Developing a passion for horses as a teenager, riding ‘many different types of horses’ in the years thereafter, Jodie Burt was excited to swing back into the saddle after a lengthy break balancing the demands of work and raising a family.
“I really wanted a safe horse to get back into things. I was looking specifically for a standardbred, as I’ve always loved their temperament”, Jodie explains
“I find that the standardbred build and hardiness really suits me, along with their good nature and the fact they’re so reasonably priced.
“I live in a little country town called Briagolong. The population is around twelve hundred people, forming a big horse community where every second person has a horse.
“In Briagolong, people trail ride down the main street to the pub and there’s a brilliant pony club. I really wanted to be part of this and introduce my daughters to horsemanship’.
Jodie began to follow standardbred retrainers on social media and kept an eye out for horses looking for new homes.
“I’d been looking for a new horse for about six months, when I came across Kiwi (a seven-year-old gelding who raced as Meydan) on Hero Retrainer Patchwork Park Equine Services’ socials. They’d created this beautiful video and post about him and I just fell in love”.
Speaking in detail to Patchwork Park Principal Heather Paix, Jodie was impressed with the care and consideration guiding the rehoming process.
“I asked Heather lots of questions and she took additional videos for me so I could gain a better perspective of Kiwi’s personality and how he was to handle, rug, float, lead around and generally manage”, Jodie explains.
“It was a fantastic process and, in turn, Heather got to ask me plenty of questions about where I’d be keeping Kiwi, my experience and interests. You could tell she really cared about where he ended up and that we were a good match”.
With confidence in the prospective partnership, Kiwi travelled across the state to begin his exciting new chapter with Jodie.
“After such a long trip, Kiwi’s truck arrived around dusk and, unfortunately, he mustn’t have had a very good look around his new paddock before running around in the dark. Devastatingly, Kiwi sustained an injury on his first night here”, Jodie recalls.
“The silver lining was that he hadn’t damaged himself too badly and the treatment and recovery period really forced us to slow down.
“Kiwi and I built a trust and bond during his daily bandage changes, which he allowed me to do without even having to halter him.
“Seeing how brilliant Kiwi was to bandage and medicate, including wound care, all the needles and yucky bute paste, really gave me an insight into how kind and placid he is. He knew I was there to look after him and the experience helped to establish our relationship and really connected us”.
Testament to his ‘exceptional nature’, Kiwi bounced back from his injury and transitioned straight back into ridden work ‘without missing a beat’, which is quite the feat given how green Kiwi was under saddle and the fact he had Jodie were still getting to know each other.
“It’s still early days and we’re still taking things slowly, as Kiwi is a big boy with a huge trot and I’m still working on my riding fitness. I’m aware that my muscles aren’t quite the same since having kids and I don’t bounce anymore!
“Given this, I’m very grateful to have a horse like Kiwi, as he tries so hard to please and he really looks after me.
“Standies are such a gentle, loving breed of horse. They’re more like big dogs really, being so affectionate and loyal.
“The minute Kiwi sees my car he neighs and starts walking over. He’s got such a kind eye and lovable nature and I feel very lucky to have him in my life!”
