The Beautiful Belle

by Georgie
(Geelong, Australia )

They say that we don't choose the horses that come into our lives, but that they cross our paths for a reason. I'm a big believer in things happening for a reason, and this applies so well to how I ended up with Belle.
I had just finished a shift on night watch when I received a call from a friend saying that she was over Belle and needed her gone or it was lights out. I knew Belle from my year at university and knew she wasn't as bad as this friend thought, so I bought her and had her shipped the 1200kms to my place.

The day she was set to leave, I received a call at 4am from the trucking company moving her, something which is extremely rare. They wanted to make sure I knew exactly what this horse looked like as they had never transported or seen a horse in this bad a state. This was the moment I realised just how badly things had gotten for Belle, and I just knew I'd made the right decision.

Belle arrived at my mum's house looking like death warmed up. Her coat was dull, matted and falling out in patches. Her hip bones stuck out and had sores on them, her ribs were all clearly visible and her head looked too big for her body. She was a wreck, both physically and mentally. It was dangerous to be in the paddock with her,and if it wasn't for my extremely dominant mare Cherry I don't know what I would have done. Even our dog wasn't safe from Belle's behaviour!

For the first nine months I didn't do anything with Belle, I figured she had had more than enough messing around that some paddock and herd time would be the best thing for her. I went into the paddock, patted her and walked away.

Another major thing I noticed about her were her knees, at 6 years old her knees were still fully open. Seeing this I broke down and cried, I just felt so horrible that she had had to suffer and she was still a baby!! Belle had been pushed, and as a 3/4 year old was competing successfully in elementary level dressage, and this has taken a toll on her physically and mentally.

After about nine months I moved and brought Cherry and Belle with me, and this is where Belle's healing process really begins. I discovered Happy Horse Training on Facebook and started asking millions of questions, so many questions I swear Camille was regretting adding me ;). Slowly, with lots of help from Camille and Gaby, we tried to help Belle through her issues.

After struggling for a few months, Camille helped Belle out through a healing treatment, the results were instant. We discovered layers and layers of trauma everywhere, the extent of the trauma she had was impossible to comprehend, and yet she was in the process of trying to heal herself! Such a strong, resilient girl.

In between all this, I acquired a little pony to be paddock mates with Belle, the change in her paddock behaviour was instant! I no longer had to go in with protection, she was content with herself and her friend, and she was content, finally, with me. From there my relationship with Belle has become better and better. I'm listening to her insecurities and anxieties, and in return she's trusting me more and becoming more vocal and open towards me. There have been steps back along with steps forward but that's the dance we have to do in order to put the moves together and be in harmony.

I don't know how to finish off our story because it isn't finished yet. Belle and I still have a long way to go, but now we are both listening to each other and there's a trust foundation being built. We are on the road to greatness. Belle truly stumbled into my world by accident, only there are no accidents.