16/08/2025
5 years ago today, a battered lorry pulled up onto the yard.
Two men got out the cab and lowered the ramp to reveal a tiny, terrified little pony. My little Magpie.
They scooped him up in their arms and dumped him in my stable, I handed them the cash and they were gone.
The 6 month old C**t I'd agreed to buy was no more than 4 months old, too young to be away from his mother.
He huddled in the corner his stable, watching us all carefully as my old girl, Cleo, peered over to see what was going on.
A few hours passed and he hadn't touched his hay, I realised that he hadn't even been weaned from his mother, most likely he had been taken from her that day.
I picked some grass from around the yard and he ate it happily, so I quickly ran to the store to buy grass pellets and soaked the pellets into a lush smelling slop, which he showed an interest in.
I picked more grass and mixed it in with his hay, thankfully he was finally eating.
That night I slept in his stable with him, I woke up to him lay down next to me snoring.
I knew the moment they opened that lorry he wasn't going to be the size they said, I knew I'd never be able to ride him, but I also knew he was never going anywhere.
The vet came the next day. He hadn't been handled by people until yesterday, I couldn't get a head collar on him without terrifying him. The vet held him in his arms whilst taking blood samples, and we waited a couple of days for the results.
Buying him from an unknown place, and not even seeing him first was a bad idea when we had 4 other horses on site, so we kept him separate until his results came back clear of Strangles.
Slowly, we introduced him to Cleo and Patch, who both became his surrogate parents.
As the months went by, Pie turned into a confident, fun loving little pony who drove Cleo mad. To our surprise Patch, who is a big, powerful male cob took to being Pie's father figure, and kept him in line whilst being so gentle and patient.
And then, I lost Cleo.
A night I will never forget, full of heart break and agony. The next morning we let Pie and Patch see her body, Patch knew. Pie, however, went into the field and began screaming, running around searching for her. It absolutely broke me.
I promised Cleo I would look after Pie for her, she was a stoic mare, she wasn't one for affection but she cared deeply for her 'herd'.
5 years on and Pie hasn't changed much, he's still a baby, he still loves human attention, he craves cuddles and connection, he will still fall asleep on you (although, now he's considerably heavier it's not quite as sweet).
He had a bad start to life, with his first few months being treated for an excessive worm burden and a lice infestation. But he's the sweetest young man you could ever wish for.
His face is full of character. His blue eye twinkles with thoughts of mischief. That tiny terrified pony is now a slightly bigger pony, full of love and the wonder of life.
Happy 5 years Pie Face. ❤️
