Emergency Appeal

Update : 17.09.2023

Since their last update, the ponies have been moved out of isolation into a paddock closer to the yard with the intention of them becoming more de-sensitised to everyday aspects of a working equestrian yard. Every day they have multiple people, horses and vehicles go past. These new experiences are helping the ponies become more comfortable with their surroundings and in turn, making them less fearful. We have already noticed that in just a few weeks their confidence has increased and so too has their curiosity. When walking past their paddock, they sometimes approach the fence to get a closer look at you, turning their head and extending their nose to get a good sniff. Georgia, one of our Welfare grooms was spending time in the pony's company in their field in an effort to gain their trust. Whilst Georgia was making sure her body language was relaxed, Pretzel and Peanut decided to approach Georgia for a gentle scratch. This may seem like a minor interaction, but this is a huge breakthrough for these once-terrified ponies. 

Update: 05.07.2023

If you’ve been following the story of the five malnourished and frightened ponies we rescued recently, you’ll remember that we weren’t able to reveal their identities for legal reasons as they were under investigation for a possible prosecution case. Unfortunately, no owner could be traced and the investigation reached a dead end. This means that as there won’t be a court case, we can now tell you more about them and reveal their pretty faces.

At this moment in time, we have five extremely frightened and malnourished ponies being treated in our isolation facility that we weren’t expecting to rescue. An urgent call came in to ask if we could help with a major rescue operation involving multiple rescue charities. The case was under investigation for a possible prosecution. Unfortunately, no owner could be traced and the investigation reached a dead end.

The Welsh ponies now named Pretzel, Peanut, Pumpkin, Peaches and Plum were part of a group of 25 ponies seized from Gelligaer Common in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. They were running wild on common land with no sign of anyone caring for them.

The economic crisis has had a huge impact on the number of horses in need - we were already at capacity and struggling with the unusually wet weather for the time of year meaning many of our fields are unusable. Despite the pressure this places on our finances and resources we could not turn away from horses who are in desperate need of our help. The HorseWorld welfare team sprung into action and the lorry was on the road. After a long journey to the rescue site, they were greeted with the pitiful sight of animals that had clearly been dealt a very cruel hand in life.

YOUR KIND DONATION CAN HELP CHANGE THEIR LIVES

It will take years of rehabilitation in the safe surroundings of HorseWorld to reach a stage where they might be suitable to find a loving home on our rehoming scheme. All this will place a financial pressure on HorseWorld and we cannot carry out this work without your support.

One of the ponies named Plum was heavily pregnant. Sadly, the foal only survived 24 hours despite the best possible veterinary care. The neglect her mother had suffered during pregnancy was just too much. HorseWorld staff named the filly foal Damson (a type of plum).

The number horses and ponies finding themselves in desperate need seem to be increasing faster than we can rescue them! Any funds raised above the amount needed for these 5 ponies will help others like them.

WILL YOU DONATE £5 TODAY TO HELP US GIVE THESE DESPERATE PONIES THE LOVE AND CARE THEY'VE NEVER KNOWN UNTIL NOW?

Any amount you can give to help us meet these unexpected and substantial costs would make a real difference and help to give these ponies a chance of a much brighter future.