We heard about Caretta when we were looking for a companion for Polly. She was an old horse , about 18, and lived in a hilly mountain village in a small stable, with no other horse for company in fact no company at all. Her only highlight each day was when a very old man took her for a walk to eat the road side grass. Of course, once we knew about her situation she was the obvious choice for us, being an old, wise horse, she would be the perfect calming influence for our fiery Polly. We arranged to have her collected and she arrived, standing up in the back of a flat back lorry! Poor old girl, still, she had survived her journey and she and Polly were instantly inseparable, it was so lovely to see two lonely horses making friends.
Caretta was such a sweet natured horse and John and our middle son Harry, then 11, were able to go out riding together, quite safely. About 4 months after Carettas arrival, on Harry’s 12th birthday, the boys took the two horses to the local fiesta and Harry won a cup , riding Caretta in a horse competition, beating all of the Spanish men, who were not too happy that a young boy had stolen their trophy!
Very sadly, about a year after Caretta arrived, she started to lose weight and was barely eating. We tried everything to tempt her, leading her out to find grass and offering treats, but she was just not interested. We called the vet, who found a tumour the size of a football on her kidney and we made the heartbreaking decision to have her put to sleep there and then.
Luckily the whole family were home, and we were all able to give her a last kiss and cuddle and be with her while she slowly slipped away, in the garden, surrounded by poppies and daisies. We may not have had her in our lives for long but she will always be fondly remembered.