Bay Irish Sporthorse filly, foaled July 22, 2008
Driving-horse prospect
Peggy's first drive with her custom cart, April 2011.
(Click on the youtube video below for atmospheric music while reading about our baby girl--who isn't such a baby anymore!)
This is Donnybrook's Peg O' My Heart (aka "Peggy"), when she arrived at Blue Star Equiculture on April 9, 2009. She is an Irish Sporthorse filly.
Peggy comes from exceptional Irish Sporthorse bloodlines. She was homebred by Timothy Doyle of Donnybrook Farms in Woodbury, Connecticut. Tim owns an Irish Sporthorse stallion, Donnybrook's Ellis Island, and two Irish Sporthorse mares, Donnybrook's Molly Maguire (Peggy's mom) and Donnybrook's Irish Lullaby.
Tim loves his horses and was devastated when Peggy was born on July 22, 2008 with a severe and potentially deadly salmonella infection. She was nothing but "skin and bones" from day one, and her entry into the world was marred by IVs, antibiotics and being unable to stand. Tim and his vet were able to get Peggy up and nursing, and much money and several months of care, Peggy was out of the woods from the salmonella. She still was underweight and, due to needing more nutrition, she was weaned from Molly early. (Peggy, to this day, still has an IV scar in her neck from her long months of ICU.)
No sooner had Peggy gotten back on her feet again, so to speak, when bad luck struck again. The very first time Peggy was turned out after beating back the salmonella, Tim went out to bring her in, only to discover Peggy's tail "in pieces" all over the paddock. At first, it seemed Peggy had gotten caught on something, but when the vet came to try and save her tail, examination revealed what appeared to be bite marks on her hocks. It seems Peggy was attacked by a coyote or dog, who chewed her tail off. Despite the best efforts of all involved, Peggy's tail was unable to be saved.
Peggy now has no tail save a few hairs at her dock. She was bred to be like her siblings who excel in jumping and eventing. Without her tail, she will be unable to balance when she jumps, and may have difficulty performing dressage moves, if she is even able to ever be ridden at all.
Tim has other horses to feed, and despite being very attached to Peggy (he practically hand-raised her), he could not afford to keep her. Unfortunately, because of her "handicap," finding a home for her was difficult. He tried to place her with several other rescues but was turned away. He was at the point of considering euthanasia when he learned of Blue Star Equiculture, which had just opened in Palmer.
On Thursday, April 9th, Peggy arrived at Burgundy Brook Farm in Palmer, MA, a beautiful baby girl, despite her handicap and setbacks. She still needed physical therapy to overcome some of the lasting effects of the salmonella, and was on weight-builder to rebuild her muscle mass. Tim and Blue Star Equiculture hope that Peggy will thrive at Equiculture, and can be trained as a harness horse, as well as interacting with the public. (Having little or no tail never stopped a carriage horse!)
Peggy has her bonafide draft horse credentials: Both her grandsires are Irish Draught Horses. (Her granddams are thoroughbreds.)
We are hope Peggy's run of bad luck has ended and she has finally found her lucky star...and that that Star is Blue!
Due to her lack of a tail and the lingering after-effects of the salmonella, she has some difficulty cantering, though she doesn't know it! She loves running with Cupcake! At least, until she gets tired--Cupcake can be a bit like the Energizer Bunny. Then, Peggy likes to hang out with her adopted great uncles, Bud, Mike and Jesse--our retired carriage horses. Maybe they can whisper a thing or two about being a carriage horse to her!
Peggy is now being trained weekly by Sally Sorel, who has 30 years of experience training driving horses.
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Peggy has grown up to be quite the young lady! During her first year at Blue Star, she grew up A LOT.
When she arrived in April 2009, at the age of 8 1/2 months, she was the size of a four-month-old foal. Peggy quickly found her health, playing with the Thoroughbreds, Crip and Westbrook, and with the Herdmaster, Cupcake. With the help of Sally's pool noodles, Peg began being trained to wear a harness and be driven. She grew enormously in the fall of 2009, so much so that she grew almost a full hand in November of that year. Growing up is hard to do, and it's even harder when you have spinal cord damage from a pulled off tail.
Peggy gets rescued by the Bondsville Fire Department.
