A Shetland pony for £950 sounds like a bargain — and this little fellow would be very cheap to keep, with no livery fees and no feed, vet or farriery costs.
But before you get out the trailer, there is a downside. He — or she — is stuffed. This veteran chestnut, named Paul by the antiques dealer, is on sale through Hemswell Antique Centres in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, and has attracted quite a lot of attention.
Laura Hill, of Hemswell, said: “The dealer [selling Paul] told me it is approximately 25 years old. The person who they bought it from said it was in a museum that closed down, so they acquired it from there.”
Paul comes with a cub saddle and white numnah and a rather eclectic array of other tack that doesn’t appear to fit particularly well, including a neck strap and bridle.
He measures 101cms to his poll so our guesstimate is that he’s around 6hh.
Paul has a bit of damage to his nose but otherwise he is in good — if rather thin — condition.
“We have had a lot of interest,” said Laura.
“A customer who lived in New Zealand wanted to ship it over there, but after some research and due to regulations and customs this proved to be quite difficult, so they are going to investigate arranging shipping themselves.
“We have had another customer who is interested in this item and shipping it to the USA.”
This is not the first taxidermy pony to be sold through Hemswell, said Laura, and they have had some other weird and wonderful items to sell over the years.
“We do get some strange taxidermy items,” said Laura. “We once had a giraffe, which brought a few transportation issues.”
Contact Hemswell Antiques Centres on 01427 668 389 for more details.
Images supplied by Hemswell Antique Centres/Laura Hill
