36 ponies rescued by horse ambulance

By Justine Thompson

General news

08 March 2010 12:09

Redwings Horse Sanctuary has led the rescue of 36 ponies from a site in mid Wales, at the request of the local council.

Local Trading Standards agents had been concerned about the welfare of the unhandled ponies for several months.

The council approached Norfolk-based horse charity Redwings for their help, because of their knowledge of dealing with semi-feral equines.

A rescue operation was mounted on Thursday February 26, when the charity removed the 36 ponies from the site in a complex operation involving five Redwings lorries and 14 Redwings’ staff.

Thirty-one of the animals have been taken to Redwings in Norfolk, while five more have been offered a home at HorseWorld in Bristol.

Nicolas De Brauwere, Redwings Head of Welfare and Senior Veterinary Surgeon, led the rescue operation. He said: “It wasn’t an easy rescue and the ponies were virtually unhandled, but it all went very smoothly.

“We were able to round them up in just a few hours and they are now all in the safety of the sanctuaries involved. Although it has been an incredibly busy year already, we felt it was really important that we help out in this case and we are very grateful to Horseworld for their help with housing some of the ponies.”

Trading Standards are currently conducting an investigation.

For more about Redwings, please visit www.redwings.org.uk