Residents at an equine charity in Devon witnessed an extraordinary display of colour earlier this week when the Northern Lights illuminated the night sky.
The horse and ponies who live at The Mare and Foal Sanctuary’s Coombe Park Education and Equestrian Centre near Totnes witnessed a mix of pink, red and green hues in the sky above them between 10.30pm – 11.30pm on Monday (19 January).
Coombe Park is one of four sites run by The Mare and Foal Sanctuary and is home to around 120 rescued equines. Residents include Sir Didymus the indomitable miniature Shetland (pictured below), the inseparable Shetland pairing of Morgan and Mousey Prince, and mares Tammy and Vogue.
The Mare and Foal Sanctuary currently has almost 600 horses and ponies in its care who have been rescued from abandonment, neglect or abuse.
History
The charity was founded by Rosemary Kind in 1988 and was registered as a fully-fledged charity in 1992. Her vision was to ensure that the smallest, weakest, injured or most unwanted horses and ponies had care and a home for life.
In the 38 years since the sanctuary was established, it has rescued more than 1,000 horses, ponies and foals. It has specialist experience in managing and training feral or unhandled horses and ponies and caring for mares in foal and orphaned or abandoned foals.
The Mare and Foal Sanctuary now has four sites. As well as Coombe Park, it also runs Honeysuckle, near Newton Abbot, Moorland Rescue Facility near Yelverton and Upcott Park near Holsworthy. The Sanctuary also has six charity shops.
The Northern lights, or Aurora Borealis, are a natural light display which occur in the Northern Hemisphere when charged particles from the sun collide with gases from the Earth’s atmosphere.
All images © The Mare and Foal Sanctuary.
