Prince
Prince is a very elderly chestnut pony who came to us in poor condition due to his age, his owners were struggling to feed him as he requires so much feed due to his poor teeth.
He had been on our intake list for over a year and when we had called to check on his progress he had already been homed within one month of us being asked to take him, unfortunately the place he had been taken to didn't care for him properly and used him to work hard giving pony rides, eventually there was no room for him and it was arranged for him to be sold to the meat man. Fortunately his owners found out about this and took a cattle trailer to go and pick him up. We were told that the owner drove the truck into his field and Price galloped up and past his owner and straight into the trailer ready to go home!
Prince had a reputation for letting himself out of his paddock and taking himself for walks, he liked to go down a lane which led to a country manor which is open to the public and had picnic tables, here he used to wander the car park and share sandwiches with the public. Local children had learned to ride on him and he had become well known locally, it is said that even with a tractor right behind him he would always behave perfectly and would never jump or spook.
On arrival at Hope Pastures he was paired with another new horse called Bronte and they both moved to some fields together nearby which were kindly offered to us to use free of charge, here he settled in and gained weight initially but after 3 weeks seemed a little bit down and dropped weight, also his friend Bronte gradually distanced herself from him and preferred to stand next to other horses in the next field.
We had the vet come out to take blood samples to test for liver and kidney dysfunction and Cushings Disease. As he still seemed a bit poorly and down we walked him back to Hope Pastures so we could keep a closer eye on him and he has settled in quite well, he hates to be kept in a stable so he lives in a field with his own shelter and a lovely thick rug to keep him warm and dry.
The vets found he was slightly Anaemic so he has been given a special supplement and will have another blood sample taken. He is also booked in to have his teeth filed down as he has a lot of missing teeth so the remaining ones have nothing to grind on to so have become long.
He shares his field with Thelwell who is also feeling poorly and they get along well together as two little quiet old men.
Hopefully prince will have a few more happy years with us and his new pony and human friends.
Spring 2010
Prince has come through the hard winter very well after a lot of feeding warm mashed feeds to help him cope, and wearing a nice thick waterproof coat to help him keep cosy through the cold weather.
He was used on Pony day this spring and he fell asleep whilst the children brushed him, he enjoyed it so much.Prince lives in a field with Sparky and Thelwell and although Sparky sometimes annoys him he is very happy there and can often be seen dozing in the sun.
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