Horse retired years ago overcomes kissing spines and suspensory hole to win two national titles

A horse who was retired some years ago owing to a hole in the suspensory ligament – and who also has kissing spines – took two titles at the National Schools Equestrian Association (NSEA) championships.

Molly Colwell rode Lisnagrow Ricardo (Herbie) to victory in the intermediate and open NSEA finals at Keysoe last month, years after he was retired as it was thought he would not be sound enough for ridden work.

Molly’s mother Annaliese told H&H she hopes Herbie’s story might give hope to anyone in a similar situation.

“It’s been expensive but he’s worth every penny,” she said.

Annaliese bought Herbie from a dealer as a seven-year-old, for her elder daughter Issy. She said the pair did well for a while but occasionally Herbie did not look right. He was diagnosed with, and treated for, arthritis in his fetlocks, but was still not sound. The Colwells spent months trying to get him right, to no avail.

“We discovered he had a hole in his suspensory branch and the vet didn’t think he’d get better because there was joint fluid coming through,” Annaliese said. “So we retired him aged nine and he became a companion to Gatsby, a horse we loved but was a complete pain in the neck; he’d pick things up and throw them, and whip Herbie with his own rope – I don’t think Herbie found it fun!”

Annaliese had to sell Molly’s pony and although Molly rode a friend’s horse for a while, Annaliese could not afford to buy her one of her own.

But by this point, some 18 months after he had retired, Herbie was looking sound in the field.

“I said let’s get him in and start doing a bit,” Annaliese said. “No shoes, and just in the field he lived in. Weeks went past and he was still sound, and we started doing bits of trot and bits of canter and he was comfortable. Last summer, we tried him in the arena, and he’s just stayed sound.”

Herbie and Gatsby

Annaliese had suspected Herbie’s back was sore, and then found out he had kissing spines. He has been medicated, and he is worked carefully over walking poles, ridden and in hand, to maintain his core strength. His workload was gradually increased until he was happily jumping again.

“He loves it, which is why we’ve persevered,” Annaliese said. “We did various competitions and then qualified for Keysoe, and to then win both classes was lovely; unbelievable.”

The pair had also jumped at the Hickstead NSEA finals in the summer, where they jumped the fastest clear in their class.

“At Keysoe, there’s a Nations Cup and she was asked to do that,” Annaliese said. “She was fastest in the first round so went last in the jump-off, which was really exciting, and as she went through the finish, the commentator said ‘You’re looking at your national champion’. They made it so special for them, and there were 163 in that class, many JA showjumping ponies, and he was just spectacular, bless him.”

Herbie has regular physio and acupuncture, and is ridden without shoes or boots and now aged 14, is as sound and happy as ever, Annaliese said.

“I think the vets think he’s quite a miracle,” she added. “I think a lot of it is the time he had; 18 months in the field, being a horse. He didn’t enjoy that; he was miserable, but now he loves what he’s doing. He’s calm and cheerful and enjoys being around us. He’s a happy horse.”

Annaliese added that Herbie in the past had a reputation for unwanted behaviours, which she believes were signs of his back issues.

“It’s now about keeping him comfortable and happy and enjoying his job,” she said. “It would be amazing for anyone to go and do what he did but for me the magic is in their story. He was retired, he’s got kissing spines, he wasn’t supposed to be doing this, so for him to come back and do this, and teach Molly so much, is amazing. I think there will be plenty of people in a situation like this; at one point I had three lame horses and you think ‘Am I ever going to get out of this?’ and ‘How can I finance this?’ The heartbreak of telling your child you’ve got to retire her horse and can’t afford another one. Both of them have really had to dig deep but these moments of success and joy – it’s about Molly and Herbie’s journey and I hope it might bring someone else a bit of hope.”

Annaliese added that Herbie will never leave the family.

“Good lord, no,” she said. “Someone said he must be worth a bit and I said no way is he going anywhere; if someone offered me £100,000 I wouldn’t take it. He’s our boy and he’s staying here till the end of his days. His insurance came through yesterday and I think the only thing that isn’t excluded now is his nostrils, so we’ll be all right if he does something to them! But he owes us nothing.”

You might also be interested in:

Kissing spine in horses: what all horse owners need to know

‘They’re trying to tell us – we need to listen’: rider of ‘naughty’ horse diagnosed with kissing spine wants to help others notice signs earlier

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