Goodbye To Breeze
The Horse Trust has sadly said goodbye to Breeze, a pony that retired to the sanctuary last year after 19 years service for the Horse Rangers Association."Breeze was a little poppet and everybody loved her," said Shirley Abbott, the Yard Manager at The Horse Trust. "It's so sad that she's gone and all the staff, volunteers and visitors will miss her. It never gets any easier losing our horses even though I've been in the job for over 10 years."
29-year-old Breeze, a 13.2hh New Forest Pony, retired to The Horse Trust's Home of Rest for Horses in Speen, Buckinghamshire, when she started having seizures, which meant that it was no longer safe for the Horse Rangers to ride her.
During her long service for the Horse Rangers Association, Breeze taught thousands of children to ride and was one of their most popular horses, according to Theresa Barrett, Stable Manager at the Horse Rangers Association.
"She was a great all-round pony and was perfect for teaching children to ride," said Theresa. "The children were really sad to hear about her passing away - she was a massive favourite because she was such a good little pony."
Breeze was involved in various activities at the Horse Rangers Association including Riding for the Disabled and teaching work, as well as hacking, jumping and musical rides. She even had the honour of taking part in the All The Queen's Horses extravaganza at Windsor Castle to celebrate HM The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations in May 2002.
In November, Breeze developed a condition called orbital cellulitis, which is a serious infection of the tissue behind the eye. Intensive treatment was undertaken to try and stop the infection, however the infection could not be controlled and started to spread. When it became clear that the condition was not being controlled and that Breeze was suffering, staff at The Horse Trust made the sad decision to put Breeze to sleep on Sunday 21 November.
"She was really brave in her last week," said Yard Manager Shirley. "She never grumbled and put up with all the treatment, even though she was obviously in discomfort. Sadly even though we did our best, it wasn't enough."
If you would like to make a donation to The Horse Trust in memory to Breeze, visit http://www.horsetrust.org.uk/ or contact 01494 488 464.
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