Once taken in as a foal at death’s door, the Horse Trust’s CEO Jeanette Allen has told Your Horse the moving story of how adored equine resident Teddy came into the hands of the charity.
The now 13-year-old gelding is unrecognisable from the tiny six-week-old who was abandoned on the roadside in October 2012.
A local councillor and Thames Valley police officer helped rescue Teddy, who was so small he was transported to safety in the back of the police officer’s car.
The very underweight youngster was taken to the councillor’s yard before being given a home at The Horse Trust.
Unfortunately despite the team’s efforts, Teddy began to deteriorate.
“At the end of the first week he became lethargic and it was quite scary,” explained Jeanette.
“He was lying on my lap in the stable and a group had gathered around him – his groom and the vet – he was not in a good way.
“He did a big sigh and then didn’t move. We all started to cry as we thought the worst, but 30 seconds later he stretched out his legs and stood up.”
Teddy was rushed to the Royal Veterinary College where he stayed for a week before he was finally able to come home, and from then went from strength-to-strength.
A fresh start
Teddy was turned out with the late Uncle George, a then 34-year-old Shetland who “never took any nonsense” and took Teddy under his wing.
“We were very careful not to create a hand reared pony, which was why he was with George, but he was such a little character,” said Jeanette.
“The stories of Teddy’s arrival here gathered interest from all over the world and he started sharing first-person updates.
“We were never going to rehome him and he quickly became part of the furniture with us.”
Teddy continued to share his updates, winning the hearts of staff, visitors and fans from near and far.
He was backed to ride and drive, proving himself successful at both, and even wowed the judges at Equifest, when he won the In Hand Rescue Horse/Pony class in 2019.
Teddy made the headlines in 2022 for assisting emergency responders with their large animal rescue training and even met The Princess Royal when she opened the charity’s training centre.
“He’s such a special boy, we’ve had him since he was so young and he’s surrounded by all these oldies in their retirement home,” said Jeanette. “He’s an absolute rock star.”
A lasting legacy
The Horse Trust is the world’s oldest equine charity. Founded in 1886, The Home of Rest for Horses was formed as a place of retreat for London’s cab horses.
During the First World War it provided the first motorised horse ambulance to take in military veterans, and during the Second World War it became a wartime horse hospital, taking in animals injured in air raids.
In 1965 the charity began its work funding equine veterinary research and six years later it made its final move to its home in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire.
In 2006 it was renamed The Horse Trust, and to this day it continues its legacy in providing sanctuary for horses.
The charity specialises in giving retired service horses and ponies a safe and loving place to call home when they can no longer work.
Lead image of Teddy settling in with Uncle George, watched over by former City of London police horse Shrek. Credit: The Horse Trust
