Polly

Polly - The Mystical Herd (retirement livery)

Polly is a beautiful 16.1hh bay thoroughbred mare. She is 15 this year – her birthday is 8th February 2009. Polly came to live at Springwood in September 2023. She is one of our six lovely retirement liveries here. Polly is extremely bonded with Nelson and enjoys her freedom and safety at Springwood. She is allowing herself to also become very trusting and vulnerable with me after being quite guarded for her first few months of being here. She is amazing in the herd and has a very clear, gentle way of communicating with all the other animals (including humans). It my honour to care for Polly and, like all of the retirement liveries here, to give her a forever home here with her bonded herd.

About Polly - words from Seb:

Polly’s strong personality matches her beautiful appearance. She stands tall and elegantly with a stunning healthy coat. Beth’s mother, Tessa, was very passionate about Polly. After rescuing her from an industry that viewed her as nothing more than a commodity, she gave her freedom and autonomy away from exploitation and introduced Polly to natural healing methods and ways of living. After Tessa very sadly passed away, we knew the best thing for Polly would be to find her a sanctuary that could continue to allow her complete freedom, and we were lucky enough to find Springwood and Jacqui was kind enough to welcome Polly into the sanctuary. I was lucky to also be able to live and work at the sanctuary for a while and spent a lot of time with Polly and all of her new friends in the Mysties herd. It’s such a good feeling to see her thriving and enjoying her life running freely around on the land with the rest of the herd, it’s everything that Tessa would’ve wanted for her!

About Polly – words from Beth:

My Mum brought Polly home in 2016 after learning of her upsetting situation. She had basically been deemed ‘useless’ by the racing industry, due to her lack of confidence, and was sent to train as a polo horse. That didn’t work and as a result she was booked to go to market and be sold for meat. Mum couldn’t let that happen, so she went to go and see her and knew she had to take her home. When she first came to live with us she was so tightly wound and petrified of anything and everything, she would do laps of the field if she so much as saw a pheasant, never mind a tractor or lorry! Mum got to work straight away to calm her and try and show her that she was safe and loved with us, she never had to worry again. I watched their bond grow for years and Polly became unrecognisable from the anxious and exhausted horse that came to us, and it was so clear that she knew she was safe. It was so beautiful to witness the connection that they shared, Polly would do anything for my Mum and trusted her completely - and vice versa.

Unfortunately, my Mum died very suddenly following a short illness in 2021, so I started looking after Polly and our other pony D’art. I learnt so much about Polly in the time that I was taking care of her after my Mum’s passing. We had both experienced so much hurt and grief that we were just trying to help each other through it. She knew I was trying my best in my situation and she showed me so much love and protection in return. We really got to know each-other well and she truly is the most gorgeous soul. Polly has always struggled with being touched and groomed, she must not have been handled kindly before she came to us because she would panic and lash out if you tried to brush her, or even sometimes stroke her. But she was really learning to trust me like she trusted Mum and became so much more open to having me in her space, she would even come up and ask for scratches and affection. It was so lovely to know that she saw me as a safe place and that I would never force that brushing or even stroking upon her. I let her take her time to work through her grief of losing Mum, along with trying to figure it all out myself.

As time went on I was really struggling with a lot and ultimately made the decision to find Polly another home, I wanted her to be free somewhere permanent and safe, somewhere where she had her own herd with someone with experience to look after her, like my Mum had. I found Jacqui and after learning of our situation, she took us in and she helped Polly and I in more ways that she knows. I knew my gorgeous Polly would be so loved and so happy at Springwood. Once I had visited Springwood and met Jacqui with my Dad and sister, we wasted no time and drove Polly to Springwood the next week. I couldn’t wait for her to start her journey with her new friends, safe and sound in her forever home.

Polly was so calm and relaxed when we arrived at Springwood - it was so clear that she could feel the positive, healing energy of the sanctuary and it was beautiful to see. She was nothing like that scared, shut down horse that arrived at our house in 2016. Nelson from the Mysties really took her in and looked after her as soon as she arrived and they have been joined at the hip ever since. It’s so beautiful to see and I knew I didn’t have to worry about her anymore.

Once Polly was at Springwood it took a while for her to learn that when I went to visit her I wasn’t going to take her away. It has only been recently when I visited Polly that she came over to me and stood with me, nuzzling me and breathing all over my face (which I think is her version of a kiss) and it made me so happy that she finally knew she was there to stay. It’s taken her a good year of being there to start to really show her gorgeous personality, but I’m so glad now that everyone can see her the way I did and the way Mum did. She is so affectionate and so protective, she will watch you from across the field (that’s if she hasn’t already come to walk by your side) and will make sure you get to where you are going safely. Polly has a very specific way of showing she loves you, as they all do, and I’m so happy that she is being vulnerable and allowing the Springwood family to see this loving side to her. I miss her everyday, but I know I don’t have to worry about her and I know she really is thriving. It’s so lovely to see how she is getting on everyday, finally letting go of the traumas that she has had to face in her life, especially after a rough few years. Thank you Jacqui and everyone at Springwood, thank you to Nelson who took her in and stuck by her side when meeting all her new friends in her new herd, the Mysties. ❤️