Candles and Charlie Hee Haw:
CANDLES
Candles was relinquished to us in August 2008 as a chronic laminitic. The soles of both her front hooves have dropped and she is lame on her near fore leg. She is a sweet natured little pony who quickly adapted to living out with our other small native ponies.
We hope that once her hooves are corrected she can, in due course, be offered to a loving and experienced home as a companion pony.
CHARLIE HEE HAW
Charlie was relinquished to us in May 2008 when his elderly owner, who had kept Charlie for 36 years, was physically no longer able to look after him.
The lack of a qualified farrier in the area to trim Charlie's hooves meant they had grown into nine inch (22.5cm) long tubes. This made it difficult for Charlie to get on his feet after lying down, and he was too heavy for his owner to lift.
At 43 years old, Charlie's teeth also needed attention. Two were extracted. One had worn to resemble a needle which pierced the opposite gum when Charlie tried to eat so his mouth was lacerated and infected inside - no wonder he was failing!
Charlie also suffered lice infestation, a common problem after such a wet winter as that of 2007/8.
Once his hooves, teeth and parasites were treated Charlie recovered well and enjoyed a wonderful few months with his donkey friends before succumbing finally to a stroke. His owner was sad finally to lose him but expressed great gratitude that Charlie had been looked after in his last weeks and died peacefully. It meant a lot to him that his old friend had not suffered: he had always done his best to care for him and genuinely held his welfare dear to his heart.
