2016 Year In Review

What a year 2016 has been!  Here's a brief review of the year for P4P...

...January started with frosty weather, Margaret being out of action for a while...and we had our amazing day visit from the ladies at Naturally Animals!

February saw the arrival of Puffin and Babe and the new chickens.  Babe was really quite poorly with pedal bone rotation and laminitis...we were also becoming aware of a crisis unfolding on Bodmin Moor...

In March Topsy had her own adventure and Puffin went to join our conservation herd and became instant best friends with Breeze...

...And we used the blog to expose the crisis underway on East Moor, Bodmin in an effort to get help for the ponies there.  At the point of our blog release there were 11 dead ponies out on the Common and very many in emaciated condition.  We never expected that this campaign would need to be so long running and the last emaciated ponies were finally removed in June.  In the end at least 23 died and 42 were seized in emaciated condition between February and June 2016 - on just one Common.  This was the start of our big research project into testing the ponies and the environment on Bodmin Moor.

Meanwhile...rehab of Babe continued at the yard, we did our annual round-up of our conservation ponies...and Wolfie arrived!

Topsy upgraded herself to the greener pastures of the sheep field in order to increase calories and make sure she has plenty to eat!

In July we made our hay, rescued a family of hedgehogs...and the ponies demolished one whole wall of the stable! 

 

In the late summer, Thea ran a workshop for P4P and Angela was making preparations for her quadbike adventure...there was lots of writing up and collating the Bodmin results.

 

 October saw the release of our Bodmin research...and we patrolled and reported on the 3 wild pony markets Brendon, Hallworthy and Chagford.  Bill the horse dentist came to visit Bobby and Wolfie.

 In November, Babe moved to her new home, the first snow of winter fell, Christmas fundraising stalls were underway...there was a feature on BBC Breakfast...and a water leak had to be chased.

 

And in December Munchkin returned!

What a year it's been!  We've met some amazing and very courageous people and as ever we are very grateful to all our volunteers and supporters!  Thank you!

Happy New Year everyone - we hope 2017 brings lots of joy, hope, and happiness to the world...and positive changes for the ponies that need it the most!

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Wolfie's "Freestyle" Agility

Look who we found doing horse agility on his own...it's Wolfie!  Clever boy!!

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Christmas Helpers

Making friends with Graham

We hope everyone has been enjoying their Christmas!  We've been really lucky this week as we've had lots of extra help - thanks to Archie, Peter, Roy and Graham, Margaret and Martin.

Munchie pre-bath trying out his hoof boots

On Christmas Eve Munchie had a bath - he was such a good boy!  We don't normally wash them at this time of year and we'd picked the warmest day possible...but it was very difficult getting him dry again...despite lots of rugs and towels on radiators!  In the end we spent 2 hours drying him using a hair dryer which he rather enjoyed.  Peter did a good job offering Munchie essential oils, and thanks to his efforts Munchie was fighting fit on Christmas morning - which was great to see.  With all our visitors he's been making lots of friends and has been for quite a few walks already!

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Merry Christmas To All!

This lovely drawing by Margaret Cruft - inspired by our very own Topsy and Ebony - says it all!!  

Happy Christmas Everyone!!!

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Busy Run Up to Christmas!

We've been very lucky to have extra help at the yard the last few days with Margaret, Archie and Peter all coming to lend a hand to help things run as smoothly as possible and ensure Munchie gets lots of TLC.  Munchie's had abscesses in all 4 feet - which we have been treating successfully.  It was lovely to see him stomping all around the yard today - he thinks he now feels well enough to go out in the field with the others but it's a bit premature for that...we'll get there though! All the ponies are very good at taking turns to come and visit him during the day and share his hay-net.  Munchie's done lots of self selection the last few days...and hoof soaking and applications...and it's just astonishing how effective the essential oils are and how amazingly quickly they are able to kill off infection.  Munchie's hoof boots have also arrived so hopefully he's going to be out and about on walks very soon!  Despite the abscesses it's amazing how much progress he's made in a week and he's been a super patient.  Removing all the toxins should help him to feel a lot better all round!

The last couple of days we've been distributing pea gravel too so the yard looks very smart!  3 renovated areas - super for Munchie and all the ponies - Archie helped move a tonne yesterday...and with Peter's help we moved another tonne today!  We are going to be very fit for Christmas!!

We had a brief visit to see Babe this morning and she is doing so well - Frances is doing a fantastic job and no lines in Babe's feet despite the move and change to 24 hour grazing - great job Frances :0)!

Jaffa nose!

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Ponies in the Mist...And Thank You's!

For a few days over the last week it's been ponies in the mist!!  A big thank you to Catherine, Ted and Jenny, Thea, and everyone at Naturally Animals who have all donated herbs to the ponies for Christmas!! With our Christmas order we apparently have 4 big boxes of herbs arriving tomorrow - such lucky ponies!  Thank you to Archie and Margaret who have been coming to help at the yard - poor Munchie has a hoof abscess so he'd really like to feel better very soon.  He's such a good patient bless him.  Get better thoughts/healing wishes for Munchie please!

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Munchkin Arrives Back With Us!

Thank you to Catherine who travelled down from Exmoor today to help walk Munchkin back to the yard.  He's come back to us as he has poorly kidneys and poorly feet so we're going to do our best to get him better again..

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Thank You's

A big thank you from the ponies and all of us at P4P... to Kate, Alice, Max and Josie...and everyone in class 4 at Filleigh Primary School...who held Christmas fundraising stalls for different charities.  Kate, Alice, Max and Josie did an amazing job, selling 68 chocolate dipped marshmallow lollies and over 40 cakes on Wednesday!  They have raised an amazing £47.30 for P4P - thank you so much everyone...and how wonderful that everyone had such delicious treats in the process of fundraising...THANK YOU!

