Pelli

Pelli and Chloe Shine

You may need your tissue box for this one!

A shot of Pelli having a yawn. Showing what his near-side looks like now without his eye.

I first met Pelli as a yearling when we were loading him on the truck to take him to his new paddock for a spell. He was a good-looking son of Harry Angel, out of a mare named Pellicle, and he had been purchased from the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale in January, 2023. 

My co-worker Glenn and I were amazed at his willingness to load onto the truck, he was so sensible and fuss free, you’d think he was an old gelding who had been on a truck a thousand times. Even when we had let him out to his paddock with his new group of mates, rather than run around like all the other colts, he hung around Glenn and myself, curious about who we were and cautiously investigating us before turning and running after the other new curiosities in his life, his new paddock mates.

He was an interesting boy, and each time I came across him in the paddock he was the same gentle and curious horse, growing bigger and stronger all the time. The name ‘Pelli’ stuck, and I was smitten. Over time he worked on his craft, learning to be a racehorse, and I enjoyed spending time with him while he was in work, and when he was out in the paddock.

I had a chat with Yvonne, our Veterinary & Spelling Manager who also coordinates rehoming of retired horses, and asked should it ever come up that Pelli needed a home, I would love to have him. She smiled, and asked if I was the one who had been putting love hearts all over his door cards and magnets. Guilty as charged! 

The months passed and ‘Pelli’ became ‘Halo Harry’ or ‘Harry’ as I called him, and he was a real racehorse – having a couple of trials and jump outs at Flemington before coming back to the farm for a spell. 

I vividly remember that day in September when I saw Yvonne walking over with a worried look on her face, bee-lining for me. I knew something was wrong. I asked hesitantly, not sure what was going to come next, and when she said “it’s Harry”, my heart sank. Yvonne explained that he had sustained an injury, and his left eye appeared to have ruptured, and he was coming in to the stables. If he lost his eye, under the rules of racing in Australia, it was an immediate retirement. 

Our team were out bringing him into the Vet Department where our Vet was on hand and ready to assess him. As the truck pulled up with Harry on board, I watched as he walked off the truck full of apprehension, trusting the spelling team as they talked to him and led him off the truck, reassuring him, and maintaining contact with his “off-side” (the left side of a horse when looking at them head on) so he knew where they were. This would have been new for Harry as every horse’s ground work is conducted from the “near-side” from birth. He was assessed immediately, and the loss of his left eye was confirmed with ultrasound. 

Our veterinary team started him on treatment and the career-ending news was shared with the ownership group. His options were simple, surgery to remove what was left of his left eye and repair any damage, or euthanasia on humane grounds - this was a very painful injury, and no way for any horse to live without surgery. The options were put to the ownership group, and in the background I looked in to any way that I could personally afford the surgery.

Yvonne had sent out the vote to the ownership group to see which way they would like to proceed, it was a tense evening. Yvonne would send me text messages through the night as the votes came in, and with every vote that came through, both her and I were feeling more and more relieved that Harry would be safe, and he would have surgery. Within a few hours, the ownership group had returned a unanimous vote to do the surgery and retire him with me. I was so relieved, and so thankful for the ownership group for saving his life.

Harry went off to Avenel Equine Hospital where surgeons removed the remnants of his eye, and sutured his eyelid closed. He returned to the farm following the surgery. He had a huge head bandage on, but he was still Harry. 

Pelli and Chloe after his life-saving surgery.

His recovery went well, and before too long he was turned out to a small paddock with a friend. I would visit him each afternoon on my way home, and he would come to expect my visits, calling out to me when he could see me coming, and that’s when we discovered his greatest talent – demolishing carrots by the kilo.

Still a colt at the time of his injury, Harry was gelded on farm, and remained at Lindsay Park while I “Harry proofed” my paddocks in preparation for his arrival. People told me I was crazy for taking on a one-eyed, freshly gelded, off-the-track, 3yo thoroughbred, but they didn’t know Harry, and I found example after example of one-eyed horses that were living their best lives in the show world.

At the end of November, 2024, over two months after his eye injury, Harry came home. I had been worried for days that he would be unsettled, it was a new place to call home. My only other horse is a tiny pony, and I was concerned Harry might not know what a pony was! So I borrowed another ex-Lindsay Park horse from a friend as a companion while he settled in. When he got off the float, he did a slow trot around, before stopping to graze, like he had lived there all his life. I hugged him tight, and he happily grazed. He was so at home and comfortable, I thought I’d try my luck and threw a bridle on him, and gently hopped on him bareback, Harry took it all in his stride and happily wandered around his paddock obliging to my directions – what a champion! 

Since then we have regular sessions of Harry learning to trust me, and learning to have all of his groundwork conducted from his off-side. He is being the best boy and really tries his best every time.

I want to express my eternal gratitude to the ownership group, a lovely group of ladies that saw Harry as a young horse with a life yet to be lived, and saved his life. He will be with me to his last days, and I will love him forever, my Pelli.

Chloe Shine is the Team Leader of our Day Crew at Euroa. She does an excellent job managing the logistics of our horses and stable staff during the day.