Finn, Little Thunder and Big Black
Three horses were urgently looking for a new home
From the perspective of an Aiderbichler
(written by Gisela Pschenitschnig)
Horses – whether big or small – inspire many people. If possible, people then also buy a horse. Riding a horse across the meadows must be something great. I don’t do it myself, but I do enjoy socialising with the big four-legged friends.
Humans’ big four-legged friends can live to be between 30 and 40 years old. All kinds of things can happen during their active phase of life as riding horses: Injuries to the legs, laminitis, back problems, etc. Therapies and other medical treatments or even operations are expensive. These are situations where horse owners have to decide: can I afford my ageing horse with all its problems, or do I need to find an alternative place to live?
Clever Finn - 17 years old and sick hooves
At the age of four, Finn came to an animal-loving family. It soon transpired that Finn’s laminitis had been concealed during the sale. The seller acts irresponsibly in such a case, but it’s all about profit.Finn was intended to be a riding pony, but Finn doesn’t like riding at all. He lived with his new owners in an active stable, which means that the horses have to walk long distances to the feeding and drinking areas. When Finn was in good health, it was no problem for him to cover these distances. The horses don’t live in boxes there either, so it wasn’t possible to separate Finn.
When the horses want to go out to pasture, they have to pass through the pasture gate. A chip is used to set who is allowed into the pasture and who is not. Finn is clever and knew what he had to do to cheat his way into the pasture: he made himself small and waited until a horse marched through the gate into the meadow. Of course, he didn’t realise that going to pasture could have meant his death.
Finn now lives in his forever home at Gut Aiderbichl in Henndorf, together with “Kleiner Donner”. And: Finn has a preference for tall, full-figured mares with brown fur. He fell head over heels in love with our Hilde. She was a little shy at first, but now they make no secret of their affection.
The "Little Thunder" and the "Big Black" - retired therapy horses
“Kleiner Donner” is now 25 years old and was considered a therapy pony for a long time.
Little Thunder had confidence in people and vice versa. He was always open to the children’s problems and many probably whispered their problems into Little Donner’s ears.
Therapy horses are primarily used for children with disabilities. No matter what kind of impairment they may have, working with a therapy horse gives the children self-confidence and a really great friend.
AdHD can also be wonderfully “contained” with the help of a therapy horse – because the calmness of the horse is transferred to the child’s psyche.
Unfortunately, the owner could no longer afford her “Little Thunder” financially, so he was taken in at Gut Aiderbichl in Henndorf. Like Finn, he also suffers from laminitis.
At Gut Aiderbichl, Little Thunder became the “quasi-boss” of Finn. This changed over time. Finn is now the “Sager”, and Little Thunder pretends not to notice. Diplomatically, he lets Finn take over the strength.
When Finn has to go for a deer check, one thing is clear: Little Thunder wants to be there. He never lets his friend out of his sight. If Finn’s trusting behaviour becomes too much, it can happen that he gives his friend the cold shoulder. Little Thunder will not be deterred.
The big black one
Little Donner came to Gut Aiderbichl together with “Big Black”, 31 years old. The big black horse has been living in Gut Aiderbichl’s A stable, the so-called old horse stable, for several weeks.
The A-Stable offers old horses the right food, hay dust-free zones and wide pastures and paddocks all year round. We think that the big black horse feels very comfortable in the A-Stable. He has a lot of other horses of an advanced age here and everyone is well looked after.
It’s wonderful that the owner didn’t have her old horses picked up by the horse dealer, but thought very carefully about where she could put her favourites now that she can no longer look after her friends herself.
The old ones are the best - the animals and the people.
– Jo Dantes
What could be better than observing animals, learning about their behaviour and feeling the many connections between animals and humans?
With this in mind, Yours sincerely, Gisela
