'It's meant to be': Pony found in Tuscaloosa now serves as a therapy horse

A runaway pony captured by Tuscaloosa police in March now serves as a therapy horse for the Tuscaloosa community.

The pony, named Ginuwine by Tuscaloosa police, has been adjusting to his new life at Therapeutic Riding of Tuscaloosa, a nonprofit organization that offers horse riding as a method of therapy. TROT helps a variety of patients, from children with autism or attention deficit disorder to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and adults who are recovering from strokes.

Melanie Williams, who serves as TROT's program director and primary instructor, said that when Tuscaloosa police contacted her about fostering Ginuwine, it felt like destiny to keep the pony she called "Gigi."

"We have another very, very small pony a little bit smaller than 'Gigi,' who has had to retire. And he was kind of like our mascot or an ambassador. And we were kind of looking for a replacement. And this just kind of fell into our laps. I was like, well, it's meant to be," Williams said.

Ginuwine was welcomed to the farm, which is in Cottondale after Tuscaloosa police say he caused a stir in an Alberta neighborhood.

More: Good Knight: Runaway pony finds new home at Tuscaloosa therapy farm

Tuscaloosa police say they received a call around 10 p.m. March 20 about a small pony wandering around near 30th Avenue East and First Street East in Alberta.

"He was extremely unwilling to go with the officers at first and not at all interested in the pizza crusts or peppermints they offered," the department said in a Facebook post.

The four-legged "suspect" led officers in a nearly two-hour, low-speed foot pursuit. Officers followed the pony up and down driveways and through residents' backyards. The pony was eventually captured and was taken to TROT where he was temporarily fostered until the owners were found.

The pony was later identified as 4-year-old miniature horse whose original owners named him Knight. Tuscaloosa police say the original owners decided that Ginuwine (Knight) will now live on the farm permanently.

Williams said Ginuwine was quite the handful in the beginning, but has shown major improvements over the last two months. Life on the farm consists of training day and learning new skills, Williams said.

"He's learning how to walk on a lead rope. He's learning how to stand tide, which is something that horses need to be able to do. He's just learning. picking his feet up. That kind of stuff. Eventually, I would like to teach him how to pull a cart. But we're that's a longer, longer goal. Right now. We're just learning the basics," Williams said,

Williams said she believes TPD made a good decision when choosing the farm as Ginuwine's new home because it provides a space for him to learn and grow.

"Honestly, he needed somewhere that he could go where he could learn how to behave around people [And] how to get some manners," Williams said. "I was a little bit concerned that if he went elsewhere, they wouldn't know, just kind of how he acted. He's not mean or anything. He's never been mean, he just thinks that everybody is a horse. And so that's how he would behave," she said.

TROT first opened its doors in 1998 with a mission to serve people with cognitive and physical challenges and their families. The farm also provides services for veterans and aspiring horseback riders.

More information can be found at TROT's website, https://trotusa.org.

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: A horse's tale: Pony found in Tuscaloosa now serves as a therapy horse