Goodnight Gucci

It is with the greatest sadness and heaviest heart we inform you that last week we said “Goodnight Gucci”, our final goodbyes to our beloved Gucci at the age of 15.

Gorgeous Gucci arrived here at The Horse Trust in 2019 after serving in the Windsor Horse Rangers. This plucky little lady served a number of years teaching lots of children to ride. Windsor Horse Rangers is a charity which was set up in 1972 with the aim to educate children with no access to ponies about all aspects of riding and horse care in a safe and fun environment. In her time at Windsor Horse Rangers, Gucci took part in all activities and was a firm favourite with all who met her. Before her life working with the charity, she participated in lots of Pony Club events, excelling in activities giving enormous amounts of confidence to children whether they were a beginner or experienced. Gucci thoroughly enjoyed being ridden but her all-time favourite thing to do was jumping! It was said she was a fantastic show jumping pony who loved her job. Unfortunately, Gucci retired at the age of 14 due to suffering ongoing arthritis which meant she was no longer suitable for ridden work. The team at Windsor Horse Rangers were sad to see a much-loved pony leave the team but were happy to see her start her new retired life at The Horse Trust with former working buddy, Perry.

When Gucci retired to us, we were told that she was a strong character who was often referred to as the ‘feisty red head’. She most definitely lived up to that reputation and we absolutely adored her for it! A small pony with the biggest of characters. In Gucci’s head she definitely thought she was more 16.2hh rather than 13.2hh and you would have to be brave to tell her otherwise! A wonderful memory for us of Gucci was her retirement at our annual open day event Horses, Hounds and Heroes. She strutted down the parade so proudly, you would never have thought she was retiring! She was so full of beans and loved the cheers from the crowd.

Even though Gucci has only been with us for a short time, we take great comfort in knowing she had a relaxing and content retirement in the time she had. Sadly, it was in recent weeks that Gucci’s arthritis had really taken its toll on her body. She received the very best veterinary care, but it was in Gucci’s best interest that we made the heart-breaking decision to let her go from the pain and say goodbye.

Goodnight Gucci – it has been a pleasure to have you with us, we’re just saddened that we couldn’t have had you with us for longer. We will cherish the memories we made with you in the short time and we’ll never forget your quirky little ways that kept us on our toes. Sleep tight lovely lady, always in our hearts