Update on Teemo…

There was very little good news in 2020, but at Ravelrig they see their glass as always being half full. One of the positives coming from the COVID-19 lockdown was all the horses benefitted from being turned away in to the fields and allowed to be horses.

The enforced chill out time was particularly beneficial to Teemo who was still showing signs of the injury sustained 18 months earlier. After 4 months he was gradually brought back into work to build up strength and muscle and I am delighted to announce that Teemo appears to have made a complete recovery from his earlier injury.

Before returning to RDA work, training was carried out to give all horses new skills to deal with social distancing. They were led to the ramp for mounting and ‘parked’ whilst the leader stands back two meters to allow the rider to mount unaided or with the help of someone from their household, after which they ride unassisted or led from the end of the lead rope.

Additional training has been carried out for hoist mounting for less able riders to be mounted safely with minimum handling. For both exercises, Teemo has been an absolute star, if he didn’t do it right initially it was because he didn’t understand. He is now our first choice of horse for demonstrating the new mounting techniques to both riders and volunteers.

Teemo’s life is good right now. He is back in full work, he is ridden regularly in volunteer lessons under the instruction of a qualified coach, he hacks out at least once a week and he also carries out his duties as an RDA horse. Teemo is a big, gentle giant and would be sorely missed if he wasn’t with us.