As a young colt Marley was especially boisterous, and anyone who entered the paddock was fair game to be chased and played with. At the time he was sharing a paddock with his mum Shandy, pony Bobby and thoroughbred Spider. Spider’s rug needed adjusting one day so I sneaked into the paddock quietly without attracting Marley’s attention. I fixed the rug quickly and was making my way out when Marley came galloping up to make a nuisance of himself. I was about 50 metres from the fence and couldn’t get any further without Marley trying to block my exit or nip at me. Shandy was grazing not too far away and was aware of the scene in front of her, but was pretending not to be interested. She has always been hard to catch and never voluntarily comes up to me in the paddock. Spider and Bobby were too far away to help so with no other option I said ‘Shandy could you walk me to the fence, Marley is being a pest’. She stopped eating and looked at me for a moment deciding, then to my absolute surprise she came over and put herself between me and Marley, and walked me to the fence without further incident. Shandy really impressed me that day, how she understood my predicament perfectly and was willing to help. Of course she also knew first-hand what a nuisance her little boy could be.

Author: Ali Jeffery
Country: Australia
Age: 32
True story: Yes
Rating: 9 paws up
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