Teddy’s Miracle Rescue
A chance conversation eight years ago led to a new arrival at Sharon Holt’s stables…
Iheard about how this young Shetland pony had been mistreated and I didn’t have the heart to say no to homing him, so that was how Billy became my first rescue pony,” explains Sharon.
“He was very nervous around men because of his past experiences but I found it very rewarding to look after him and help.
“I’ve since been involved in the rescue and rehoming of 56 horses and ponies. Three years ago, I brought Saffy home from a rescue centre as a companion for Billy. Now I have eight of them here at home, all with sad stories behind them.
“Peri had to have her eye removed when she was only three hours old, after being kicked in the head by another horse. Now three years old, she copes extremely well and loves being taken out to see the world beyond the yard.
“Fallon had no affection in her life and was just used as a breeding machine. Her rib cage has been pushed out through having so many foals so she always looks as though she is pregnant.
“Two months after she arrived in early 2015 her foal Connie joined us and I brought Bailey here when I discovered he was her foal.
“Looking after a foal was a huge learning curve for me but at least it prepared me for my latest addition.
“Earlier this year I took in a Shetland mare and her newborn foal that had arrived while she was on a lorry headed for a foreign slaughterhouse. There was no way I was letting a newborn foal be trampled to death – the crowded conditions on these lorries make it a living hell. I paid to get them off the lorry and I named the mare Harriet and her three day-old foal Teddy.
“Harriet was desperately dehydrated and very scared indeed, but I worked hard to gain her trust. Teddy was two inches shorter than his Pooh Bear toy when he arrived but now, at five weeks old, he is several inches taller and really solid. He still feeds from Harriet but he does also eat some grass and hay – and even sometimes tries to steal some of his mother’s breakfast, too!
“Shetlands are very intelligent and have big characters in small bodies.
“Every one of the 56 lives I’ve saved makes a difference in this cruel world”
You have to shut all the doors otherwise they go into feed rooms, the hay barn or do a zillion other things they shouldn’t do! If you put a bag down they’ll have it open and nose around to find out what is inside it. They want to be with you all the time and to find out what you are doing, and they will chew anything!
“I have no regrets about this new focus in life. I love what I do and I’m lucky that my husband can support me financially in this. Some of my friends help out with funds and practically, too.
“We don’t have children – my eight Shetlands, two rescue ponies and my own horse are my (four-legged) babies. I hope I’m giving something back, although as my husband keeps telling me, I can’t save them all.
“The abandonment and mistreatment of horses and ponies is a big, big issue and many rescue centres are at saturation point. So to me, every one of the 56 lives I’ve saved makes a difference in what can be a cruel world.
“My husband used to say, ‘Just how many friends does Billy need?’ But now he just sighs and says, ‘Are you absolutely sure?’
However, he did joke a couple of weeks back that he was going to put a sign on the gate saying NO MORE ROOM AT THE STABLE!”
Visit Sharon’s ALONE Rescue page on Facebook for news of her rescues and for advice to land owners on how to proceed if they find equines fly-grazing on their land.