Looking for a home, herd of little ponies that grew and grew...
The 50 Shetlands who would make ‘perfect pets’
THEY may be small – but rehousing 50 of them is still a tall order.
Nonetheless, a Scottish animal welfare charity is trying to find new homes for a herd of Shetland ponies.
The animals had previously been kept by a breeder in the Glasgow area – but he left them to their own devices, resulting in numbers growing dramatically.
By the time he gave them up, there were 27 males and 20 females – nine of which were in foal.
Now the animals have been separated by gender and are being cared for in the Scottish SPCA rescue centres in Edinburgh and Drumoak, Aberdeenshire.
Yesterday, Jenna McCall, an animal care assistant at Drumoak, said that normally there wouldn’t be so many stallions in a herd that size.
She added: ‘The breeder had bitten off more than he could chew. He wanted to create a natural breeding environment, but they were left on a hillside to fend for themselves
‘There was a lot of fighting and bickering and because it was an enclosed area
‘Cracking characters’
they couldn’t get away from each other. A lot of them came to us with bites, cuts and scars.’
Now pony-lovers are being urged to visit the centres to meet the animals, which the SSPCA says would make ‘perfect pets’.
Miss McCall added: ‘ For such small horses, they do have cracking characters. They would all make good pets for the right owners.
‘The youngest we have is a nine-monthold foal and they range upwards to 25plus, in all different shapes and sizes.’
All the ponies have received attention from farriers and vets, meaning they are now ready to go to new owners. Drumoak manager Graeme Innes said: ‘These ponies arrived in our care together and we now have the challenging task of finding them all new homes.
‘They may be little ponies but we have some really big characters. Rufus, for example, has proven to be a very cheeky boy who will follow people around the field to get a treat and a scratch.
‘Casper would be a great pony for a child to groom and cuddle, as he will happily stand all day for some attention.
‘Shetland ponies can make wonderful pets but they should never be rehomed on a whim.
‘We would ask anyone interested to consider the costs involved in equine ownership and carefully think whether they have the time and resources to care for a pony.’