It’s a life changing thing when you go to a sale. Until I went, I really had no idea just how bad things were out there.

As for Lincoln, I think he was in terrible shape. I think he was lucky that he had youth on his side (he’s only 8 years old). You can’t tell that, of course, when you see them in the yard! But he did have a young face. I think you have to trust your instincts, open yourself to divine providence and just take a chance. I think you have to be prepared for the situation where you might never be able to ride the horse but you are still happy to support them for the rest of their life, which is what they deserve.

Lincoln put on weight very quickly. I fed him every four hours for weeks–prime hay. When he stabilised, I added Mitavite Gumnuts to his diet, along with oaten chaff and sunflower seeds. The catch is, although he’s put on weight, it’s taken a long time for him to rebuild muscle. Horses that are in this kind of condition have been breaking down their own muscle to survive so they’re very weak. Lincoln’s only just starting to build up his topline muscle again (which is like core strength for people). He will start very gentle round yard work at the end of this week to help him, but until now I’ve just let him wander the paddocks and hills at his own pace. He’s still reluctant to even trot as he’s unsteady on his feet. So it takes TIME and patience He’s also had a terrible saddle injury on his spine and has been super sensitive to touch but he’s getting Bowen therapy now and he’s doing really well with that. His feet were in bad shape and he really needs four new hooves, which will take 9-12 months. So, again, time and patience.

He’s such a brave, forgiving boy, though. He’s a real sweetheart. He’s nervous of people but still wants to cuddle and is trying hard to do everything right. It’s an incredibly rewarding thing to do.