Thursday, May 22, 2008

Some history on Poppa Flash...


(6wks later)

These photos of Poppa Flash were taken 6 weeks apart...he arrived here in an emaciated state but is now living the life of riley!


Ive managed to trace back some history on Poppa Flash.

He was owned 20 years ago by a lady who adored him and in her own words, tells me that he literally saved her life and prevented her from going off the rails as a teen. I didn't send her photos of him because I thought it would upset her too much. We had quite a chat about him, and it seems some things never change, he;s still very much the same character as he was back then!
And best of all, she was able to confirm to me that he is definitely 30 years old.

Poppa Flash went through a couple of different homes, culminating with a home who (for reasons Im not sure of) sold him to the meatworks. The man driving the meatworks truck took a shining to him, and rang the local pony club to ask if they knew of anyone there who might want a quiet kids horse. Now I won't get into the ethics of him doing this, but I for one am thankful that he did as Flash would have ended up on the table at a restaurant in Europe by now.

So...Flash spent the past year at pony club...how he was able to carry a saddle with a spine that sticks up 3" is beyond me, and when I questioned his previous owner about this she denied it was a problem. She also denied that anyone at pony club thought that Flash was too thin. Again, not going to debate the fact, I think the photos speak for themselves really and all that matters now is that he is here with me and will not be leaving.

He also will never have to go to pony club again!

He lives his life chasing Whizzy (my ex intermediate eventer, 20yrs old) and Lucy around the paddock! He gets first pick of the fresh paddocks, and of course plenty of good food.

He's looking like a woolly bear with 4" long fur!

He's gaining weight slowly but surely, and has had the dentist and regular farriery of course. And it goes without saying that good vet care is never far away if needed.


Will update with furry winter photos shortly.

Happy as a clam..

My grandfather says that Flash sounds just like him...old, skinny, loose skin, hairless in places...and basically a geriatric! Oh, and given that my grandfather is on LubriSyn too, well, he thinks its a match made in heaven lol!

So....Flash is now named...PoppaFlash!

I gave a photo of Flash to my Pop..and he reckons he's going to get all his mates at the bowls club to pitch in on his "new racehorse"...and then he'll give them all a copy of the photo and sit back and watch their faces lol!!!

Poppa Flash is now happily retired at Ararimu Valley Farm, and will stay here until his dying day - which I think will not be any time in the next 10 years or so.

He's gaining weight!



It was a hot sunny day a few weeks after Flash arrived, and so I gave him a shampoo. Cant say he ws too impressed with that idea, but too bad, he didn't have much say in the matter!

He's been fed sugarbeet, nutrice (extruded rice bran feed), musclemax (body builder/weight gain product), oil, and LubriSyn of course for his old joints!

One week later...


Thin thin thin, but happy as a clam.

One Yellow Meets Another...



Mr Yellow who rules the roost, had to come say hi to the new yellow and let him know that life's gonna get much better now!


Why do I need a 15hh 30yr old emaciated horse?





Well, for a start he is yellow...and anyone who knows me knows that yellow is the all time best colour a horse could be!


So...when I saw this little guy for sale online, I had to buy him.


He was advertised on a NZ based website and his sale prompted a LOT of flurry on the message boards with people disturbed that such an old skinny horse was put up for sale for the princely sum of $100. Many people abused the owner etc..and it all went pearshaped.


I made my offer of a permenant home for him, and thankfully the seller agreed that I could purchase him. But...first...before he was allowed to travel, SPCA inspectors went out to see him and they in turn wanted a vet to check him before allowing him to come north to Auckland.


I was relieved when they agreed that he was fit enough to travel..and so he turned up at home one night a few months back.


I had a friend stop in (as I was working late) to check he was ok (the transport company dropped him off and left him in the yard for me as I wasn't home), and she immediately rang me at work. The conversation went something like this:


"Umm....you know how you said he was thin...well....he's not thin...he's emaciated. Ive never seen a horse so thin, and you could take him to work (vet clinic) and give an anatomy lesson on him"


So I couldn't wait to get home to make sure the poor guy was ok.


He certainly was a sight to behold..my god. Ive never in my life seen a horse so thin and still walking. But walking he was, in fact he is absolutely as bright as a button, and positively towed me across the paddock to get to better grass. His body may be failing him due to malnutrition, but he certainly has the heart of an ox. Here are the photos taken on the first night....