Sue Richmond is grateful every day to have the smell of horses back in her life.
It is one of the little things she has come to treasure since adopting “Sammy”, an unraced three-year-old standardbred gelding with a very special story.
“My dad doesn’t understand it at all, but there’s nothing quite like the smell of a horse,” Sue explained.
“I love getting up for early morning feeds and picking up the paddock, just being outside and spending time with Sammy, building a relationship and getting to know all his little quirks.
“And the retail therapy of course,” she joked, suggesting that every aspect of horse ownership is adding to the quality of her life.
“It was always my plan to get back here, and the reality has fulfilled my hopes tenfold.”
Sue has been around horses on and off for most of her life, including the obligatory “feral” she rode down Racecourse Rd in Mornington as a teenager after emigrating from Scotland in the 1980s.
She travelled the world through work in her 20s but returned to riding in her early 30s after being struck by a serious illness.
“I needed a new focus. That’s when I bought a young mare who was my first horse of my own," she said.
“I had her for quite a number of years, but it was a lesson learned because although she didn’t have a nasty bone in her body, she was too green and inexperienced for me.
“After a couple of bad accidents I made the heartbreaking decision to place her, fortunately, into the most amazing forever home where she is much loved.
“I was incredibly lucky, I still get regular updates and she is living her best life.
“But I knew that when I had the means and the time was right again, I would absolutely get another horse.”
Fast forward to April this year and an opportune meeting with the HRV HERO Ambassador Team at the Seymour Alternative Farming Expo where Sue flagged her interest in finding a new equine companion.
When she mentioned she was open to considering a horse with special needs who would not necessarily be suited to a strenuous post-racing life, the planets truly aligned.
Sammy was just two when his racing owner/breeder Ron Laird contacted the HERO Program.
Ron was reeling at the time, having just received news that the sweet-natured youngster by Artspeak had a significant injury and no possible future prospects for racing.
Although barely lame, vets diagnosed a sesamoid bone deformity most likely present at birth which had put undue stress on and subsequently caused major damage to the horse’s suspensory ligament.
Ron worked with HERO and the veterinary team at Bendigo Equine Hospital to fund and facilitate a rehabilitation program, with the aim of healing the injured hind leg to a stage where he could be re-educated for a ridden life.
Unfortunately at the conclusion of the program, while some healing was present, it was not sufficient to consider Sammy a suitable candidate to progress through formal HERO retraining and onto a second career under saddle.
“It was a very difficult situation,” HERO Program Manager Tanya McDermott acknowledged.
“On face value, the horse was fit and well. He was holding his weight, had next to no swelling in the injured hind leg and presented as sound," she said.
“The vets were initially quite optimistic the rehab had been successful but the scans told a very different story and created a real dilemma.
“If Sammy was going to have a future, we needed a home that was willing to accept such a young horse in his situation and commit to caring for him in the long term – however that may look.
“There is a legitimate chance that he will remain paddock sound and have a long and happy retirement.
“In fact, the vets haven’t ruled out that he may even be able to be educated for light riding at some time in the future, but no one can say for certain.
“Finding Sue was an absolute godsend at a time when every scenario was under consideration, including the most difficult of decisions.
“We are truly indebted to her for her compassion, dedication and willingness to give Sammy a second chance.
“Sue describes Sammy as one very special boy, and a horse who has brought great happiness to her life in a short time, but she’s pretty amazing too. They’re a perfect match.”