Update 14th Decemberc2017: This magical horse reunion was the beginning of a new adventure for Arthur, William, Harry and myself... We now have a wonderful home in South Dartmoor where we run Adventures with Horses, Equine Facilitated Experiential Learning. Arthur, William and Harry have become incredible guides for us human beings, by just being horses! We offer learning and growth through the naturally occurring therapeutic and transformative opportunities horses can provide, in order to create self awareness and well-being, and develop potential and skills which are transferable back into peoples everyday lives.
We have a Crowd Funding Campaign live at the moment. Please help us fund more programmes that can offer disadvantaged people the opportunity for growth and learning through our beautiful horses. https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/adventures-with-horses-well-being-courses
So do horses remember each other and have emotions?
On the 14 December 2012 I repurchased Arthur, a horse that I bred but had to sell four and a half years previously in 2008. During this period two of Arthur's playmates from "foalhood", William who had been with Arthur since they were foals and Harry who arrived as a foal a year later stayed with me during a transition from running the busy graphic design business to working in equine facilitated learning and therapy. We had a few moves, and Harry and William had shared their lives with many other horses and ponies since spring 2009. Mustons Field, near the village of Hazelbury Bryan the place in Dorset where I used to live and all my horses and ponies grew up in has long been sold, and this reunion happened far away in a village called Firle in East Sussex, in a field William and Harry had only lived in for two weeks, whilst I was studying in this area, so there was nothing familiar. Would Arthur now aged eight and a half, a thoroughbred sports horse that has spent the last four and a half years in a high class private competition yard BE eventing have any memory at all of the two hairy New Forest pony playmates he once shared his youth with? And likewise would William and Harry recognise that little thoroughbred guy who was once their best mate?
This 5 minute film is the editing down of almost an hour of extraordinary footage of amazing hugging and communicating, that even I didn't think would be quite so loving and extraordinary.
Filmed and edited by and with thanks to film maker Bruce Selkirk
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