Tiny Tim settles into new home
Meet Tiny Tim – the new cob on the stable block.
At 13.1hh, the coloured pony is the latest recruit at Argyll Riding for the Disabled Carriage Driving group near Benderloch.
He was spotted on a British Driving Association website after his family near Oxford had outgrown him and he was snapped up with the help of a health and wellbeing grant, as part of a collaboration between the NHS and Argyll and Bute Council.
Now he needs to be put through his paces to get ready for the new year and his new life in Argyll.
Jane Isaac, the RDA’s Argyll carriage driving group organiser, said: ‘He was a little smaller than our last pony but that’s good for our volunteers because he’s an easier size.
‘He’s nice to handle, not a difficult pony at all. He’s used to working, but we need to build his muscles up with regular exercise over the winter while he gets to know his new home and surroundings and gets used to the carriage and wheelchair ramp. He’ll have to get familiar with the clanking, the noise and the road we use up to Tralee beach and down to the fish farm.’
Tiny Tim still needs a saddle, bridle and harness which could cost up to £1,000 unless anyone has equipment they can donate. He also needs rugs to fit his size.
Red is the group’s other pony at the yard with Tiny Tim replacing Dixie, who had spent three years with the group. He’s now gone to work with the Brae Riding for the Disabled Group in Dundee as a riding pony.
People come to the carriage driving group by referral or by word of mouth, from around Oban and as far as Fort William and Campbeltown.
Jane added: ‘We’ve had great success with people who want to pat a pony but not get on one. Carriage driving suits some people better. Instead of getting on a pony, they are on a vehicle. It gives a sense of independence. You can actually go quite fast and steer and be out in the countryside.
‘It’s not just the physical driving, it’s also the belonging to a group that has more to offer. There’s a social side to it. Families and friends come and stay for hours.’
Once the season starts again in April there will be a school-age group after school on Mondays, a regular group on Wednesdays and a session on Thursdays for people from the Lynn of Lorn care home in Benderloch.
‘There’s no age barrier. The oldest driver we’ve had has been in their 90s, our youngest was six,’ said Jane.
More volunteers are needed. ‘These volunteers don’t need any horsey knowledge at all. People can help in lots of different ways being useful in the office, accompanying the carriages out on bicycles, going out with the drivers. We will teach people how to drive the carriages if they want.’
There are plans to hold a volunteers’ day after Christmas.
Email janeisaac@outlook.com or go to facebook.com/ ArgyllRDADriving/