Staff at an equine charity are hoping a pony who has been waiting three years for a home will have her wish fulfilled.
Welsh mountain pony Wish was taken in by Bransby Horses in 2013 as part of a feral group of four that had been grazing on the hills of Manmoel Common in South Wales.
Wish, like many feral ponies, was found to be suffering from health issues and was also heavily in foal.
Staff at Bransby’s animal reception centre had to work hard to gain the unhandled pony’s trust and work towards treating a nasty abscess that was compromising her lower jaw.
After a lot of patience, Wish began to take food from the staff’s hands.
“This is always an amazing moment, when they first accept you are a friend and there to help them,” said Nadine Hall, external welfare coordinator at the charity.
Two weeks after her arrival, the little mare gave birth to a healthy colt, who was named Whisper, but Wish, who still had an untreated abscess, struggled to put weight on. Once her foal was strong enough, staff were able to work on improving her condition.
Wish was sent away for surgery where vets were able to extract the problematic tooth and stablise her jaw bone. The next day, she returned to Bransby where she was turned out with another mare who she had bonded with.
Her foal Whisper was successfully rehomed as a companion but six years after arriving at Bransby, and three years after becoming available for adoption, Wish is still looking for a family of her own.
Re-homing manager Rosanna Elliot Hart said the team hope they can “the perfect partner for her by way of a fantastic foster home”.
“Each and every horse, pony, donkey and mule is very special to us and it is important we find the right family for Wish and all of our other horses and ponies looking for new homes,” she said.
“It would be great if it was around Christmas but finding the right home and family can sometimes take time; the fit has to be perfect.”
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Any one interested in re-homing Wish, or any of the charity’s other horses, can contact the re-homing team on rehoming@bransbyhorses.co.uk
The Lincolnshire-based equine rescue has been operating for more than 50 years and currently has more than 1,000 horses and ponies in their care. Around half of these live at their Lincolnshire base while around 520 are in foster homes across the UK.
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