Silver, beautiful Silver (or Silvie as I had affectionately named her) was the spitting image of Troy.
Silver was shy, skittish and hard to catch, however, once caught she had impeccable manners. I’d describe her as the been there, done it and got the T-shirt kind of girl. I didn’t know much about Silver’s past, only that she had been a broodmare (used for breading) and she hadn’t been treated well at all. But despite her difficult past Silver’s gentle nature shone through. I think out of all the Pukka Ponies I’ve fostered she is by far the kindest most gentlest soul. I really love Silvie.
Bringing Silver into the herd was a new experience for me. The Oracles had advised me to put her in a neighbouring paddock for a week. That way she could see and touch the herd but still feel safe and I could get to know her. Over the next few days I went into her paddock to poo pick and just ignored her (well I pretended to). I then began to strategically move towards her, gently stroking her as I walked past. By the end of the week Silver would come to greet me, she was comfortable with me standing near her, I was able stroke her all over and lead her around the paddock. I can’t tell you how happy it made me feel seeing this transformation.
During this time a friendship had developed between Silver and Oreo. Often in the evenings I would see them grooming each other across the taped fence and they had many nose to nose moments. Since all the ponies appeared calm it was time to integrate newbie Silver into the heard. I felt apprehensive about the outcome but luckily Lydia offered to come over and support me. She advised me to move Silver into the larger paddock, that way the ponies would have plenty of space to move around or get away if they needed to. If there were signs of aggression I was to intervene and remove the pony that was causing the problem.
Lydia’s advice sounded straightforward but truth be told I was petrified at the thought of intervening. I had only just mastered leading the ponies and basic horse care. “Be brave, be brave!” is what I kept thinking as I moved Silver into the paddock. Then we just watched. To my relief the ponies greeted one another and started grazing. A happy herd. “Phew! What a relief.”
