...while. While they were off some cows chewed sections of the fence rendering them pretty useless. At this point Wil almost rubbed his hooves together in glee. The tasty tender shoots that had been out of reach were all of a sudden accessible. The only problem was the fences were no match for 800 odd kgs of long legged horse. I arrived home from work one sunny day and called for Wil who was out in the back paddock. Normally he’d neigh in answer and come fanging in to see what we were doing/going. He answered me but didn’t appear. The first pricks of alarm happened as I was walking up the paddock to go get him and he was calling out but not appearing. Popping through the alley into the back paddock I was expecting to see him somewhere but nope no horse... By this stage I was running to where I could hear him calling out and when I got there my heart stopped in my chest. The big fella was stuck I’ll say over the fence... his near side was on one side of the fence and his off side was on the other. He’d threaded one front leg through the wires and had been there for a little while from the amount of poo that was drying behind him. He was REALLY glad to see me and had a look on his face like ‘so whatcha going to do now?’ The only option was to cut the wire to get him out but the wire cutters were all the way back in the shed and no one else was home. I was worried that he’d panic if I left him to go get the wire cutters but having no other option I bolted like a rabbit for it’s hole back to the shed to grab the wire cutters and a halter. Wil started calling out as soon as I left and I was worried he’d start trying to get himself out with bad consequences. Wire cutters and halter in hand I bolted back to my dork in distress to find he’d broken the top wire but was still firmly stuck. One by one the wires went ping and he was free. A few small cuts on his offside fetlock where he’d threaded his leg between the wires and an abrasion between his back legs where he’d burned himself rubbing on the wires trying to work out how to get himself out, we got out of it relatively scott free. He was a bit sore and sorry for himself though so he had a few days off work and a bit of extra TLC. Reflecting later I couldn’t quite believe, how lucky I was to have a horse that would trust that his human would come rescue his oversized behind when he got himself into these scrapes. It was part of what made him so special (and also just a bit worrying )

18.01.2022 Karabil Park Gatsby. Gatsby came to me from a friend who wanted him to be brought back into work to sell. I never went looking to buy another horse over 17h but that’s exactly what happened. ...Continue reading

16.01.2022 Theoretically Wil should have been able to jump and he proved that he could lift himself over single jumps quite well and cross country was fun for him. Show jumping courses... not so much. After our cross country fun, I decided to give him one last crack at showjumping to see if he would now be able to handle the idea of it better. ...Continue reading

14.01.2022 After a couple of weeks away from my furbies. This is exactly what I missed so much! Happy to be home and sniffing them like a crazy lady. Let’s not talk about the weather

12.01.2022 wins every time

12.01.2022 I’m going to go back a little bit and explain what I mean by bridle lame. On the left rein Gatsby was perfectly sound and even in his length of stride (its always most noticeable in trot) Change to the right rein and he would instantly start to get out of rhythm and look to be limping, head bob included. The first time this happened I thought he had picked up a stone so jumped off and picked out his near fore but there was nothing there. Mounting again we were on the left ...Continue reading

10.01.2022 Thought this was a bit timely. Love it!

07.01.2022 This is a great read about the way a horses brain works.

06.01.2022 Gatsby went from a horse that was highly emotional to a chilled relaxed little unit that you see here in this video. I’m really proud to say that we got to the point that I was happy to ride him bridleless at least once before he passed. It was only for a short space of time as I thought I had all the time in the world to do it again. ... I didn’t have any video of that moment but do have this which was our ritual whenever we would finish our rides. The saddle would be loosened, the bridle would come off and we would walk back to the wash together to finish unsaddling. He loved a good play with the water while he was having a rinse and a brush, so was always happy to head back and I was always happy that we had built a connection where I didn’t have to have him physically tied to me but we could just go together.

05.01.2022 September 13 2017, is a day that I’d like to relive, actually I’d like to go back even further and rewrite what happened but that’s just not possible... On the 12th of September at around 6pm the horses were fed as usual, Gatsby was always fed in the stable yard and would go into the arena paddock overnight to pick at the grass in there. Next to him in the large paddock were LB and uncle Cos. This night Gats ate as usual, then when LB and Cos were having a play Gatsby wander...Continue reading

04.01.2022 Sometimes you get what you need not what you want... Wil, gorgeous goofy Llanavar Wilander was supposed to be for my beginner husband to come trail riding with me.... He came to me thin and a little injured. All 17 + hands of him......Continue reading

04.01.2022 Please accept my apologies for not posting more of Wil’s story for a while. It’s been difficult to recount as I not only lost my best buddy but also a friend in the process. I promise the next phase of the story will be told soon.

02.01.2022 These 2 images resonate with me at the moment. There has been so much that has happened over the last 18 months that should have stopped me dead in my tracks. I have tried to keep on moving forward and concentrating on the positives. But that didn’t allow me to grieve. ... In order to function I had to squash my feelings of grief and loss down and not allow myself to feel. But I worked out that the only way to deal with my grief, so that it didn’t suffocate me was to work through it. The only way out was through. Over the next few days I will be opening up my mind and my heart to share what happened and how it affected me and how I ultimately had to deal with the loss and pain of losing not one, not two but three of my heart horses and dealing with a dermatological condition that also threatens to stop me from riding. First is Gatsby...

02.01.2022 Winter begone Who’s with me?

01.01.2022 This little lady has helped to heal my broken heart. Today her owner came over to see how she’s been going and to enjoy some saddle time with her. Little miss is not perfect, she’s a green work in progress, but she’s the reason I haven’t just given up and said stuff it, it’s all too hard. Thanks for trusting her with me. So glad to have the opportunity to continue our Journey together and excited for what’s yet to come