Our thanks also go to David and Kay for their donation to the ponies...and Margaret who went on a special mission today to the feedstore to pick up a new wheelbarrow and more feed mangers...we have a poorly pony arriving tomorrow so we could definitely do with the extra equipment!

Thank you also to Thea who came to visit today and brought lots of bags of apples for the ponies - one of their favourite treats!!

We're glad that everyone seems to be enjoying their newsletters - thank you for your support!

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Newsletter Is Published!

Apologies for the delay in blogging everyone...it has been very busy...but the good news is that our pre-Christmas newsletter has now been published!  Our supporters will be receiving their copies either by post or email!  If you haven't received your copy yet it should be arriving soon!   The newsletter has all our news from the last 6 months and is a bumper edition as there has been so much going on!  It also has a summary of our Bodmin research.

Topsy has been trying out her new manger and I think she quite likes it - the chickens have to stay in for the moment so they are not trying to steal her food...but hopefully it'll help to stop them trying to pinch her delicious snacks when they are back out again!!

We've been doing Wolfie's exercises each evening.  He's certainly feeling quite sprightly - play fighting with Dan in the field today - they can be quite rough with their play but always safe - and then they go straight back to grazing quite happily with each other and the herd.

It was lovely to see Muddy yesterday who is looking great and is very happy with Tasha.

Our condolences go to Jeremy the pony's family who sadly lost their Shetland pony, Tilly, a few days ago...she was a much loved member of the family.

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Christmas Is Arriving Soon - Donations For Christmas!

Thanks to our wonderful friends at Naturally Animals it is now possible for supporters to donate Christmas presents for our charity ponies!

Herbs and essential oils are such an important part of our work here at People4ponies - not only helping to keep our ponies healthy, but they are also crucial for helping our rehabilitation cases to get well!  Now we are entering winter there is less plant variety about in the pastures...so what better Christmas present than some of their favourite self selection choices!

If you ring Naturally Animals on 01483 608322 and quote "People4ponies" it is possible to order products for the ponies - prices starting from just £3.75.  You won't be charged any postage - Naturally Animals will keep all the donations together until our last order for December, so all the donations should arrive in time for Christmas!!  The last date for ordering donations is Monday the 19th December!  Gift cards are also available...

Below is a list of some of their favourite products and an idea of prices...

Herbs: Seaweed - £4.50; Cider Vinegar - £4.50; Salt Lick - £5.85; Spearmint - £8.00; Rosehips - £9.50; Linseed - £10; Milkthistle - £11.00; Nettle - £12; Hawthorn - £12; Cleavers - £12.75; Marigold flowers- £13.00; Burdock Root - £13.75; Dandelion leaf - £15; Chamomile flowers - £16.80; Kidney tonic - £22.50.

Essential oils: Peppermint essential oil £3.75; Sage essential oil - £4.50; Marjoram essential oil - £5; Lavender essential oil £5.50; Ylang Ylang essential oil - £6.50; Frankincense essential oil - £7.20; Ravensara essential oil - £7.20; Yarrow essential oil - £13.14; Jasmine - £22.

Thank you everyone from all of us...especially the ponies themselves...anything you might be able to donate would be very much appreciated!!

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Thank You's...And Animal Welfare Inquiry Update

Firstly, we want to say thank you to our younger supporters who have decided to undertake their own efforts in order to raise money for our ponies this Christmas!  Thank you to Faie who has been out "busking" and through her talents raised £20 for the ponies at the weekend...And another thank you to Kate and her friends who are running a stall selling cakes and toys as part of a school project and they have decided to donate the proceeds to P4P - we all really appreciate your efforts!

Secondly, we wanted to update everyone the results (published in November) of the government's EFRA Committee inquiry into the Animal Welfare Act.  We were amongst many charities and animal organisations that submitted written evidence as part of the review.

One of the most important recommendations of the review was that the government should place a statutory duty on local authorities to enforce the Animal Welfare Act, and that the government must ensure that the resources are provided in order for this to function.  This would be an important step forward because at the moment there is no statutory obligation for any one group to enforce the law - Trading Standards, Defra, The Police or The RSPCA can all take action, but none have an obligatory duty to do so.  Many small rescues have to struggle to get action for welfare cases, and often it is the media which actually facilitates some kind of action.  Enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act at the current moment is somewhat of a postcode lottery...some areas are more proactive than others.

The inquiry also recommended that the RSPCA should withdraw as acting as a prosecutor (when there is a statuatory body with the duty to carry out this role), and that penalties for offences relating to Animal Welfare are increased.  There were quite a few more recommendations relating to dogs - that people breeding more than 2 litters a year should be licensed as a breeder, there should be a ban on the 3rd party sale of dogs, there should be more protection for offspring, and that the minimum age of dogs allowed to enter the country should be set at 6 months to try to discourage the smuggling of dogs.

If you would like to read the full "Animal Welfare in Britain: Domestic pets" report please click here

It is great that the government have been reviewing the Animal Welfare Act - we just have to hope that changes will be made that will bring about actual enforcment of the law...without anyone enforcing it, the law is rendered useless and there is nothing worse having to fight for an animal in distress - when you know you can offer it sanctuary and yet no-one with the power of authority will facilitate that animal reaching safety.  Often buying animals can be the only route left for welfare groups...we need the Animal Welfare Act to work...and enforcement of other related areas too...such as enforcement at markets...and exporting/transport of animals live abroad.

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