Rocky was a gorgeous unbroken ,3 year old thoroughbred.
He was all the way in Suffolk where I was based in Warwickshire. It was a mammoth journey of 2 and a half hours to go and see him.
The moment I laid eyes on him I got a funny, cheeky, warm character.
He was only a baby and only just halter broken but we managed to get him into an arena to watch him trot about.
He took it all in stride as he continued to do through his short life.
I couldn’t leave him and asked to put a deposit down.
We got him home 3 days later and that’s when our journey started.
He arrived with me in September and I was on his back back by October.
Everything you asked him to do he’d give it a go and try his hardest. He was a super little chap to break in. We managed a few weeks of being ridden before I turned him away for the winter.
I had brought him back into work in February to properly break him in. By the beginning of March we were walk, trot, cantering and hacking in company. We made such a good team, we got on and I felt my little bond with him getting bigger.
Unfortuently due to covid 19 my yard closed down so he went out until June.
I had him moved to a new yard closer to home and work. From there we started again.
He had turned 4 and had time to grow up a little bit his mentality was still as genuine as ever.
The day I moved him I was back on his back and we went from there.
He unfortunately sustained a fractured femur in the field 3 weeks later and had to go on to 6/7 weeks box rest.
It was the middle of summer, he hadn’t been in a stable for any longer than a morning.
This was a real worry that he wouldn’t settle....however he loved his time on box rest and was a super patient. He was given carrot and apple kebabs, hand picked bags of grass, treat balls, apple bobbing. Everything he could wish for.
Time flew by and we were able to get back into action before the winter hit.
We took it all slow and steady after that and focused on strengthening his body by hacking! Alone or in company he loved it. He’d go any where at any pace.
I had gone through some tricky times, and had to put Rocky out on another holiday. Until he had to start coming in early this year in January.
The 2nd day of the new year he came in with a huge puncture wound which was very deep. He wasn't lame at first but it kept getting worse. He was on three loads of strong antibiotics. I had him X-rayed and we found that he had a chipped splint bone.
The wound had healed up but he then got abscesses under the skin.
It was a horrible decision but this is where his journey had to end. He had to have a very tricky operation and we wouldn’t know if he’d stay sound afterwards.
I know I made the right decision but I miss him more and more everyday.
He was my best friend, my safe place and my world.
He was a huge friendly character who everyone loved.
Thank you so much for my gorgeous piece of jewellery, its truly beautiful and a lovely reminder of him.
