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Our Horses
The simple pleasure of working with horses is the cornerstone of all RDA’s activities. We currently have 5 ponies and 4 horses. The difference between a horse and a pony is in the height which is measured in hands. A pony is up to 14.2hh and a horse is taller than that.
Our herd has been specifically selected based on their size and temperament and are trained to provide our participants the best experience possible.
Coco
Breed:
Colour:
Height:
Born:
Irish Sports Pony
Skewbald
14hh
2006
Coco is a sociable and intelligent pony who loves treats and getting belly scratches. Coco is very friendly and especially likes making friends with our young participants. She is more than happy to stand and be fussed over by her participants and volunteers, although she does like to pretend she is a wild pony at times when coming in from the field.
Coco is ridden by some of our more advanced participants and enjoys taking them for a trot. Coco can on occasion be wary of new things as well as some familiar objects. For example, we’ve yet to convince her that the towels and rugs are not going to eat her. She is however often brave enough to face these with a treat and some encouragement.
Finn
Breed:
Colour:
Height:
Born:
Cob
Black
13.3hh
2006
Since coming to us, Finn has shown to be a natural RDA pony. He is very laid-back and gentle, especially when he is with his pony friends but, he does get a bit worried when he is on his own as he doesn’t want to miss out on anything!
Finn has incredible patience with our participants, in fact, he is more likely to take a nap than anything else! He can also accommodate some of our taller participants due to his strength.
Finn is also one of our hairiest ponies, you will be lucky to find him behind his mane at times, and he grows a rather impressive moustache come wintertime.
Frank
Breed:
Colour:
Height:
Born:
Cob
Piebald
12.2hh
2012
Frank arrived with us 2021 and has mixed well with his new horsey friends. He is particularly good friends with Levi. Frank loves to stand and be groomed and to get his thick mane made neat and tidy so he can see where he is going, although he does always seem to come in from the field with very dirty legs!
Frank has been so laid back with all his training and practice work in the arena that he quite quickly joined in the sessions with some of our riders and he has been fantastic and very well behaved.
Jay
Breed:
Colour:
Height:
Born:
Welsh Section A
Chestnut
13hh
2010
Jay is one of our friendliest ponies and is always one of the first to the gate to say hello and find out what is happening. Jay is also one of our more active ponies and you will often see him playing with the other ponies or having a race around the field. Sometimes he will even try to get his human friends to join in!
Jay loves to have something to do, although he sometimes decides that going forward is not that 'something'. He also has a trick where he likes to stand on three legs while eating his breakfast!
Levi
Breed:
Colour:
Height:
Born:
Cob
Piebald
14.3hh
2012
Levi joined us in July 2021 and has settled in extremely well with his new horsey friends. In fact when he arrived at Whitequarries this super friendly little pony couldn’t wait for his two week quarantine to be over and kept jumping the fence to join his new herd!
Levi is quite a quiet, gentle member of the herd and he loves human company and will stand all day being groomed, cuddled, and just being made a fuss of. Check out his beautiful long eyelashes the next time you visit!
Before our 2021 season finished and after lots of practice in the arena, Levi had his first riders and joined in with some sessions where he was very well behaved, although he did sometimes have difficulty going in a straight line, but we are working with him on that!
Libby
Breed:
Colour:
Height:
Born:
Cob
Piebald
15hh
2012
Libby joined the group in April 2024, and it didn’t take her long to settle in. From the moment she arrived, Libby took everything in her stride and picked up all her training quite quickly.
With her sweet temperament and calm nature, Libby has quickly become a firm favourite with both our participants and volunteers. She loves being groomed, adores attention, and never says no to a good cuddle!
Libby has also made friends with the rest of our herd and can often be seen having a run around the field with a few of the others. She particularly enjoys the fun of interactive games during sessions and loves looking after our participants helping them to gain confidence and learn new skills all whilst having fun.
Morris
Breed:
Colour:
Height:
Born:
Cob
Piebald
15.1hh
2007
Morris is one of our taller horses and likes to think he is the one in charge of the herd. Morris has done very well since arriving with us and learned quickly how to be an RDA horse, although he does not like to stand still very long. It is a bit boring he thinks.
He likes to make friends at RDA, particularly with the girls in the herd and he enjoys saying hello to all the people who visit as well. Morris is a piebald (black-and-white horse) but sometimes decides he should be a bit more black than white - much to the exasperation of whoever is grooming him that day.
Tango
Breed:
Colour:
Height:
Born:
Welsh Section A
Chestnut Roan
13hh
2004
Tango is one of our smallest ponies and also one of our cheekiest! Tango carries some of our smaller participants and is happy to take those who need more volunteers around for support. He is funny and can pull faces when he thinks something might be a bit too much work! Tango is a very clever pony, and he has even learned how to take off his own bridle!
Tango has three favourite things. Food, belly scratches and more food. Although when these are not available, he also likes going out for walks down the drive and playing games in the arena. He is a lot faster than you would think when he wants a race or thinks there may be food somewhere!
Winston
Breed:
Colour:
Height:
Born:
Cob
Black
16hh
2009
Winston arrived with us in 2021 and has settled in well. He is our tallest horse who is so sweet in nature. Some of our volunteers have nicknamed him the gentle giant! All of his participants love him even though he can be a little bit lazy in the arena at times. Due to Winston's size it means he has the biggest and heaviest hooves but thankfully the farrier still love him!
Winston loves a roll in the mud... we think sometimes Winston and his horsey friends have a competition to see who can get the muddiest! Winston is very laid back and can often be found taking a quick power nap whenever he gets the chance. Being a horse is hard work! Winston is a fantastic horse who provides lots of enjoyment to all of his participants and volunteers.
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