December!

Tomorrow is the 1st December so we will have reached the last of our calendar pages for 2017!  A snowy scene from 2009 featuring Buffy, Lulu (who is Buffy's daughter) and Jaffa cake.  All three are very happy in their homes!  Having had snow already this winter and with it being so cold today it's makes you wonder what this winter is going to bring!!  The good news is that we have plenty of hay in the barn to feed everyone!

It has certainly been very chilly today!  We had a busy day - Clive our trimmer came to visit earlier and is very pleased with how Munchie is getting on, which is great!  We also need to say a big thank you to John for his help with shifting the 3 tonnes of pea gravel into the yard.  It was great to have a logistics expert...much easier than Faye having to shift it all by wheelbarrow!  Amazing!

Thank you to those people who have been in touch to sponsor a pony - we really appreciate your support.  If you are doing your Christmas shopping online, please remember to use Easyfundraising - it costs you nothing but means the ponies can gain donations from the retailer - everyone's donations add up!  We also have some calendars available so please get in touch if you'd like to order your copy!  Thank you everyone for your support!

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First Snow of Winter

Yesterday we had the first fall of snow for this winter - not a lot, but a light covering!  We could see it on Dartmoor too.

We're in the process of sending out the winter newsletters so if you haven't received yours yet it should be on it's way!  The calendars are also now available to purchase on the Shop page of our main website.  They are proving very popular as always and people are enjoying the new design!

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In Memory Of Margaret Cruft

Yesterday was the funeral of one of our long term, local supporters Margaret Cruft who sadly passed away at the beginning of November after a short illness. She was buried at a woodland burial site – an area of conservation land in a remote area of Devon and this was followed by a commemorative service shortly afterwards in South Molton. It was a very special occasion, arranged with so much thought by her closest friends from South Molton and special thanks go to them for the perfect “send off” in a way that was very much in keeping with Margaret’s wishes and beliefs.

Margaret had been a supporter of P4P for some time and had even had one of our ponies, Jaffa, on loan for a short time. One year she drew a special design for a Christmas card which we shared with our supporters – a pastel drawing featuring Topsy and Ebony. Margaret had been coming to see Ted and Jenny at Christmas for the last 30 years so it will seem very strange not having her to visit.

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In Memory of Treacle

We're having a sad afternoon as Treacle the farm cat was put to sleep today.  He'd been on the farm for 3.5 years and came as a rescue cat through the Cats Protection League - a wild, feral cat from Dartmoor.  Ted and Jenny say that he was the most characterful cat they've had.  He chose to be a cat who enjoyed his creature comforts!  He liked to come indoors to sit on Jenny's lap when she phoned her sister in the evening - it would be rare for him not to magically appear at the back door at just the right time (not a regular time arrangement) and meow to come in. 

With dogs he was more like a panther than a cat - there was no dog that he couldn't sort out - even the most determined terriers got a good swipe with the claws when they were least expecting it - even the Patterdale was sorted out!

He was a devil at waiting for cake to be left unattended so he could steal some to eat - and he wasn't fussy on the variety either - cheese scones...he even attacked my birthday carrot cake one year and pulled it down onto the floor where the 3 dogs were waiting and they shared it between them!

Oscar the dog had a history of chasing cats before he came to us...Treacle sorted him out before long.  They came to enjoy each others company with Treacle often walking side by side with Oscar on the evening walk and they would even share a dinner bowl of food together.

He did sleep in some extraordinary poses too!

The vet reckoned Treacle was at least 14 years old - his heart was still strong, thyroid good, no diabetes but sudden renal failure meant it was his time to go.  We shall all miss Treacle...


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Christmas Without Cruelty Festival

We had an amazing day at the Christmas Without Cruelty Festival yesterday - the biggest crowds ever, and the hall was very busy through-out the whole day!  We completely sold out of Margaret's jams and marmalades which are incredibly popular!  I'm very grateful for Frances' help on the stall!  I'm also very grateful to Catherine and Victoria for looking after the ponies and to Roy for doing their dinners in the evening.  We raised an amazing £291.50 on the stall - thank you so much everyone for your support, and to Mark for all his work organising the event!

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Babe, Maisie and Jaffa

Jaffa and Babe!

 We really enjoyed our visit to see Babe and her friends today.  It's a year tomorrow that Babe went to stay with Frances, Maisie and Jaffa and she's doing brilliantly.  Roy is so chuffed to see her charging about!  The girl that in February 2016 was so poorly she was nearly put to sleep because of her feet (laminitis and pedal bone rotation)...she came to us for rehab...she was rehomed with Frances...and now she's on 24 hour turnout and full of the joys of life :0)  We love happy pony stories :0)

Maisie had a swollen leg this morning so had some red light therapy.
The heat went away in 20 minutes and Maisie who is usually suspicious of men nuzzled
her head into Roy's arm which was very sweet.  She decided to join in the charging
 about this afternoon!

Babe, Jaffa and Maisie

Jaffa and Babe synchronized!

  

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Christmas Without Cruelty Festival

Less than 2 weeks to go until our most favourite fundraiser of the whole year!  The Christmas Without Cruelty Festival in Exeter is a great place to buy your Christmas gifts - all in the knowledge that what you are buying is animal and human friendly! 

We'll have our fundraising stall there with our calendars, jewellery, jams and marmalades, fair trade scarves and soft toys on sale.  They have a Facebook page at the following address: https://www.facebook.com/events/485825118444852/  We look forward to seeing you there!


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November's Here

This month's calendar photo features beautiful Babe the pony with visitors Mia and Violet - a special moment captured on camera.  Ponies can bring a real sense of joy to children and sometimes, as captured in the photo, you can see that special connection and bond coming through...something that can be underestimated and undervalued.  Babe is a big pony...and the children in no way feel scared by her size.  Babe certainly chose to bond with the children of her own free will - everyone is so respectful of each other and they share the special heart to heart moment together.

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