Pony tied to roundabout and abandoned finds new home
A Shetland pony that was abandoned and tied to a roundabout in a children’s playground has found a new home.
The chestnut stallion — since named Mr Nibbles — was found in the play park in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, on 23 July 2014.
He had been tethered with no access to shade or water on one of the hottest days of the summer.
Mr Nibbles was rescued by Bransby Horses, which was contacted by the council.
Usually an abandonment notice is served for 14 days to allow an owner to come forward, but due to the situation Mr Nibbles was left in this was reduced to just a few hours.
The charity took in the pony, but despite looking for his owner, they were never found.
But he has since found a new home, after a foster carer looking for a Shetland pony as a companion approached the charity.
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Bransby said the pony is very “cheeky and inquisitive” and although has been known to nip, is not aggressive.
As well as Mr Nibbles, the new carer also rehomed three other Shetland ponies — Smurf, Fred and Korma.
Smurf and Fred had been at Bransby for five years. They were rescued from a scrapyard along with 13 other ponies. Korma was taken in by the charity in 2004, as part of another group rescue.
“Mr Nibbles was entire and very feisty on arrival,” a spokesman for Bransby told H&H.
“We had him castrated and the team started the process of rehabilitation. He quickly adapted to his new routine and was always keen to be around people. His temperament now is very different to the bolshie stallion we saw less than a year ago.”
The person rehoming Mr Nibbles wanted two Shetlands that could act as a companion for their other horse and that could also be family pets.
“The rehoming team identified four Shetlands that were suitable and the fosterers fell for all four instantly and decided to rehome all of them,” added the spokesman.
“Mr Nibbles has had a whirlwind 12 months and his current living arrangement could not be further from the sorry state he was found in. We are very grateful to his new fosterer for offering the loving home we were looking for.”
Anyone who is interested in rehoming horses should contact Bransby on: 01427 787369.
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.