On New Year's Day, 2010, Peggy was unable to rise from a nap at breakfast time. Efforts to help her to her feet failed, as she already weighed at least 800 lbs and she couldn't seem to get her hind end to find its balance. Time and again, she couldn't get up. The vet was called out - not our usual vet, because it was a holiday, but a very knowledgeable vet from a few towns over. The vet concluded that Peggy's spinal cord and nervous system had been damaged when her tail was pulled off, and with her new-found growth, her nervous system hadn't been able to keep up. He advised that if she could not stand, she would have to be put down. Sally wasn't about to let that happen! Sally rushed to Tractor Supply in Belchertown and persuaded the manager to open especially for Peggy so Sally could buy supplies. The Bondsville Fire Department was called out and the volunteer firefighters managed to lift Peggy up and secure her in a sling with haybales supporting her in an upright position against the wall. After being watched round the clock by Pam, Justin, and Angie for a couple of days, Peggy was able to stand on her own, and the danger passed. (As a result, Peggy is the mascot of the Bondsville Fire Department, whose dedication saved her life, and also won her the Valentine's Day card contest in 2010!)
Peggy has continued to have some ups and downs as she has grown and developed over the past couple of years at Blue Star. She had a tumble when she was playing too hard with her friends on Easter Sunday, 2010, and required several weeks and chiropractor visits and massages to heal. More recently, she has been battling an infection in her hind leg from a cut from a pasture accident.
Still, despite all her "bad luck," Peggy is a joy to be around! She has a zest for life, is happy and is VERY smart. She loves her trainer, Sally, and will come running for her when Sally arrives on the farm. Peggy has been trained to harness, and has progressed to pulling Sally and even a passenger in her custom built cart around the farm. Working in harness really helps with Peggy's physical therapy - the shafts encourage her to move in a straight line, and in harness she can really develop her trot and her strength. Against the odds, Peggy is growing up to be just as big as her parents - she is now almost 16.2 hh in the hindquarters and is over 16hh at the withers (her sire is 16.1hh and her dam is 16hh), and she continues to grow and develop (horses' skeletal systems continue to grow and mature until age 5 or more).
Peggy is no longer the baby on the farm, but little Gracie (born 2010) looks up to her and follows her around. Peggy doesn't take guff from any of the Herd except for Uncle Jesse (who now lives elsewhere) and Uncle Bud - although Peggy is beginning to hang out with some of the mares more, now that she has matured.
Peggy is one of the equine ambassadors at Blue Star Equiculture. She participated in a living nativity in Ludlow at Christimas 2010, and really enjoyed it and was not bothered by the crowds of people. She also represented Blue Star Equiculture in June 2011 at the kick off event of the Belchertown Library's "Reed to Feed Horses in Need" summer reading program to benefit the farm.
Although we do not know what the road ahead holds in store for Peggy as she continues to grow and mature into a fine filly with a talent for driving, we love her determination and spirit. She truly is our "Tailless Wonder"!
(Cupcake and Peggy playing, April 9, 2009)
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About the music:
This is Simon & Garfunkel's version of "Pretty Peggy-O," a popular folksong about a member of the Irish Dragoons who falls in love with Peggy. Other versions exist by Bob Dylan and The Greatful Dead. I chose this version because of the lyrics:
As we marched down to faneri-o
As we marched down to faneri-o
Our captain fell in love with a lady like a dove
And they called her name, pretty Peggy-o
Come a runnin' down the stairs, pretty Peggy-o
Come a runnin' down the stairs, pretty Peggy-o
Come a runnin' down the stairs, combin' back your yellow hair
You're the prettiest little girl I've ever seen-o
In a carriage you will ride, pretty Peggy-o
In a carriage you will ride, pretty Peggy-o
In a carriage you will ride, with your true love by your side
As fair as any maiden in the ar-e-o
What will your mother say, pretry Peggy-o?
What will your mother say, pretty Peggy-o?
What will your mother say, when she finds you've gone away
To places far and strange to faneri-o?
If ever I return, pretty Peggy-o
If ever I return, pretty Peggy-o
If ever I return, all your cities I will burn
Destroying all the ladies in the ar-e-o
Destroying all the ladies in the ar-e-o
We hope Peggy gets used to the places far and strange here soon, and we look forward to the day in the future when in a carriage she will drive!