Happy Retirement Gimli!

Please join us in wishing Gimli the happiest of retirements!

This lovely little fjord was one of the youngest horses to ever join the herd at PRDA. At a spritely 5-years old, Gimli wowed us with his aptitude for being a therapy horse. He then spent the next 15+ years with us, making lifelong friends and creating lasting impacts on the lives of so many.

Gimli learnt to pull a cart at one point as part of a pilot program for para-driving the we explored. Although the program ultimately did not run, Gimli was able to add another extremely cool skill to his impressive resume.

In March of last year, Gimli also took part in a clinic with Canadian Paralympic Equestrian coach, Clive Milkins! Gimli helped his little rider shine in front of an international coach and a crowd of therapeutic riding instructors and spectators. The pair definitely won over the hearts of everyone with their absolutely adorable teamwork!

Gimli was also notorious amongst staff and volunteers for his legendary love of food… If he was able to catch a leader unaware on his way into the barn from the paddocks, he was very good at dragging his leader over to the nearest patch of grass. And if he managed to get away from his leaders, sometimes he would take a quick tour of the property before settling into a nice snack of fresh grass. He didn’t earn the paddock closest to the barn purely because he was adorable!

As one of his last acts as a therapy horse at PRDA, Gimli helped introduce a new service dog to the magic of horses! Pictured here, you can see Autism Assistance Guide dog, Wyndsor, sharing a curious nose boop with Gimli. Wyndsor was a bit nervous around the other horses, but Gimli was able to coax him into interacting with him.

On Friday afternoon, Gimli moved into his retirement home. He got to reunite with an old friend, Eddie! Eddie used to be our Executive Director’s horse, and lived at PRDA for many years before meeting his new mom. The two had a very sweet reunion and are looking forward to spending lots of time together!

Gimli and Eddie, insisted on eating from the same pile of hay and sticking right next to each other all evening when they first moved in together. They also had lots of fun getting to know the chickens, pig, dogs, and children that also live on the property. As much as we are going to miss seeing Gimli on our property every day, we know that he is going to be so loved and appreciated while he keeps Eddie company!

Gimli spent so many incredible years with us at PRDA. We had to choose only a few memories to share in this blog. We encourage everyone to add their own memories and stories with this fabulous little horse!

Thank you, Gimli, for so many years of joy, therapeutic excellence, and cheekiness!