Ermis

Well grab a nice cold drink because it's probably going to be a long one. Ermis. Well nothing really special about him. Just a bay thoroughbred with white hooves. That is actually something unique. Bays usually have black hooves. He has an odd conformation. Long and slender horse with a long neck. That neck has saved me so many times. I actually hung on like a koala once to save myself when he decided to buck. Was fun.

Ermis was a school horse from the first riding school that we were at. He was a popular horse for lunge line lessons and beginners. Many riders loved him. The poor boy would do so many lessons a day that it would sometimes take two or three people to catch him and saddle him. He's nothing like that now. Infact now he wants to work. If I'm late to get him he starts pacing and as soon as he sees me he parks at the door and if I take too long to walk up to his gate he will start kicking it. Even puts his nose in the headcollar himself!

Myself and the girls all learnt to ride on him. From walk, trot and canter. Back in his school horse days he would rodeo a bit on the canter and would buck kids and adults off quite often. I've been bucked off quite a few times. He was tired and fed up or maybe even in pain. He was even cribbing, which is when a horse bites down on wood or metal and sucks in air. This makes them feel good and is a stress reliever but causes many other issues with their teeth, neck and back. He was in a shared paddock with three other horses that would push him around and eat his food. So he wasn't very happy.

I don't know why but from day one I was drawn to him and he seemed to like us as well. When he would hear my car he would bang on his stable door until we went to say hello. We used to say Ermi is calling.

So we spent eight years with him in and we grew attached to him and I had always promised myself that I would see him into retirement. When the farm closed down and the school horses went up for sale we decided we couldn't let him go. The original price was exceptionally high and I couldn't afford it and to be honest I knew no one would buy him because he's old (on paperwork). Apparently born in 1992 so that would make him thirty two this year. Yup. Thirty. Two. Is he though? According to the vets: no he isn't. They believe that he is under twenty as he still has certain teeth that should have disappeared if he was that age. I asked three vets separately and all three said the same thing. The reason why he was thought to be old is because of his eye. His right eye has a line going through it and it was thought to be a cataract but it looks like it was just an injury. I'm not sure why 1992 was put as his birthday but he's either in extremely good condition for a thirty two year old or they made a mistake.

Anyway the price dropped and my mum actually paid for half and I the other half. She knew how much he meant to us. So there we were/are with two horses. We had to make changes to be able to afford them both, but they are worth it.

So six week after we had moved with Whisper, I went and picked up Ermi. The farm owner was actually crying when we loaded him and was very emotional. I felt bad for him but at the same time he created this mess and caused others and us so much pain and misery because of his life choices.

Anyway, Ermi settled in very fast. In the beginning I really didn't think he would be doing much. He was underweight and had lost muscle tone. Slowly he put on weight and began to be more himself. He was more relaxed, willing and sweet. He really enjoyed having an area to himself and would charge the other horses on the fence line when it was feeding time. He still does this.

We spent three years at the farm riding, hacking, jumping and even going competitions. Both girls got their dressage licences on him. I remember that day too. We loaded Ermi for the show and he turned and looked at me and screamed. Ermi isn't a vocal horse and I wonder what he thought was happening to cause him to call out. Anyway once we arrived at the show venue and we unloaded him and he saw us he was perfectly fine and a gentleman at the show. Other horses were rearing and bucking around him in the warm up arena and he did not care.

An amazing, sweet horse with a great character. That's Ermi. Well he can be what we call spicy Ermi. When he has a lot of energy he can get a bit naughty.

When we moved again, to Horseland, Ermi started cribbing again. The first few days he was ok but then he started his bad habit. I bought two products to put on the bars of his paddock to stop him and it worked. If you would like to know what I used just send me a message.

Now he has settled completely and is enjoying life and we are enjoying him. The not so old ex school horse. x