20 horses rescued from a life of misery
Twenty ponies rescued from a scrap yard can finally look forward to a happy and secure future, thanks to the hard work of World Horse Welfare.
Posted on 17/12/2009
Share
The group which consisted of mares, nine stallions and youngsters were a mixture of Shetlands and other native breeds and had been living in dangerous and squalid conditions for many months in the Lea Town and Rosemary Lane areas of Preston.
The stallions had been left to fight each other and breed indiscriminately with the mares, many of which had foals at foot and were pregnant again.
World Horse Welfare Field Officer Chris Williamson, along with the RSPCA, were alerted to the plight of the ponies last year following a call from a concerned member of the public.
Advice was given but on a repeat visit Chris discovered that conditions had deteriorated and the owner was issued with an Improvement Notice, giving him 21 days to improve the ponies’ living conditions.
“The site the ponies were living in resembled a scrap yard and the owner had been given numerous chances to improve the conditions. After he failed to act on the Improvement Notice we issued, we had no choice but to step in and remove the ponies.
“Wading through thick, putrid mud and living amongst broken glass and jagged metal had been the only existence that many of the ponies had ever known. One pony was found with a three inch nail embedded in its foot and we even found a mare and foal caked in their own faeces, forced to live in a cramped, filthy lorry container.”
Chris Williamson, World Horse Welfare Field Officer
On 28th January 2009, a team from World Horse Welfare and the RSPCA, filmed by a crew from the BBC Show ‘Animal:24/7’ successfully removed all 20 ponies and transported them the short distance to the charity’s Penny Farm Recovery and Rehabilitation Centre in Blackpool.
The ponies thrived and four foals were safely born in the charity’s care, but their future security hit a snag after the owner died and a decision on ownership was left to the executors of his estate.
“After a long wait, it was fantastic to finally hear last week that all of the ponies will be officially signed into our care. This is great news, not only for the ponies, but also for the staff who have dedicated so much time into caring for them since January. It also means that we can now tell the story of their rescue and invite members of the public to come and meet them.”
Chris Williamson, World Horse Welfare Field Officer
World Horse Welfare Penny Farm is open from 11am to 4pm every Wednesday, weekend and Bank Holiday and entry is free.
Share
Topics
Related News
Film showing tragic story of mare Rhosywn captures impact of horse crisis
World Horse Welfare today releases perhaps our most hard-hitting film to date showing the tragic story of a mare called Rhoswyn and our efforts to help her.
Courageous mare found with skin falling off saves foals
Piebald mare Maggie was found with open sores all over her body and was caring for both her own foal and an orphan.
Recommended Blog Posts
Analysing the success of community projects in Senegal
Bursary student Faye Al-Nakeeb takes a look at the impact of our project in Senegal on the welfare of local working equines.
We catch up with Cadbury and his rehomer on National Chocolate Day
The sweetest rescue pony makes the most of his second chance with rehomer Lucy.
Life beyond rescue: “We’ve really grown together”
We catch up with 9-year-old native pony Usain and his rehomer Sarah-Jayne.
Enjoy reading stories like this?
Join over 65,000 other horse lovers and sign up for our email newsletter
Join over 65,000 other horse lovers and sign up for our email newsletter
Sign me up now
