Charity launches heartfelt campaign to honour loved ones following the rescue of a lonely pony found with his dead friend.

In December last year, horse rescue charity, HorseWorld received a call to say that a dead, emaciated young pony had been found in a field. On further investigation another pony was also found in the field, still alive but extremely malnourished and weak. The finder reported both ponies to the RSPCA who called HorseWorld to ask if the charity could take the survivor.

On arrival, the team were greeted with a sorry sight. The young pony, now called Soul was standing in the corner of a field shelter that was filling up with water. The only source of food was some hay that the RSPCA had provided.

“He was hungrily tucking in as if he thought it might be taken away,” said HorseWorld’s Head of Equine Welfare, Sarah Hollister. “It was obvious the little pony had not had a belly full of food for a very long time and as we approached Soul, we knew he was not used to being handled by humans. He walked quietly to the trailer and straight up the ramp. As we closed it, he whinnied out to his friend, wondering where he was. But, of course, no whinny came back.”

Soul’s deceased friend was taken for post mortem which revealed no food in his system, no fat stores anywhere on his body and a heavy worm burden. The owner of the two ponies was traced and prosecuted.

Sarah said “Rather than dwelling on the immense suffering these ponies had endured, we had to turn our attention to carefully rehabilitating Soul. He was estimated to be only around 7 months old. His friend was likely a similar age. Thankfully, with a lot of loving care from the grooms and expertise from the veterinary team, Soul is now flourishing in the HorseWorld herd. He will stay at HorseWorld until we are sure he’s fully rehabilitated. Eventually we hope to find the right home for him on our loan scheme so he can have a loving family to call his own.”

To help raise the funds to help rescue more horses like Soul, HorseWorld have launched a campaign called ‘Soul’s Stable of Stars’ where supporters can have a star dedicated to a loved one, whether that be animal or human.

PR and Communications Manager, Meg Jackson explains: “This Christmas we’re inviting you to join us in celebrating the life of a loved one, two-legged or four, who has had a huge impact on your life. You can dedicate a HorseWorld Star to be displayed in rescued pony Soul’s stable or receive your own special HorseWorld star to decorate or personalise as you choose. Your donation will help us save more ponies in desperate need like Soul and prevent the tragic loss of more lives like his friend.”

To find out more, visit www.horseworld.org.uk/soul