A cow which thinks its a horse has become the unlikely star – of a pony display team.
The cute three-year-old cow called Hettie Moo was orphaned after her mother died giving birth.
Hettie, a Belted Galloway cow, was spared the chop and brought up surrounded by horses at the Cairngorms Reindeer Centre in Aviemore, Scotland.
She grew up thinking she’s a cow and feels “right at home” being ridden and attached to a carriage.
Hettie now struts her stuff for Chariots of Fire, a pony display team based in Lockerbie – leaping over 2ft jumps.
Amanda Saville, who runs Sports Driving Unlimited, the equine charity which trains the Chariots of Fire team, said Hettie believes she is just another one of the ponies.
She said: “There’s no doubt she thinks she’s a horse. She’s been reared with the ponies for years now, so there’s no reason for her to think she’s a cow.
“Of course it all seems a bit random as there’s no other cow in the world that does what she does right now, but it’s normal to her.
“She lives in the same stables as the ponies and is very happy to have such close company with them.
“It’s deserved as she had a tough start to life because her mother unfortunately died at birth.
“She was hand-reared by the people from the reindeer centre but she was so tame they couldn’t put her back in the herd and they certainly weren’t going to eat her.
“So they simply turned up here one day with a big red ribbon round her neck and said ‘we thought you’d like her’.”
Hettie sailed through an intensive training course and quickly began to conquer the large jumps that the Chariots of Fire team leap.
Now taking parts in galas and agricultural shows, Hettie has become a hit with fans all around Scotland.
Amanda said: “She’s been absolutely amazing as she took to it like a duck to water but I have to admit, it’s hysterical watching her.
“She’s got all the confidence in the world, whether it’s a few hundred people at a small gala or thousands at a big agricultural show she canters around no bother at all.
“She has great determination. As soon as she sees the jump you can see her concentrating on the take off, completes the jump, slows down, goes round the corner, sees another jump, conquer that one and just keeps going and going.
“The ponies will take about three foot and if Hettie can get up to full speed she sometimes gets quite close to that.
“The people watching are usually absolutely gob-smacked. You can hear the giggling and all the ‘awws’ too as she comes round.
“But she loves what she’s doing. She gets pampered just like the rest of the ponies and she wears a normal harness and a bridal too.”
