FEATURE STORY
“At the start he was excited and full of energy and when I rode him, I could feel his heart pumping. If you asked him to canter, he went into a canter but he really wanted to go into a gallop – he’s taken a while to realise you can chill and go slow! “I have a cross-country course around the farm and a river runs through the property, too. When we rode along the paddocks, we got chased by the yearling colts and he had to learn to listen to me and ignore them. Eventually I could ride him around the farm and the other horses would gallop past and he’d deal with that. “Then I started jumping him over poles on the ground and he’d sweat because that stressed him. When I first took him to the river, he didn’t want to go in at all and it took me 20 minutes to get him into the water. By the third day he waltzed in and was quite happy. It just takes time.” Pauline rides several times a week and her next challenge for Hey Doc is to help him get over his fear of the cows on the property. She’s also taught him a newway of keeping his face clean! “He hated his head being hosed and it took three months for him to accept me putting water over his face. Later I learned he used to have his head washed with a face washer but I couldn’t reach him to do that, so he’s got used to the hose now,” said Liston. “I love jumping and I might take him for jumping lessons but I don’t have a lot of time to compete – I have six grandchildren who I spend as much time with as possible. But it is very rewarding when a horse like Hey Doc learns to trust you, does what he is told and enjoys that. He’s a great horse with a lot of spirit and energy and I just want him to be healthy and happy.” An important person in Hey Doc’s lifewhile hewas with the McEvoys was Camille Piantoni, his strapper. She has visited Hey Doc at his new home. “Camille absolutely loved Hey Doc and rode him every day,” said Calvin. “He wasn’t the easiest horse to ride but they had a bond. Sometimes you just connect with a certain horse and that’s what happened for Camille and Hey Doc. The two of them had a great partnership and shared a great journey.”
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