Introducing...The Three Musketeers!

Residing in the One Stop Horse Shop paddocks, is the Three Musketeers! Who are they you ask?  Well, they are so many things.  They are the inspiration behind One Stop Horse Shop, they are our motivation, they are quite frankly, our best mates.  Their names are Gizmo (the Great), Jack (the Brat) and Cosmic (the princess)!  They are in deed the three horses that own us.  And yes, they do own us - in no way could we possibly think that we own them.  We simply act as their humble servants, spending our days treating them like the royal beings they believe they deserve to be.  So here are some fun facts about our three noble steeds.

Gizmo

(aka Goofball, Teddy Bear, or simply 'Gizzy')

Height: 16.1hh
Age: 20 years young

Gizmo is a chestnut thoroughbred (need we say more?).  A lovely big gentleman who raced in his younger days, and then became a pleasure/dressage mount for Sarah (the brains behind One Stop Horse Shop!).  These days he is retired from riding but he certainly adds a sense of style to our paddocks.  An elegant, yet somewhat clumsy and dorky(!) orange beast who for the most part is a quiet, gentle and a laid back kind of fellow who loves a cuddle. 

Jack

(aka Jack Jack, Jacky Boy)

Height: 15.2hh
Age: 16 years young

Jack is a bay standardbred.  Sarah purchased him as a re-educated rescue off the track.  Supposedly suitable as a quiet beginners horse - this he was not!  But Sarah loved him anyway.  Once a New Zealand harness racing superstar and record holder, these days he is a cheeky companion.  A complicated horse, Jack is the boss of the paddock and spends his days keeping Gizmo and Cosmic in line.  Whilst never much success was to be had as a riding horse, he certainly has taught Sarah plenty about horse handling and psychology.  Jack likes to portray a tough image and is seen by some as somewhat unruly, but underneath he has a heart of gold and he just adores Oliver, our 2 year old son.  When Oliver is around (aka safely on the other side of the fence), Jack just melts and becomes the most gentle, loving, careful beast in the paddock. Awwwwwww.

Cosmic

(aka Missie Moo, Cossie, Miss, Miss Mare)

Height: 15.3hh
Age: 17 years young

Cosmic is a beautiful bay thoroughbred mare, and Sarah's riding mount (on the odd occasion that she has the time!).  She is quieter than most thoroughbreds and would generally prefer not to break a sweat, but she is still quite the marey mare and quite a handful at times if and when she chooses.  For the most part she really is very sweet (with the occasional outburst of attempted crazy - until she remembers that crazy requires too much effort!).  A funny, yet delightful character, she manages to keep the boys in line and continues to teach Sarah plenty about the finer points of riding.  Cosmic sure is the 'princess' of the paddock.

And then there is Snowball.  Whether you can call him a horse is somewhat debatable.  But you can read more about him in a previous blog post that was dedicated just for him: Introducing 'Snowball'.

So now you know the a little about the larger than life furry characters that provide the driving force behind One Stop Horse Shop.  You never know where you might come across them throughout the website, as they generously give their time to be supermodels to help demonstrate products once in a while (providing they are well paid in carrots of course!).