Meet Our Horses
Lavender
Lavender is a sweet, funny, adroable 8 year old shetland mare.
She came into us in February 2021 as a rescue. Lavender came to us in a such a state - her feet were extremely overgrown, she had lice and she was very cautious of people.
The road to recovery is long for this little lady due to the lack of care she has had in her life. However, she has already shown how desperate she is to be loved and show love and so we know she is going to learn and grow so quickly.
We can't wait to see how amazing our little Lavender will become - she's already well on her way!
Sandy
Sandy is a 20 year old crossbreed, ex children's riding pony. She came into us with her best friend Goldie in December 2020 with very bad laminitis. The two mares had been put out on loan together by their owner. Unfortunately their loaners could no longer care for them and their owner could not have them back. If we didn't take them in, they would have been PTS.
Sandy definitely has some sort of Welsh bloodlines due to her sassy personality! She is affectionate mare but knows what she wants. We believe that she will be a great addition to the team, especially when teaching about setting healthy boundaries.
Goldie
Goldie is a 25 year old Arab X mare. She came into us with her best friend Sandy in December 2020. The two mares had been put out on loan together by their owner. Unfortunately their new loaners could no longer care for them and their owner could not have them back. If we didn't take them in, they would have been PTS.
Goldie is a very sweet and gentle mare. She is a sensitive soul and requires gentle handling. Once she connects with you she loves to be cuddled and to spend time with you. With some additional training, Goldie will make an excellent therapy pony.
Toby
Toby is an ex-riding school horse and has come to us seeking a career change due to lameness. His new job definitely isn't as fast paced as a riding school!
Toby now has regular musculoskeletal treatment to help with all his aches and pains caused by his previous job. He is completely crippled without all his food supplements and has to have daily painkillers to keep him comfortable.
Mentally Toby acts like a 5 year old - his mind is always active and he is so curious. It's such a shame that his body is now in the state of a 30 year old purely because he was overworked and pushed to breaking point.
Mia
Mia was abandoned not far from the Ranch. She had been tied up by her back legs, as you can see from the white scars on her hind legs in the photos. She was imaciated, flea ridden, worm infested and the vet gave her a 50/50 chance of survival. Through hard work, dedication and nurturing from the team, Mia has made a full recovery and is now worth her weight in gold.
Mia was always a challenge to catch in the field due to her distrust in humans, however with time and patience she is much more willing to be caught and often brings herself to you! Mia loves to be fussed and cuddled once she gets to know you. She is such an affectionate mare and will often turn her bum to you for a bum scratch!
During the summer of 2020, Mia started her education as a ridden horse and has been a dream to work with. She is extremely willing and eager to learn and always tries her best. Mia is one in a million and everyone loves her. She is great at her job and we are so proud of how far she has come!
Chance
Chance is 3 years old and was our first rescue back in December 2018. He came in flithy, covered in fleas, emaciated and with worms. These pictures are of our Chancey now! He is Rescue Ranch UK's mascot! We have been so lucky with Chance as he has been such an amazing youngster. Chance was a rig and so we had some issues getting the money together to pay for him to be gelded. But we finally managed it and now he is happy and healthy playing out in the fields with his friends all day long - of course with all that playing comes a lot of napping! Chance has also started his education and is proving to be an excellent student! He is so sweet natured and just wants to give everyone cuddles and kisses. We are very proud of the pony he is becomming.
Star
Star came into us with two other shetlands - Buster and Bella. Star is our little Princess. She is a sensitive soul. Star is very wary of people, especially men, due to the fact she had her shoulder broken by a human before she came to us. She is very selective when it comes to the people she trusts. Star can often sense how you are feeling before you do. She teaches people to be more aware of their energy levels, as when you lower your energy with Star, she is much calmer and more trusting. Despite this, once you get past her shy outer shell, Star can be quite the opposite! She loves the sound of her own voice and when the yard is quiet, she is quite the chatterbox! Because of her size, she often sneaks onto the yard and manages to get into the feed bin and help herself to her dinner! Star is also our little helper. She likes to hang around the yard and check we are all doing our jobs to her standards.
Buster
The King himself! Buster came into us with two other horses - Bella and Star. Don't be fooled by his very cute appearance - he may seem very sweet and innocent but he's a little tinker! Who'd have thought such a little shetland could have such a big personality!? It's hard to tell him off though due to his cuteness, so he is definitely the pony that gets away with murder. Buster is one of the ponies we take out to schools as part of The Way of the Horse. He is brilliant to teach people about their emotions and how an individuals behaviour can affect those around them. Buster can be very anxious and suffers from separating axiety when he is away from, his best friend and mother-figure, Maydew. Unfortunately we lost Maydew in December 2020 and Buster did struggle for few weeks without her. However, Mia and Star have taken great care of him and he is back to his cheeky self!
Harry Gee
Harry Gee is Dina's daughters' first pony. When she outgrew him, they made the hard decision to sell him. However, when Dina heard he was back up for sale, she bought him straight back as he is the definition of a "Perfect Pony". Harry Gee is our go-to pony when it comes to working with the children. He is so gentle, calm, patient and kind. He is a real confidence giver and the children love to be around him - as do we! Harry Gee is amazing at all the activities as part of The Way of the Horse. His speciality is Join-Up.
Yorrick
Yorrick is our ex military horse. He stands at 16.2hh and is 26, making him one of our eldest rescues. Yorrick has been with us since the summer of 2016 and is now our herd leader! Yorrick spent 24 years in the military before being retired due to a shoulder injury and lameness. When he came to us in 2016, the greatest challenge was keeping his weight on. He is now on a strict feeding programme consisting of multiple feeds a day to keep him at a healthy weight. It is not always easy and we do have to keep adapting his feeds to fit his needs but we'd do anything for our gentle giant. As our herd leader, Yorrick spends most of his time passing on his wisdom to the young herd members, Chance and Merlin. In between educating the babies, Yorrick loves to sunbathe and have a well earned lie down! Yorrick is used to teach clicker training, target training, liberty and positive reinforcement as part of the programmes at The Way of the Horse - all of which he is very good at!
