Buckskin died on the 10th of August 2015, aged 32. I know that many of our former pupils will remember him with great affection. I would never have suspected that he would have been the next to die. He came through the winter in excellent condition and enjoyed his freedom of the tracks and fields with his friend, Murphy, right up until a month ago when he suddenly lost weight and then went down hill very quickly. He had all the veterinary attention available but nothing could be done to save him. He stopped eating altogether this week-end and today he and I decided he was not enjoying life any more and the vet helped him to go peacefully. Next to Red, Buckskin was the most fun horse I have ever ridden. He had the most dramatic looking bucks that were incredibly easy to sit and I often enjoyed showing off with shouts of 'Yippy', as he galloped and bucked his way across a big field to catch up with a group of school riders. His quick twist with a dipped shoulder was not so easy and I had more falls off Buckskin than from all the other horses I have ever ridden over all the years. And I loved him dearly. Buckskin came with his adptive mother, Freya, who had adopted him as a foal when his own mother died, and he was devoted to her. Their owner had lost her grazing and was desperate to find a home for them together where they would stay for the rest of their lives. She contacted one of her friends at the P.D.S.A. and as luck would have it, he had heard of Redwing Riding School, who's policy it has always been never to sell horses. They came in 1987 when Freya was six and Buckskin three.

Please donate to Blaikiewell Horses