Abandoned Stallion

We received a call to report a moorland stallion had been abandoned in a field. After some discussion the owner of the field decided to keep the pony.

Moving Connie

 

We were asked by the RSPCA if we could take in an 18 year old, 16.2hh ex-eventer. We were informed that if she was not off the premises of her temporary abode she would be put to sleep. Because we mainly deal with smaller ponies and are close to saturation point at our rehabilitation yard we had to decline, however we offered to assist in moving the mare, named Connie, from Newquay to her new home eight miles up the road to St Eval.

A transport company had tried loading Connie for two days to no avail , she was lame, due to having no shoes and severe sand cracks and was clearly distressed. We were informed that she had gone over backwards on at least one occasion and would not load, no matter what methods they used. It became apparent that our methods were very different and the differing methods were causing confusion and further distress to the mare. After a short dicussion it was decided the transport company would leave and we would attempt to load Connie using our natural horsemanship methods.

Our attending staff continued to work quietly and patiently with Connie for a further two hours, in which she had ventured up the ramp and was half way on at points. Under normal circumstances we would have left her to calm down and return a couple of days in a row in order to gain her complete trust, however with the end of the day restriction we knew we had to get the mare moved. The attending RSPCA inspector had discovered that Connie used to load onto a large 7.5 tonne lorry, our lorry is much smaller at 3.5 tonne. Our welfare officer swiftly organised for a larger lorry along with a farrier to attend in the hope that Connie would load onto the larger vehicle, shoes would be fitted in the hope some pressure would be taken off her hooves.

The larger lorry and farrier arrived with two hours, the farrier managed to get shoes on her poor feet and we attempted to load her onto the larger lorry. A futher hour of work and Connie was still reluctant to load. Time was running out fast and our team had to make a decision, get Connie moved or allow her to be put to sleep!! It was decided to walk her to her new home.

Our team took it in turns to walk with Connie, whilst being escorted by the farrier in a car. It took an hour and three quarters to arrive at their destination, by this time it was almost 7pm and light was fading fast. Connie walked beautifully and only became lame again in the latter stages, however we were all thrilled that she finally arrived at her destination where she will now retire.

Our attending staff worked tirelessly and patiently with Connie for 10 hours, we were not reimbursed by the RSPCA for our time, petrol, staff wages or the emergency farrier costs.

Hallworthy Market Pony Sale - 16/10/2012

Our welfare staff attended Hallworthy pony sale where 159 ponies, including a consignment of gypsy cobs. As with many of this years pony sales around half of the ponies who went through the ring sold, with the gypsy cobs reaching the highest prices. Our welfare staff stayed until all ponies had been loaded. One pony needed to be withdrawn due to it becoming extremely distressed. The owner lived close by so the mare was immediately loaded and taken home. A group of ponies who had sold were staying the night and being collected the following morning so we assured they had access to fresh water, thick bedding and hay. There was a worry that a pony had been abandoned, however the owner returned to collect once they had realised the pony had been left behind.

Lame Mare Near Cadover

We received a call from a worried walker who had seen a lame grey mare near the lakes close to Cadover Bridge. Our welfare assistant went out to find the mare and assess her condition, by the time she arrived the mare and her group had moved to the mire on the other side of the road.
It soon became apparent the mare was lame in her hind rear leg, when standing she was reluctant to put weight on the leg and when walking she did so with a limp. There were no signs of swelling or obvious injury. Although obviously lame she was able to keep up with her group and graze.

Our welfare assistant attempted to track down the mares owner, which is proving difficult as she and her herd mates don't have any obvious means of identification. We will continue to look for her owner to report her lameness and try and seek a positive outcome for this mare.

Chagford Pony Sale - 11/10/2012

The weather was not favourable, however the sale went well with over half the 250 ponies who went through the ring sold for good prices. Our welfare officer was present from beginning to end and watched the ponies being loaded off and on the trailers and boxes.

Pony Dies in RTC on B1212, Nr Princetown

 

During the early hours of Sunday 7th October, 2012, a motorcyclist was involved in a collision with a young pony on the B1212 near Princetown. The motorcyclist received serious injuries and his bike was a total write off, the pony was killed by the impact.

We are calling for all vehicle users on the moorland roads to please use caution and stick within the speed limits, especially after dark when it becomes difficult to see the dark coloured ponies. The majority of road users in the South West are aware that livestock roams the moor day and night so it is important to be on the lookout for them. The ponies have recently been drifted, sorted and some released back onto the moor where they will make their way back to their areas of origin along with the rest of their herd. It is not unusual to find ponies on the roads when the temperature drops as the use the tarmac for warmth, they will also lick the road surface and the soil on the sides of the roads in order to obtain trace minerals.

Not all ponies are road wise, especially the youngsters, and if they are separated from their herds they will often dart across the roads in order to join the others

Tavistock Autumn Pony Sale 2012

 

 

This years annual pony sales at Tavistock livestock centre went without a hitch. There were no welfare issues to report and all ponies present were in good health. Just over half of the ponies who went through the ring sold, with many reaching higher prices than last years sale. The majority of ponies sold were fillies and were coloured. 

Young Mare with Overgrown Feet

We received a call from a concerned walker in regards to a young pony with very long feet. Our welfare assistant went to assess, after some time the pony was located and her feet were a little long however at present they are not cause for concern. Due to the excessively wet summer we are seeing many cases of moorland ponies with longer than usual feet, this is probably due to the fact the grassy areas have been soggy and not had chance to become hard. It is when the ground is hard and if the ponies walk on the tracks and roads that their feet get worn or snap naturally. However we will monitor this pony.

Unclaimed Ponies From Holne Drift

After all the ponies had been sorted and claimed after the Holne drift 20 were left unclaimed. The commoners got to work trying to track down their owners, they were advertised for a two week period, as is required, in order to track owners. A number of the ponies were claimed, a few were rehomed and we were asked if we could take the remaining seven.

The group included two mares and their foals, a yearling filly, a young colt and an older colt. If we hadn't agreed to take the ponies in they would probably have been shot. We will work with these ponies at our rehabilitation yard, the colts will be handled and castrated and the foals will be weaned once ready.

Merrivale Pony Drift

Our welfare officer attended the drift on horseback in order to assess the entire process. Everything ran smoothly from beginning to end. All ponies, apart from one mare and foal were sorted and claimed by their owners.

The unclaimed mare and foal were moved to the Reeves premises and we are working with him and the commoners to try and establish an owner.

September Update

As well as responding to calls regarding moorland ponies we are involved in a number of calls regarding privately owned equines. We respond to every call we recieve, in many private cases we visit the site that has been reported, establish ownership and discuss the worries of the caller and establish a resolution. We never disclose who the caller is, many private investigations are resolved swiftly. However we do not report these private calls on our blog.

We also attend the monthly Exeter equine sale to ensure welfare needs are being met.

In September we responded to four private call outs.