Last Christmas Horse & Hound in conjunction with World Horse Welfare featured 12 ponies who were looking for new homes.
A year later six of them have been successfully rehomed. We tracked them down to find out how they are getting on.
Olly has fulfilled all her promise as a perfect hack with rehomer, Lesley Bumford.
The 14hh Welsh Section D liver chestnut mare had been with world Horse Welfare since April 2015 after she was found neglected on unsuitable land.
Underweight, with overgrown feet and infested with lice, she spent a year being rehabilitated at the charity’s Glenda Spooner Farm in Somerset before being put up for rehoming in March 2016 as a hack.
A hip operation delayed Ms Bumford’s plans to take on a rehomed pony but in January last year she was ready to ride again.
The loan horse she’d had needed to go back for the owner’s daughter to ride so she went to see Olly.
“My friend and I were looking for a horse to share for hacking and Olly was perfect,” said Ms Bumford, who lives near Shepton Mallet in Somerset.
“Rehoming is the best option for anyone because you have the reassurance that is anything happens to you then the horse or pony always has a secure future thanks to World Horse Welfare,” she added.
All the charity’s horses are loaned to rehomers and can be returned if they are no longer able to look after them. Field officers visit rehomers twice a year to make sure all the horses are happy in their new homes.
Olly, or Holly as she’s been renamed, has proved a safe, reliable hack.
“The only thing she ever does is stop to have a good nosey around,” said Ms Bumford.
“When I drive to the stables she sees my car coming and whinnies to me which is so lovely. I love her to bits.”
Article continues below…
9 horsey ways to beat the January blues (ASAP)
Christmas is an increasingly distant blur and you’ve forgotten what summer entails all together. But fear not. Here are nine
H&H’s 12 days of fitness: Aching after your ride? Try these Pilates exercises for horse riders
For more information on any World Horse Welfare horses and ponies who are looking for new homes, visit the charity’s website.
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.
