Born 2nd February 2002
Leo is suitable for all riding abilities
Leo was our first ever foal, and to us in some ways he will always be our baby. Lucy, his mum seems to feel the same way, as until she died in the spring of 2018, she and Leo were always side by side. Leo was such a Mummy’s boy and chose to be with her over all of the other horses. He does have a good relationship with his own off spring, especially Spirit, which was a big help when his Mum died, but it was very upsetting for about a week after her death, hearing him calling for her. We had allowed him to spend time with her after her death but it didn’t seem to register.
Leo was a lovely foal, very easy and good natured, but thinking back, of course he was – he had his mum for his love and milk and as he got older, a nice supply of mares to keep his hormones happy! By the age of one he was off making babies one minute and back to Mum the next – talk about have your cake and eat it!
At the time we hadn’t quite realised that horses could be fertile at only a year, and by the time his first foal, Spirit, arrived the following year, we also had 3 more foals on the way! Though we had tried to have him gelded in the spring of the year he turned one, the vet decided to leave it until the autumn as it turned hot very suddenly and there were a lot of flies, but then in the Autumn the reverse happened and we ended up leaving it until the following spring.
Never mind, our happy little accidents proved to be a blessing in hindsight, they have given us a lot of joy and are now a fantastic addition to our herd. As already explained in Lucy’s story – Leo loved his milk and the pair of them were in no hurry to wean naturally – we eventually weaned him, aged four, alongside his last foals, by putting him in an adjoining paddock, but when we reintroduced them back into the herd , Leo was the first one trying to suckle – what a big baby! Even up until his Mum died, if we took Lucy out for a ride without him, though he didn’t make a fuss at the time, he could be heard calling to her when she was near home, and his little head was always the one turned in our direction as we walked back through the gate.
As well as being very handsome, Leo is a calm, enjoyable horse to ride and has many fans! He was ridden bitless and barefoot from the very beginning and has never known a whip or had any force used on him. With Leo , less really is more, and he responds best to a relaxed rider who doesn’t try to bully him.
