Day arrived six days ago. It is incredible to think this is the same boy - he has travelled so far to reach me.

He was well looked after throughout his long journey, but understandably when he arrived he had a lot of pent up energy. It took a few of us to wrestle him into his rugs. It was a filthy wet day, but Day didn't care, he was so happy to be free and charged up the hill in the field showing off his fast trot. It was wonderful to watch him go. 

We kept Day in a separate field to Molly and Turko for the first night, but it was obvious how desperate he was to be with them. Horses need to be with their own kind, this is how they seek reassurance and so we opened the gate and allowed nature to take its course.

We had made many predictions of how the three of them would interact with one another, but what we hadn't expected was how much it would affect Turko. He is usually by far the most chilled, easy going and sociable horse on the block, so to see him act like a protective stallion was fascinating. This was supposed to be the pony we were retiring and here he was spinning and kicking out and charging Day with teeth bared. Wild! Day acted perfectly, completely submissive and accepting that he was bottom of the pack. Once Turko had clearly established his leadership and accepted Day as not being a threat, everything calmed down.

This morning we had a visit from Tim, our wonderful farrier. He took off Day's front two shoes that had travelled with him. They will be gifted to Tom Hill Sculptures to be made into something beautiful and ever-lasting. 

There is absolutely no rush with this wonderful horse. We are taking everything day by day and not putting any pressure on each other. We will be working towards riding out, but it is a process that will take some time. I will let you know how we get on.

Day is already proving himself to be exactly the right choice for me. I am really enjoying getting to know this special soul and my heart could not be fuller. 

This is Day (Damien), my horse who I've now officially adopted from RMJ Horse Rescue. 

Day has not yet left his current home, the rescue centre in Siggiewi, Malta but he, and another ten retired race trotters will all be boarding Truck Pirate on Tuesday to make the long journey of over 3,000 km to his new home with me in Hertfordshire. It will take between 5-9 days.

He is going to be confused, tired, cold and possibly scared. He will not know that he's arrived at his forever home and he will never have to make such a long journey ever again. He will not know me and he will not know Molly and Turko. He will be leaving everything he has known behind. My job as his new owner, is to make Day as comfortable, and welcome as possible to help him settle and relax.

Day's race name was Demon de la Besvre. He is a Standardbred, bred and trained to trot in harness racing, first in France, then later in Malta. His last race was in June this year and he is now retired and has been rehabilitated by the RMJ to hack, this means to be ridden out of the arena. This is what I do, it is called Happy Hacking; gentle riding in the countryside, much like you might walk a dog, but on horseback. In America they call it trail riding. 

This is a very different life to what Day has known. I hope he will welcome it, but I have no idea how he will react and how long it will take us to become friends. 

Right now I'm getting everything ready for Day's arrival in a weeks time; buying everything he will need, like feed bowls, rugs, hay and feed; registering him with the vets and the farrier and organising insurance. I'm organising and thinking about the logistics of his care.

As the amazing experience of adopting Day is unfolding I am documenting it, with the hope of producing a book. I'm self-funding this with money that was left to me by my mum. She was not a horse rider, but she wholeheartedly believed in realising your dreams and I know she would've supported using her legacy in this way. 

I know the tone of this blog post is measured and controlled. The reality is I'm so excited that I'm struggling to sleep because this is real. Day is real. And this is my childhood dream finally coming true.