On the eighth day of Christmas Horse & Hound and World Horse Welfare gave to me…. Pearl.
The eighth equine in H&H and World Horse Welfare’s 12 ponies of Christmas arrived at the charity’s Penny Farm rescue and rehoming Centre in Lancashire as a five-month-old foal in June 2017.
She was part of a group who came in after being removed from their owner by the RSPCA.
The owner was banned from keeping equines for life and given a suspended prison sentence at Blackburn Magistrates court.
At the hearing the RSPCA inspector said he had “lost all interest in these ponies, giving them hardly any more than a glance over a gate to check their welfare”.
But Pearl “has come on leaps and bounds” since being weaned and “is now a very different pony”, a World Horse Welfare spokesman said.
“She is incredibly sweet and loving,” added the spokesman.
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Pearl enjoys her grooming sessions, is good with the vet and farrier and enjoys meeting the visitors on the farm.
She gets on well with other ponies and is currently living out with a mixed herd.
The 11.2hh pony has the potential to become a ridden pony once she is old enough to be backed.
But in the meantime she is looking for a home when she can be handled, go to some in-hand shows and see more of the world.
All of World Horse Welfare’s centres are operating at full capacity, so rehoming is vitally important.
Giving a home to a rescue pony gives him or her a second chance at fulfilling his potential and helps develop new skills and confidence.
‘Buggy’s story is a shining example of how a pony who has had such a terrible start can leave his
For more information on Pearl, or any of the other 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.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
