Baby Ben Joins SWEP

SWEP received a call from a very distressed lady who needed to re home a 5 week old cob x colt she had acquired from a horse sale. She had not realised how much attention and time a foal of this age would need in order to hand rear. We agreed to take Ben into our care and he was signed over to us and bought to our yard. Ben had been cared for extremely well and was much loved. He did have weak pasterns, but this is not uncommon in young foals and should correct it self in time. We will continue to hand rear Ben and are confident he will grow into a big strong boy.

05/03/2012 : Ben has now been weaned and castrated, he continues to grow at a steady pace and his pasterns have corrected themselves. Ben has been halter broken and leads well, he was a little pushy but has been taught boundaries and has responded well. He is an affectionate fella and will soon be ready for re homing to a knowledgeable home who will give him the time and discipline he needs. We currently think he will make 14.2 - 15 hh, but he could grow bigger!!!

RTC at Wheal Tor, Cornwall

Another dead pony was reported after an RTC at Wheal Tor, the dead pony was quickly removed. Also reported was a broken gate at Pensilva Moor, this was reported to a Bodmin Commoners Councillor who assured us it would be fixed promptly.

Grey Pony with Plastic on Her Leg Update

The grey pony with the a plastic gutter stuck on her leg was today removed from the moor along with her foal. A SWEP representative called the quarter man to find out what had happened to her and was assured that the plastic had been removed and she had been given an antibiotic injection, in case of any infection. She was also wormed and will be released back onto the Downs the following day.

Concerned Golfer Calls SWEP

We received a call from a concerned golfer from Yelverton golf course in regards to a grey mare who had a plastic gutter cover stuck around her hind leg, just above the hoof. A welfare officer went to meet the gentleman who took them to the area the pony was last seen. The welfare officer eventually located the pony and took photos of the plastic, which was very tight and had started to cut into the skin. She was showing signs of distress as she would not put any weight on the leg, she was holding the leg up and walking with a very obvious limp.

Hallworthy Market

SWEP representatives attended Hallworthy Market today. Prices were again low and many ponies were left unsold. We were concerned for three young ponies so purchased them and bought them back to our rehabilitation yard. The first pony was a very small black miniature Shetland colt, he was a lot smaller than the other ponies in his pen and quite timid. The second pony was again a lot smaller than the others in his pen and extremely frightened, also a colt. He was underweight and we were concerned that he would not survive a long journey in the back of a lorry, the third was a filly who although a good size was extremely frightened and was showing signs of trauma. We will work with all three ponies and they will be re homed when ready.

05/10/2011: All three ponies are now safe at our rehabilitation yard.  The mini Shetland is called Black Beauty or Stewie, The coloured colt is called Davy and the filly is named Patchy. We will update readers on their progress.

11/2011: Stewie has been re homed. We noticed Davy was carrying his tail at a funny angle and looked uncomfortable, he was still showing signs of shock and trauma from his experience at the sale. Our vet came to check him over and diagnosed a broken tail, this could have happened through rough handling and pulling on the tail. It is not affecting him to badly so the vet is sure he will make a full recovery. This will explain why he is so afraid of people, but we will work with him and Patchy to gain their trust and we are confident they will be re homed as many other of ponies have.