A Happy New Year to all the readers from the far north. We seem to have missed most of the bad weather up here, which has plagued the west and south of the country. Here’s hoping to get the worst over now and not in April and May as happened last spring.

One Sunday afternoon just before Christmas, I received a phone call from an owner who was quite distressed. The object of his angst was a young coloured cob called Billy. Billy had a sad past even though he was only about two years of age. He had been bought by another local horse owner who was looking for a companion for his thoroughbreds. That was all fine and well at the outset. However circumstances changed and this owner found that he had no further need of Billy. Sad to say, that left only two options for Billy; namely to sell him if a buyer could be found or send him to the factory.