Its taken me a while to write this blog, which is probably because its a subject matter I find so difficult – saying goodbye to a wonderful four legged friend. Hannah contacted us last autumn saying she wanted to do a photoshoot with her pony, Twizzle, within the next few weeks. On her vets advice, Hannah had decided to put Twizzle to sleep, as she was suffering badly with a poorly leg – the vet said that by Christmas, she would no longer be able to walk. With this in mind, we quickly booked a date and one morning I headed up to near Cirencester, where Twizzle was stabled.

A little background on this little mare – Twizzle was a chestnut coloured Thoroughbred cross Connemara, whom also they think had some Quarterhorse in her bloodlines. She was bred by Hannah’s aunt and was 26 years old when I visited them last Ocober. “I saw her being born and right from the start we had a special connection.” Hannah told me. She was officially given Twizzle as a gift on her 16th birthday, when the pony was ten years old. “We did lots of sponsored and fun rides, and had a go at hunting – Twizzle loved to keep moving! We would go off riding all day and just go wherever the path took us” Hannah added.

The challenge of this shoot was that due to her injured leg, Twizzle already couldn’t walk very far. So we stayed pretty close to the stables, just walked a short distance into one of the fields and around the yard to get some different backgrounds and shots. Even though she wasn’t at her best, I could see this pony was spirited and had a genuine, lovely, kind personality. She also clearly had an amazing bond with Hannah.

Twizzle was also very gentle with Tommy, Hannah’s little boy, who was around to be in some of the shots – he has grown up with Twizzle being a part of the family. “In her later years she became a calming influence on everyone around her” Hannah said.

 

Decisions like this are so hard to make, but I could see that Hannah didn’t want Twizzle to suffer, she had been an incredible friend for 26 years. “She was my best friend and its very strange without her” said Hannah.

It was tough meeting in such sad circumstances Hannah, but I hope the photographs will honour and preserve the memory of this amazing little pony for years to come!

Thinking of having an Equine photoshoot or want to find out more? You can drop us a line here, we’d love to hear from you!